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One of several wide-ranging executive orders introduced in the first weeks of the current presidential administration has had initial impacts at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, according to comments from that facility’s director in a recent congressional hearing.
LLNL Director Kimberly Budil joined her counterparts from the Idaho, Los Alamos and Argonne national laboratories for a hearing by the House Subcommittee on Energy Feb. 12 in which all four directors provided updates on activities at their respective sites and took questions from representatives.
One of those questions came from Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) about the impacts of the recent federal ban on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and the labs’ responses, which included shuttering their DEI offices, laying off and reassigning staff, and making organizational adjustments to comply with the new federal requirements.
“Our situation is similar to what’s described by the other labs,” Budil said. “We did have an office that we closed. That small team of people spent most of their time really working on workforce engagement and building that sense of community and teamwork that’s so critical to doing big team science the way we do, and so we have restructured our program and directed them to other activities.”
“So that’s the main impact for us, and I’ll just say that the critical importance of bringing together a broad range of ideas, of backgrounds, of experiences, is really how we drive excellence in our laboratories, so we’re very strongly focused on continuing that focus on excellence,” she continued.
Budil did not include additional details on what office had been closed, or whether the closure had necessitated any layoffs. While the other lab directors also said that they had sought to restructure their existing efforts to comply with the new federal regulations, Argonne National Laboratory Director Paul Kearns said that the closure of his site’s DEI office had necessitated letting some employees go.
Less than a year ago, LLNL was granted a bronze seal from the California State Bar for its commitment to DEI measures, led by the lab’s Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) Office.
“This Bronze Leadership Seal from the California State Bar underscores our steadfast dedication to IDEA at LLNL,” said Sashalla Lemond, workforce engagement manager for IDEA in a press release on July 29. “Our focus on fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace is essential to our mission and success. We are committed to continuing and expanding our IDEA efforts, ensuring that every individual at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to our collective achievements.”
“That small team of people spent most of their time really working on workforce engagement and building that sense of community and teamwork that’s so critical to doing big team science the way we do, and so we have restructured our program and directed them to other activities.” Really? DEI brings teamwork and a sense of community?
DEI is Affirmative Action all over again. I want the Lab to focus on meritocracy so we get the best, not the second or third rate employee.
“So that’s the main impact for us, and I’ll just say that the critical importance of bringing together a broad range of ideas, of backgrounds, of experiences, is really how we drive excellence in our laboratories, so we’re very strongly focused on continuing that focus on excellence,” she continued. Excellence? Your focus is on discriminating against employees that are at the top, rather than motivating or training those on the bottom to better perform.
Livermore National Lab is operating, regardless of the news report.
Shutting down a national laboratory specifically to satisfy DEI directives would be quite complex and unprecedented.
National laboratories often have critical research and development projects essential for national security, scientific advancement, and public health. Completely shutting down such an institution would likely require a thorough review and justification, considering the potential impact of these essential programs. Shutdown at LLNL is minimal at best, news reports to the contrary are inaccurate.
It is amusing to read the vague comments by federal government agencies about the abrupt end to DEI. It would be interesting to know if Sashalla Lemond is still employed at LLNL.