March 31, 2025—The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) applauds Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for signing into law Senate Bill 1, the “Advance Ohio Higher Education Act.”
Senate Bill 1 requires that all Ohio institutions of higher education adopt a policy of institutional neutrality and that presidents and boards of trustees at all of Ohio’s public institutions issue strong public statements committing their universities to the principles of free and open inquiry, civil discourse, and fostering an environment of intellectual diversity for all students and faculty. The bill mandates high-quality trustee training, periodic faculty performance evaluations, and post-tenure reviews. It rolls back DEI departments, expenditures, and consultants and eliminates mandatory DEI statements from the faculty hiring and promotions process. Senate Bill 1 also requires that all students at public universities pass a course on United States history and government.
The bill’s enactment on March 28 places Ohio in the vanguard of states that take seriously their obligation to train the next generation of informed citizens. ACTA President Michael Poliakoff, who testified in support of Senate Bill 1, stated, “Across the nation, state governments are searching for positive, enduring change that will bring merit, fairness, and fiscal prudence to higher education. Senate Bill 1 provides a model for other states to follow in their efforts to embrace excellence and accountability. For American higher education to remain indisputably the envy of the world, it will take state-level leadership, like that of bill sponsor and champion Senator Jerry Cirino. ACTA is proud to have testified in favor of the bill and looks forward to watching the benefits it will bring to Ohio’s universities and the students they serve. ACTA Chairman Mark Ridenour stated, “As a lifelong resident of Ohio and both a graduate and chair emeritus of Miami University, I could not be more proud of my state. Previously, Senate Bill 117 gave Ohio five independent centers—more than any other state—devoted to the American story. These centers will foster intellectual diversity and energize teaching and learning at our great universities. I am happy to lend my voice to one of those centers as a member of the Academic Council at Wright State University. Today, by the adoption of Senate Bill 1 and thanks to the leadership of Senator Cirino, Ohio will continue to be the national leader in academic excellence and fiscal responsibility in higher education.”
“This law brings many long-needed reforms to Ohio’s universities,” added ACTA Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom Steven McGuire. “Freedom of expression and intellectual diversity are foundational values in academic life, but they have not been emphasized and protected as they should be in American higher education. Mandating institutional neutrality and discontinuing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that undermine academic freedom will help to chip away at campus monocultures and provide space for heterodox perspectives that are critical to advancing knowledge. Ohioans and all who attend the state’s great universities should welcome these changes.”