Wittenberg University

On June 29, 2023, Wittenberg's President issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action which reads, "While we are disappointed, please know that Wittenberg University does not use race in the admission decision-making process, nor do we consider any of the demographic features of an individual student in an admission decision. We do not have quotas or limits in place for enrolling certain populations, as we are committed to providing equal access opportunities to a Wittenberg education to all of our students."

As of Fall 2021, Wittenberg University “established a new General Education program” called Connections which lists multiple DEI requirements for the Bachelor’s degree, including a Global Diversity course in Learning Outcome 5 as well as a US Diversity and Equity course in Learning Outcome 6 where, “students will analyze the ways social hierarchies (e.g., race, gender, ethnicity, class, etc.) structure human interaction in the United States and impact the equitable distribution of social and material resources.”

The University requires students to complete a civic engagement course in order to “reflect on the value of diversity in communities.”

The William A. McClain Center for Diversity has an award for multicultural leadership, which is given to "exceptional and talented students who have been traditionally underrepresented or marginalized on college campuses, and who are culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse." Recipients receive $2,000 per year for a total of $8,000 over four years.

Wittenberg has a McClain Center for Diversity and Inclusion Fund to promote student programming and leadership development. The university also has a Concerned Black Students (CBS) Endowed Scholarship that gives financial aid to African Americans who have "shown demonstrated need, with preference given to students who are active in the CBS organization."

The university will be hosting its Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, featuring Ericka Huggins, a "human rights activist, poet, educator, Black Panther leader, and former political prisoner". Additionally, 11 workshops will be held discussing systemic racism in the United States.

The Chemistry Department has an anti-racism statement. Department initiatives include "[discussing] racism in STEM as part of the seminar program", "[inviting] at least one BIPOC chemist to present their research in [its] seminar program annually", and "implement hiring and mentorship practices to optimize BIPOC faculty and staff success."

Wittenburg's Center for Diversity houses a group called Concerned Black Students (CBS), which engages in student activism to "promote a campus that embraces diversity and inclusion".

Shades of Pearls is a minority female organization that seeks to "engage, empower and encourage the African American and Hispanic women" at Wittenberg. Students participate in community service projects, leadership opportunities, and educational programs around topics that affect minority women.

Sponsored by the Wittenberg Alumni Engagement office, on May 11, 2022 the university’s McClain Center for Diversity “will be hosting the Himitu Black Congratulatory Dinner for the African American and Latinx Student Graduates.”

The Business & Economics Department has an anti-racism statement, in which it says that it is working to better understand how its "unconscious biases" contribute to inequity and how it is "committed to confronting racism and microaggressions" via its curricular and cocurricular program.

In February 2021, Wittenberg's president released a statement condemning "an abhorrent act of hate" that occurred during the "Keeping it Professional" panel sponsored by the McClain Center for Diversity & CBS.