No more DEI offices in the UNC System, but changes vary by university, reports show

There appear to no longer be any offices or administrative roles in the UNC System expressly dedicated to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion — the result of universities’ efforts to comply with a new policy, passed in May, that restricted such efforts.

But there remains variation in exactly how campuses interpreted and implemented the policy.

Under the new policy, which repealed previous DEI mandates for the state’s 16 public universities and the School of Science and Mathematics, campuses must now uphold “institutional neutrality” — the requirement under state law that campuses and their leaders should not weigh in on political or social issues — nondiscrimination and freedom of expression, among other ideals.

While DEI offices and jobs were not explicitly banned in the new policy, legal guidance released to campuses in June revealed that such efforts would be heavily scrutinized as the schools worked to become compliant with the new regulation.

The system Board of Governors, which sets policy for all public universities in the state, on Wednesday received and reviewed reports from campus chancellors detailing the changes they have implemented to comply with the policy. Despite a Sept. 1 deadline for campuses to submit the reports to UNC System President Peter Hans, Wednesday — 10 days afterward — was the first time they were made available to the board, the media and the public.

The documents showed that several campuses, including UNC-Chapel Hill, have closed their DEI offices and eliminated several employment positions within them. But other campuses, including NC State University, renamed and reorganized their offices , generally removing words such as “diversity” from their titles but keeping other aspects of the units intact.

“Some will say the campuses went too far,” UNC System general counsel Andrew Tripp said during Wednesday’s committee meeting. “Some will say that the campuses didn’t go far enough.”

Tripp told the committee that part of the variation in campuses’ changes could be attributed to differences in the sizes of campuses and the number of DEI efforts they previously offered.

“The larger campuses had more work to do,” Tripp said. “The smaller campuses, less so, but there was plenty of work to be done.”

In their reports to Hans, campuses were required to detail any job and spending cuts they implemented to comply with the policy, as well as how they plan to use “savings” from those actions on student success efforts.

A summary of campuses’ compliance efforts released Wednesday shows that the 17 schools reported combined savings of more than $17 million, with about $16 million expected to be redirected to student success efforts. Across the campuses, 59 DEI-related employment positions were eliminated, while 131 were “realigned.”

UNC-Chapel Hill eliminated considerably more positions than any other university, at 20, and reported the most “savings” at more than $5.3 million. The next-most was at UNC Charlotte, with nine positions eliminated.

Tripp stressed that compliance with the new policy will be continually reviewed by the board.

“The devil is always in the details,” he said. “...Going forward, the monitoring will require ensuring that each campus practices exactly what they’re preaching.”

DEI offices close

At least eight universities closed their DEI offices as a result of the policy:

▪ Appalachian State University closed its Intercultural Student Affairs Office. In its place, the university established a new Center for Student Success and Community, according to its report.

In the new center, identity-based student organizations will “will no longer receive dedicated space,” the report stated. Instead, all student organizations will fall under the Office of Campus Activities, and funding previously dedicated to the identity-based groups will now be available for all student groups.

▪ East Carolina University eliminated its Office for Equity and Diversity, the Brody School of Medicine’s Diversity Affairs Office and the Intercultural Affairs Department within the university’s Student Affairs division.

None of the eliminated positions resulted in job losses, according to the report.

Student centers, such as the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center, will continue operating under their existing names. However, the centers have adjusted their funding and governance such that students and student organizations will develop and lead the majority of the programming.

▪ NC A&T State University eliminated its Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and the position of chief diversity officer.

▪ UNC-Chapel Hill eliminated its university-wide Office of Diversity and Inclusion and several similar offices within individual schools or departments.

Several diversity-focused job positions were retooled to focus instead on faculty, staff and student development.

▪ UNC Charlotte closed three DEI offices as a result of the policy — the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement and the Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusion.

The closure of these offices resulted in the elimination of several programs, including sexual and gender diversity programs, identity-based graduation celebrations and Latinx programming.

▪ UNC Pembroke closed its Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity and eliminated its position of American Indian Liaison to the Chancellor, which was vacant at the time.

▪ UNC Wilmington closed its Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion.

Several identity and cultural centers were rehoused under the Division of Student Affairs, which “allows students to benefit from more operational support, improved resource sharing, and increased collaboration among the many professional staff dedicated to their success at UNCW,” according to the report.

▪ Western Carolina University closed its Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs.

DEI offices, positions reorganized

At least four campuses significantly changed their former DEI offices, but did not explicitly or completely close them:

▪ Elizabeth City State University will continue operating its Office of Student Engagement and Leadership, but redirect funds previously spent on DEI to “to support the expanded duties and responsibilities of three key positions within this office.”

▪ NC State University closed its former Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, but renamed it to become the Office of Equal Opportunity, which will focus “solely on equal opportunity and related compliance areas,” the university’s provost previously announced. The head of the former office will remain at the university to lead the new office, under the new title of “vice provost for equal opportunity.”

▪ UNC Asheville reorganized its former Department of Multicultural Affairs into the Dean of Students office.

▪ UNC School of the Arts renamed the former Division of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging to become the Division of Institutional Engagement.

Some schools did not have DEI offices prior to the May policy directive, but still implemented some changes as a result of the new requirements. That includes Fayetteville State University, which did not have an office but employed a Student Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, a position that has now been renamed “Student Engagement and Enrichment Coordinator.”

UNC Greensboro also did not have a DEI office to eliminate.

“From our days as the Woman’s College to today as a minority-serving institution, providing access and excellence has always been at the core of who we are,” UNCG’s report stated. “Thus, UNCG has never had a full-time diversity and inclusion position or office.”

NC Central University established a new Office of Student Development and Support, “which is dedicated to improving four-year graduation rates and, consequently, reducing the average cumulative debt for first-time freshmen and transfer students upon completion of their bachelor’s degrees.”

Board members express concerns

During Wednesday’s committee meeting, board member Woody White suggested universities may not have acted aggressively enough to comply with the policy, compared to the 2019 policy that required diversity positions.

“I don’t see the same level of velocity with the repeal and replace,” he said. “... I don’t think it’s our job to go school to school, report to report, position to position — that’s a chancellor’s job. I do think it’s our job, however, to ensure that the policies are being meaningfully implemented.”

Board member Joel Ford asked Hans to reassure members of the public that the university system would still seek to recruit and retain minority students.

“It was clear to me, but I’m not sure it was clear to the public, that our institutions still have the ability to attract and retain minority students — that all of our institutions are making sure that everyone is welcome and we’re being inclusive,” Ford said.

Hans assured Ford and others that work would continue.

“That remains our obligation under federal law, state law and our moral obligation, as well,” Hans said.

In the Spotlight designates ongoing topics of high interest that are driven by The News & Observer’s focus on accountability reporting.