We noted recently that DEI policies were voted down at the school, but there is more to the story.
Inside Higher Ed reports:
UNC System’s Controlled DEI DemolitionThe University of North Carolina System last month became the latest public university system to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and spending. It’s another victory for the national anti-DEI crusade that has become a defining higher ed issue in state politics.But unlike in states such as Texas and Florida, where policymakers mandated DEI cuts by law, the decision in North Carolina was made by the university system’s governing board.On May 23, the board voted 22 to 2 to repeal its DEI policy and replace it with one called “Equality Within the University of North Carolina,” which does not mention race at all and enshrines commitments to nondiscrimination, viewpoint equality and freedom of expression. It also includes a clause on “maintaining institutional neutrality,” which requires university employees—staff, not faculty—to refrain from voicing opinions on “social policy” or “political controversies of the day.” Campus leaders are required to report their compliance plans to system officials by Sept. 1.After the vote, board member Pearl Burris-Floyd, a Black woman and former Republican state legislator, attempted to reassure constituents that the vote would not lead to the total elimination of services and support staff for minority students, and that the board has not “turned their backs on them.”“Even if it’s not called DEI, we have a way to help people and make that path clearer for all people,” she said at the meeting.She was trying to assuage concerns that the decision would lead to a cascade of layoffs and the shuttering of support resources for UNC’s students of color—understandable fears given the way DEI restructuring has played out in states where lawmakers are enforcing cuts. In Texas, state authorities balked at colleges’ initial strategies to meet a legislative anti-DEI mandate, forcing them to take more drastic measures or face legal and financial consequences. In Florida, the first state to pass an anti-DEI law, universities have been slashing diversity offices and administrative positions left and right.
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