North Carolina Council of Public Universities Rescinds DEI Policy

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina System Council of Public Universities voted Thursday to rescind its nearly five-year-old diversity, equity and inclusion policy, meaning its 17 schools will likely join other major universities in cutting diversity programs and seats. work.

The 24-member University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved its agenda, which included repealing its diversity policy, with two members voting against the policy. The board’s affirmative vote means the change takes effect immediately, although the system says the campus changes are expected to take place at the beginning of the 2024–2025 school year.

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The policy change focuses on removing a 2019 regulation that defines various DEI positions – such as diversity officers throughout the university system – and also defines officer roles and responsibilities, such as assisting with diversity programming and managing training for staff and students .

The new policy does not include specific responsibilities for DEI officers and liaisons, suggesting they could be eliminated. In a policy response document, the university system said its goal is not to cut jobs, but to accommodate the new change, some positions may be eliminated.

Additional funds originally intended for DEI offices will go toward “student success initiatives,” the system said.

This policy will not affect classroom teaching or university research, nor will it eliminate student organizations or cultural centers, in accordance with the university system. Last month, it passed through the university’s governing committee in less than four minutes without discussion.

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In his remarks from the meeting, UNC System President Peter Hans said students and faculty should confront “competing ideas” but it is the role of public universities to remain neutral toward “political controversy.”

“No one can speak on behalf of the entire university community on controversial issues, because the university does not have one opinion on any issue,” Hans said.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, Hans said he spoke with members of the UNC Faculty Assembly, students and staff who expressed concerns about the impact of the policy change on diversity. However, he said he remains committed to promoting diversity in the system’s schools.

Feedback provided to the board ahead of the vote was largely limited to an application form on its website, which closed on Thursday. As of Monday, more than 250 people had submitted public comments — most of them alumni, according to public records from the University of North Carolina.

Just 13 people expressed support for a potential repeal, while most of the rest expressed opposition. Commenters included students who shared how they had benefited from the university’s diversity programs and parents who said they would not send their child to UNC if the policy changed.

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About 35 protesters from schools across the university system gathered outside the UNC System Office in Raleigh to oppose the repeal.

DEI has become one of the most controversial issues on college campuses in recent years as conservatives say the practice can lead to discrimination. But advocates say diversity initiatives do the opposite, ensuring minority students and faculty are included in the university community.

Elsewhere, the University of Florida and the University of Texas at Austin announced job cuts for diversity workers this year. More broadly, at least 20 states have faced Republican proposals to restrict diversity and inclusion programs at several public institutions, including universities.

The state’s flagship campus, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, decided last week to scale back diversity programs after the university’s board voted to reallocate $2.3 million in DEI spending from next year’s budget to public safety initiatives. During the UNC Board of Trustees’ regular meeting later this week, trustee Ralph Meekins said he was “completely opposed” to the budget changes.

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Council Budget Chairman Dave Boliek said in an interview that budget cuts had been under consideration for almost a year.

“There is no reason why we, as members of the university’s trustees, cannot signal that the university must take this direction. I feel good about it,” said Boliek, who also won the Republican primary for state auditor last week.

More definitive plans to reduce DEI funding were made at least as late as late March, according to UNC public records obtained by The Associated Press. In an agenda sent to another administrator ahead of last month’s Board of Governors meeting, university President Chris Clemens wrote that a plan was needed to remove at least $1 million from the university’s DEI budget.

In his March 25 email, he also mentioned that the administration must “prepare for rapid change.”

In the weeks leading up to the vote, UNC removed its employee page from the university’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, a move the university’s media relations team said was intended to ensure privacy. The office’s website previously reported a staff of 12, headed by chief diversity officer Dr. Leah Cox.

UNC interim chancellor Lee Roberts told reporters at last week’s trustees meeting that he is waiting to see what the Board of Governors’ final policy will look like before determining what might happen with the office of diversity and other job positions.