Nicholas Confessore

Mr. DeSantis, the Republican governor and presidential candidate, leaned heavily on his Ivy League schooling before using it as fodder in the culture wars. Here are key findings from a Times examination.

Over the years, Mr. DeSantis embraced and exploited his Ivy League credentials. Now he is reframing his experiences at Yale and Harvard to wage a vengeful political war.

Republicans have been attacking elite universities for years. After a tense congressional hearing last week, many on the left are joining them.

Amid plagiarism allegations and a backlash to campus antisemitism, Claudine Gay became an avatar for broader criticisms of academia.

The backlash against “wokeism” has led a growing number of states to ban D.E.I. programs at public universities. Thousands of emails and other documents reveal the playbook — and grievances — behind one strand of the anti-D.E.I. campaign.

We cover the impact of college diversity programs.

A decade and a quarter of a billion dollars later, students and faculty are more frustrated than ever.

A Times investigation found that the school built one of the most ambitious diversity programs in the country — only to see increased discord and division on campus.

The school is one of higher education’s biggest supporters of D.E.I. Now it’s considering a new approach as critics question the program’s success and impact on campus life.

The school, a bastion of D.E.I., will no longer require the statements in hiring decisions and is considering a broader shift in its policies.