UNC Eliminates DEI Policy Across Campuses
Lucille Sherman May 23, 2024
The UNC system’s Board of Governors voted Thursday to repeal the existing diversity and inclusion policy at North Carolina’s public university campuses.
Why it matters: The decision could lead to the elimination of diversity offices across the system — which has happened in other states this year.
- Effective immediately, the UNC policy will be replaced with one geared toward maintaining “institutional neutrality.”
Zoom in: The system’s previous policy outlined the roles of various diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) jobs at public schools in the state, as well as the creation of a diversity and inclusion council, made up of members of each university, according to the AP.
- The replacement policy does not include outlined responsibilities for diversity staff.
- It calls for schools to report on compliance with the change, including by noting “reductions in force and spending” as well as changes to job titles and position descriptions.
- Andrew Tripp, senior vice president for the UNC system office’s legal affairs team, said the change will reaffirm “the university’s commitment to non-discrimination and institutional neutrality,” per the AP.
Context: Two protestors of the decision were arrested outside the UNC system office in downtown Thursday, according to The News & Observer.
Catch up quick: The UNC system’s Committee on University Governance moved to repeal and replace the policy in April, doing so without any discussion.
- Weeks later, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Board of Trustees voted to redirect $2.3 million from funding DEI programs at the university toward public safety efforts, WUNC reported.
Zoom out: In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court transformed UNC’s admissions process, ruling that it discriminated against white and Asian American applicants by giving more weight to applicants from underrepresented groups.
What’s next: UNC system schools must comply with the change by Sept. 1.
- The state’s House speaker, Republican Tim Moore, said earlier this year that the N.C. General Assembly had an interest in taking up anti-DEI legislation in its upcoming session. But he told reporters that it would likely wait for the UNC system to review its diversity policies beforehand, the News & Observer reported.