UNC System moves to eliminate diversity goals, jobs at public campuses across the state

A Board of Governors committee approved repealing and replacing the UNC System's policies on diversity and inclusion at a Wednesday meeting in Winston-Salem. The full board will vote next month.

Posted 2:15 a.m. Apr 17 — Updated 12:45 a.m. Apr 18

Brian Murphy

, WRAL

The University of North Carolina System's Board of Governors plans to vote next month on a new policy targeting diversity and inclusion efforts at state universities and eliminate positions related to diversity and inclusion.

A committee approved the new policy at a Wednesday meeting without discussion. If approved by the full 24-member board next month, it would repeal and replace the system’s existing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy, which was adopted in 2019.

The item will be placed on the consent agenda at the May meeting, which is scheduled for May 23.

The change would affect all 16 public colleges and universities across the state, including UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, plus the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

Earlier in April, a key UNC-Chapel Hill trustee with ties to Republican legislative leaders said he expected the university system to scrap some DEI policies. Not only are DEI goals and initiatives at stake, but several jobs and job titles are on the line. The new rules would require those jobs to be changed or eliminated by Sept. 1.

Members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the state House and Senate to staggered four-year terms. Both chambers have been controlled by Republicans since 2011, meaning all current members have been appointed by Republicans.

The current policy, entitled "Regulation on Diversity and Inclusion Within the University of North Carolina" calls for each institution to have a senior-level administrator as its diversity and inclusion officer. The current policy establishes "system-wide diversity and inclusion metrics and goals" and created a "UNC System diversity and inclusion council."

The new proposed policy rewrites the section entirely, beginning with the title: "Equality Within the University of North Carolina." It requires by Sept. 1 that each institution certify that it "fully complies with the university's commitment to institutional neutrality and nondiscrimination."

Further, it requires "a report on reductions in force and spending, along with changes to job titles and position descriptions, undertaken as a result of implementing this policy and how those savings achieved from these actions can be redirected to initiatives related to student success and well-being."

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, came out against the move.

“Our diversity should be used to highlight our state’s strengths, not our political divisions," Cooper said in a statement after the vote. "Republican legislative and university leaders who attack diversity at our public universities are failing in their duty to protect students while threatening our ability to recruit top scientists, researchers and innovators who power our economy."

Some students on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus said they were concerned about the potential changes.

"I really hope there's a lot of open discussion in regards to the benefit that DEI brings and any programs like that," said Camila Perez, a UNC junior. "Just because right now I feel like there's so much stigma and there's so many stereotypes and people need to educate themselves more on what they actually do and the change they bring."

Said Morgan Davies, a UNC senior: "A public school should be a microcosm of the whole state, and the state is naturally diverse. So I don't think you can call yourself a public institution if you're not going to have DEI policies that are in place to make a representative body."

In the past year, Republican state lawmakers have said public universities and other parts of state government should be banned from pushing pro-diversity views on state employees and college students. They also banned human resources training sessions from discussing a dozen different topics, mostly dealing with race and gender relations.

In March, the University of Florida eliminated its chief diversity officer position in response to new state laws.

House Speaker Tim Moore, a Cleveland County Republican, said last week that lawmakers would allow universities to tackle the issue first.

"I think we need to make sure that there's free, open exchange of ideas at the university," said Moore, who is running for U.S. House. "Every viewpoint deserves to be heard. There shouldn't be indoctrination. Regardless of political stripe or anything else, no one should be made to feel inferior because of their position or something."

Moore's Democratic counterpart in the House, Rep. Robert Reives, D-Chatham, said the change would "reverse course on policy our university system has had in place for years to foster diverse, inclusive campuses across our state."

"Our public universities are great because of the diverse opinions, people and mutual respect that are the hallmark of a liberal arts education," he said.

Last year, Cooper's Commission on Public University Governance recommended seven changes, including expanding the Board of Governors and giving the minority party in each chamber the ability to appoint members.

“The bipartisan Commission on the Governance of Public Universities found that a lack of diversity among university leadership and governance boards is both a disservice to students across the UNC System and leads to the controversy and volatility that we are seeing threaten our public universities,” said former UNC System President Tom Ross in a statement released by Cooper's office. “Our universities should encourage diversity on their campuses and governance boards and have leaders, administrators, faculty and staff that reflect the extraordinary diversity of our amazing state.”

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