The University of Utah’s president said on Friday night that the institution will no longer use diversity statements or questions in its hiring practices.

In an email to administrators, President Taylor Randall said, “In light of recent statements made by elected leaders and directives from the Utah Board of Higher Education to eliminate diversity questions or statements used in hiring at Utah’s higher education institutions, all hiring units at the university should discontinue the use of any type of diversity statements or similar practices as part of their unit-level applicant or employee hiring processes.”

Randall was referring to comments made by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox in December when he stated that he believed it was possible, “bordering on evil, that we’re forcing people into a political framework before they can even apply for a job in the state.”

During his televised PBS press conference last month, Cox also termed DEI statements “very political” and claimed the Legislature wanted to outlaw them, which he supports. DEI is an acronym that stands for equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Following up on the governor’s remarks, the Utah Board of Higher Education acknowledged that several of Utah’s schools and universities had employed DEI statements or questions in their recruiting processes.