Diversity officers and campus programs are retooling amid legal and political pressure: the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education named Emelyn dela Peña its new president and urged clearer, legally defensible goals for diversity work just as at least 31 colleges voted to end partnerships with the PhD Project, a race‑focused professional pipeline. Dela Peña told The Chronicle she will prioritize leadership development, best practices and advocacy to help institutions align equity work with antidiscrimination law. The college resolutions to end PhD Project partnerships reflect growing institutional caution after federal guidance and court rulings have put race-conscious programming under scrutiny. Who’s involved: NADOHE, Emelyn dela Peña, 31 participating colleges and the PhD Project. Why it matters: universities must now balance compliance risks, donor and alumni pressure, and institutional commitments to recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty and students.