The 17 schools in the University of North Carolina (UNC) system are set to drop the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative, the Raleigh News & Observer first reported.
The governing board voted on Thursday to approve a new policy and replace the previous directives adopted in 2019 that required every school to have a chief diversity officer.
"Non-discrimination, institutional neutrality, free expression, and academic freedom are all mutually reinforcing concepts and values," UNC system President Peter Hans told the outlet. "We are here to serve all, not just those who agree with us. When these principles are faithfully held, they allow diversity in all forms to thrive."
The trend of diversity statements in hiring staff and admitting students has become increasingly controversial and seen as a political litmus test as opposed to an indication of a candidate or student's qualifications. UNC becomes the latest school to drop the practice and return to a nondiscriminatory system.
The UNC system was previously spending $90 million per year on DEI-related salaries for close to 700 staff members, according to the Washington Examiner. It was not clear how the adjustment to the new policy will be made without cutting jobs. A statement on the new initiative states that "the goal is not necessarily to cut jobs, but to move our universities away from administrative activism on social and political debates," according to the Raleigh News & Observer. "It is going to take some time to determine how many positions could be modified or discontinued to ensure that institutions are aligning with the revised policy."
Last week, the board of UNC's flagship campus at Chapel Hill approved a change to divert $2.3 million worth of diversity spending toward public safety and policing.
Efforts to push DEI programs out of public institutions started in earnest the past few years with 40 bills introduced in 22 states that would put restrictions on DEI initiatives, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. As of May 2024, 10 bills limiting the influence of DEI have been signed in law by governors in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, North Carolina, South and North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) argued that typical DEI statements "compel faculty to express or demonstrate commitment to the university's viewpoints or to conform their pedagogy, research, and/or service activities to specific ideological perspectives."
A 2021 study from the American Enterprise Institute noted that across almost 1,000 university job postings, 19% required diversity statements and 68 percent included the word diversity in some fashion.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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