The University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors (BOG) announced Wednesday that it plans to cut millions of dollars from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The Board announced the decision at a Committee on University Governance meeting, The Daily Tar Heel reported. UNC has already worked since May to eliminate DEI jobs, including 20 positions and 27 that were “realign[ed].”
Andrew Tripp, Senior Vice President and General Counsel in the Office of Legal Affairs at the BOG, announced at the meeting that $5.3 million would be redirected away from DEI initiatives.
“As we all know, UNC Chapel Hill typifies our larger campuses’ responses,” Tripp said, according to the Tar Heel. “It’s required. Its compliance is required, eliminating dozens of positions.”
An “Equality Within the University of North Carolina” report that was signed by University Chancellor Lee Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens at the end of July detailed seven DEI positions that were eliminated in the school’s central administration. These eliminations included the Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, along with six others.
Twelve positions were also eliminated from various schools, including the School of Education, Medicine, and the Gillings School of Global Public Health, among others. Entire DEI offices were eliminated from other schools, including the Kenan-Flagler Business School, the School of Medicine, and the School of Pharmacy. Other positions were realigned, including the College of Arts and Sciences’ Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, who is now the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Staff Development.
Am I Racist? ONLY In Theaters Tomorrow—Get Your Tickets Now!
Further, the report said, “centers that had DEI committees or workgroups have confirmed that they either no longer meet, have been formally ended, or have transitioned to other work.”
UNC-Chapel Hill had the most eliminated DEI positions, with UNC-Charlotte following with 9 positions eliminated. In total, the UNC system eliminated 59 positions and realigned 131 others, with $16 million redirected to other programs and more than $17 million saved.
In May, UNC’s board of trustees voted to gut funding for DEI and divert the money to campus police, The Daily Wire previously reported.
At that time, the board voted unanimously to redirect $2.3 million from DEI initiatives toward campus safety and police. The aforementioned report outlined what has happened since that vote.
“I think that DEI in a lot of people’s minds is divisiveness, exclusion and indoctrination,” budget committee vice chairman Marty Kotis said during the vote. “We need more unity and togetherness, more dialogue, more diversity of thought.”
“It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations,” Kotis added. “It takes away resources for others.”
