Fred Hutch Cancer Center told staff on Thursday that it will dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to comply with President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI executive order, according to an email obtained by The Stranger.
In an email sent to all employees and affiliates, the cancer research center cited Executive Order 14173, which they said, “directs federal contractors and recipients of federal grants, such as Fred Hutch, to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or lose their federal funding.” They announced that there will be “significant changes to DEI efforts at Fred Hutch in the coming days and weeks, including on our website and in our programs, policies, practices and educational opportunities.” When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Fred Hutch confirmed that the center had “made the difficult decision to change its DEI programs.”
The letter positions Trump’s rejection of DEI programs as unavoidable, even though legal battles could still block this specific executive order. After acknowledging that there have been several legal challenges against the order, they wrote: “While we don’t know whether the lawsuits will be successful or if the order may be modified, what we do know is the current administration clearly intends to make ending DEI programs a condition of receiving federal funding.”
Fred Hutch receives more than $400 million a year in federal funding—70 percent of its research portfolio, according to the email. Under the National Institutes of Health funding cuts—which are currently paused by a court order—the center told the Seattle Times it already stands to lose as much as $125 million.
The DEI program at Fred Hutch is currently run by Dr. Paul Buckley, and according to its 2023 report, operates a partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, programs to support students from underrepresented minorities, and a faculty development program.
In their letter, the center tried to cast their decision as the best way to stay “on mission,” which, according to their website, is “to prevent and eliminate cancer and infectious disease.” But this shift promises to undermine that mission. Women and people of color are significantly underrepresented in cancer research, and failing to address that will have real consequences for their health outcomes.
This represents an enormous shift in the institution. Last October, before Trump’s election, Buckley had stated that while other institutions backed away from their DEI commitments—whether out of fear of political backlash or a reluctance to be held accountable—Fred Hutch would ”remain steadfast in advancing our DEI strategy in order to accelerate the mission of curing cancer through research and compassionate care.” He described DEI not as a corporate initiative, but as an “ethic of care,” a principle that ensures equitable access to healthcare, research, and workforce opportunities, especially as marginalized communities continue to experience stark disparities in health outcomes.
“Our determination is rooted in an honest recognition of our context as an American institution, a complex understanding of DEI history, purpose, and practice, and our obligation to an ethic of care,” he wrote before the election. “This is an individual and organizational effort, an initiative for mental, physical, and social well-being, a pursuit for all people. We leave no one out; we are in this together.”
This article illustrates the power of the patriarchy that manipulates the health care systems in this country. The misogyny and bigotry of the Catholic church, the AMA and the predatory health insurance cartel will never allow a system that really serves the public interest. The richest country in the world will not provide universal health care for children much less adults. 500,000 personal bankruptcies per year and the most expensive, least effective outcomes is an abomination. Something is very wrong when children begging for donations to the Shriners to deliver their health care is considered normal because our society and the governments it elects do not provide what is a human right in most industrialized nations. The cynical side of me says let them beg for money, it just keeps me from paying more taxes, unless you consider the ultimate cost we all pay in bad health and untreated health and pyschiatric conditions
Thank goodness “Genocide Joe” and “Killer Kamala” are gone! This is SOOOOOOOOOOOO much better!!
Not only on Gaza, but on all other issues too, like funding for research into diseases which affect all Americans, not just white guys.
Thanks, Kshama.
corporate
centrist dems’ve
been dragging the
Electorate ever-‘right’-
wards, abandoning the
working classes in favor of
campaign contributions whilst
blaming the Electorate for not ac-
quiescing to corporate powers. M4A?
not on
OUR Watch.
Genocide
on our tax $?
sure.
why Not?
you cannot Afford groceries?
nor Rent? you’re continuing
a slow descent straight to
the poorhouse?
‘we
cannot
HEAR You.’
but they’ve
Gotta Keep attacking
Progressive policies, knowing
that if we, the People get to have
a Say, they’ll (continue to) leave the Dems
by the
droves.
see: 2024
TEN MILLION
stayed fucking HOME
and the
Wormtongues’ve
gotta keep blaming Progressives
it’s the Sole way
they can cling
to Power.
FUCK
THE ‘d’nc.
or
bust.
Cancer pays no attention to race, gender, religion or sexual orientation and therefore, neither should cancer research. Good job Fred Hutch for getting with the program.
Every time tenny mentions sawant, take a drink.
Progressives like @3 pretend there’s some magical alternative to our two party system – currently there is not (and no amount of bitching or fuck the DNC will change that withholding support for the D’s leads to more power for the R’s – and just look at how the R’s are leveraging that increased power).
If progressives have the answers, start running winning candidates versus the virtue candidates that get shellacked in any congressional district outside the 7th). Bernie has shown an ability to win – maybe start there (but realize even Bernie probably doesn’t meet the purity test we see in local politics – see his position on guns).
Until then, keep being yourselves – fuck the poor people who are harmed (guessing their suffering will make for excellent fund raising).
Hi there! Your title picture is not a picture of Fred Hutch Cancer Center, just wanted to point that out. Also, I attended Fred Hutch’s town hall this past Thursday where Tom Lynch and others had to discussed the reality of “playing ball” while also in litigation against the current administration’s hostage-conditions for either receiving or holding up Federal funding. Understand that normally, the U.S. government has never leveraged the threat of withholding of federal funding against medical institutions, or any other institutions in service to people and progress…until now. And this is VERY scary. Not just on principle alone– which is dazzlingly petty– but this is money that helps treat really sick people and gets used to fuel the forward progress of research and preventive medicine and cures. And there is no trade off in the action of laying people off and cutting Cancer treatment programs just so we can raise a BIG MIDDLE FINGER to #47. This is damage control. This is navigating the Seas of Shit. Our Leadership spoke earnestly about the current financial situation, what is within our control, what might be leveraged, and how nobody was getting laid off at this time. What I find most comforting is the agreement to which we arrived: we might be forced to avoid certain language, but this does not change the spirit of our actions, of our commitment of serving patients and our staff, or our inclusive culture.
@4: Medical research has long been focused on men, at the expense of women. Recent efforts to level that playing field have just been upended by your felon of a president. Sorry you know nothing about the topic upon which you foolishly chose to opine.
@7: “What I find most comforting is the agreement to which we arrived: we might be forced to avoid certain language,” like that of DEI. Good on you, keep doing your healing work! I sincerely admire and support your efforts.
@5: Knowing how cynically she betrayed you must really, really hurt, eh? Especially knowing she was everything we her critics said she was, and much, much worse as well. You’ll have to keep eating that bitterness for so long as Trump’s actions continue to hurt innocent persons, which means for all the rest of your days. Enjoy; you’ve earned it.
Abracafeckoff dear, the old City Light Lake Union Steam Plant is indeed part of the Fred Hutch campus, and has been since about 2020.
You must strive to keep up, dear (or I must strive to keep up if they have since left that property)
Well Hey, Catalina! I love your mannequin head. Yep, the Steam Plant building is indeed part of the FHCC campus; however, that particular building is NOT the Fred Hutch Cancer CENTER, as the picture for this article states. I can attest that it is a lovely space with some awesome labs, conference rooms and some dynamite views, though. The same can be also said for the building I work out of on the same campus, which itself, is also not the Fred Hutch Cancer Center (which now consists of 2 clinic buildings as of March of 2023). Hope that helps!
What an exquisitely split hair, Abracafeckoff dear.
I remember when they used to fire up the steam plant for its annual test, huge plumes of soot belching from the smokestacks….. (fun? fact: Once the Skagit hydro facilities were built, the Lake Union Steam plant went on standby, although it was called back into service during the drought of the early 50’s and the late ’60’s)