Policy change at North Carolina university system could cut DEI staff
A committee at North Carolina's public university system voted in less than four minutes to reverse and replace a policy related to DEI.
RALEIGH, N.C. — The future of diversity, equity and inclusion staff jobs in North Carolina’s public university system could be at stake after a five-person committee swiftly voted to repeal a key policy Wednesday.
The Committee on University Governance, within the University of North Carolina Board of Governors that oversees 17 schools, voted in less than four minutes to reverse and replace a policy related to DEI. The full board of 24 members is to vote on the matter again next month, and if approved, the repeal would take effect immediately.
If the policy is fully repealed, the UNC system could join other major universities in dismantling their diversity offices. Among the most notable, the University of Florida in Gainesville announced in a memo last month that it was scrapping its office and shifting its funding for faculty recruitment instead.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Eros Hoagland / Getty Images fileIn Texas, universities saw major cuts in their diversity and inclusion staff in 2024 in compliance with a state ban signed into law last year. The state higher education board in Kansas was also to address a ban on diversity initiatives in hiring staff and accepting students Wednesday.
At least 20 states have seen Republican bill proposals seeking to limit diversity and inclusion programs in several public institutions such as universities.
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