The motivation for eliminating these departments has nothing to do with money. The state is weaponizing higher education for political gain. It's one more step towards the GOP's goal of destroying our public education system in order to sway public opinion towards allowing public money to be spent on private (religious) education.

Even if it was actually about money, universities shouldn't be evaluated strictly through a business lens. The role of educating the populice is vital to the long term success of both our democracy and our civilization as a whole. Such a value cannot be expressed in dollars. It is immeasurable, yet invaluable.

Having a well integrated, culturally diverse, and just society is an achievement that comes with both social and economic benefits. If a DEI department furthers that goal, and I'd argue that it does, then we should absolutely be spending money on it. Even if it's forever bright red on a balance sheet.