In March 2024, NOLS President Sandy Colhoun, along with input and support from the NOLS Board and Executive Team, made difficult cost reduction decisions, including closing NOLS branches and reducing staff, in order to slow down NOLS’ cash hemorrhaging (FY 23 $10.2MM loss) and buy time for the school to right itself.
However, as Sandy has pointed out, cost reduction is only one piece of the puzzle. The next piece to review? We strongly recommend Sandy review NOLS DEI initiative. A review to align the current NOLS DEI initiative with the NOLS Mission and Expedition Behavior is vital.
From our initial December 2022 DEI Implementation Assessment to the present, we have focused on how a poorly implemented DEI policy is undermining the school’s educational foundation. From the first paragraphs of our report:
“NOLS became the leader in outdoor education by adhering to its founding Articles of Incorporation, staying true to its Mission Statement and making Expedition Behavior into an everyday practice. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion can and should be part of NOLS’ continued success. . . . We are concerned that the very foundation of NOLS as the leader in outdoor education is being undermined by a poorly implemented DEI initiative.”
Since Sandy became President, we have been encouraged by his focus on NOLS creating a positive, transformative student experience and maintaining outstanding risk management. In addition, he has emphasized the importance of the NOLS mission and the practice of Expedition Behavior.
What is his plan for DEI? In the March 24, 2024 Chrysalis newsletter, Sandy is clear:
“I said that we had prioritized our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as an executive team. I remain loyal to this statement. . . . Please know our commitment to this effort remains steadfast. We intend to continue to build on the progress made over the last few years.”
How is NOLS defining and measuring “progress made”? As we have pointed out, the NOLS Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2020, published 9 years ago and still included on the NOLS website, provides no measurements for progress or success.
Over the last year and a half since we began work on our DEI assessment, universities and businesses have had to address the consequences of their DEI initiatives. Measuring the effectiveness of DEI in institutions is being debated, with metrics often lacking as is the case at NOLS.
Current NOLS employees who have concerns about the way NOLS is implementing DEI are afraid to go on record. Please click on the underlined blue links below, which exemplify how NOLS' DEI initiative is separate from and undercuts NOLS' Mission and EB:
NOLS leadership newsletter to NOLS faculty and staff worldwide explains the Thanksgiving holiday is "to make US citizens feel less uneasy about horrendous treatment of indigenous people, historically and today."
The the instructor’s application starts with a social justice test before asking for experience and job qualifications. A previous version asked "how can outdoor education serve to dismantle systems of oppression?"
Student course evaluation from August 2023 recounts NOLS instructors’ focus on social justice issues at the expense of teaching wilderness skills and leadership.
NOLS continues its DEI policy of policing for subjective trigger words.
Even though NOLS has yet to define DEI, NOLS declares DEI must be woven into the very fabric of the school.
We are asking Sandy not to blindly continue to implement a DEI initiative and in so doing bring great harm to the school. If ever there were an opportunity for NOLS to lead as an educator, not only as a wilderness educator but as a leader in the greater educational community, it is now.
To be a DEI leader, NOLS needs to be transparent, to clearly state and define its DEI policies, how the school measures progress, identify and acknowledge where mistakes have been made, change those policies that bring harm, and create a DEI program that supports the school’s Mission and the practice of Expedition Behavior.
NOLS Self-Assembly
Our objective is to serve as a link between NOLS and the greater NOLS community for an open discussion about how NOLS can stay true to its Mission and the practice of Expedition Behavior. We have consistently reached out to the NOLS Board and the Executive team as a group. We aim to engage with open inquiry and constructive and generative dialogue.
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