We received our first look last week at the adjustments institutions have made to conform to the updated version of the policy, which was implemented approximately four months after the UNC System Board of Governors abolished the diversity, equity, and inclusion policy for the public university system.
Chancellors of all 17 campuses were expected to report to system president Peter Hans by September 1st, outlining the steps their institutions had made to conform to the new regulations.
Despite demands from reporters, system authorities did not make the reports public until ten days beyond that deadline. Instead, they made the 17 documents available online while the Board of Governors committee deliberated on them on Wednesday, September 11.
I reported last week with my colleague Kyle Ingram about the reports, which revealed wide diversity in changes across campuses. For example:
- UNC-Chapel Hill eliminated the most DEI-related jobs, at 20 positions. The next-most was at UNC Charlotte, which eliminated nine positions.
- Some campuses, including Western Carolina University and UNC Pembroke, eliminated just one or two positions.
- Other campuses, including the UNC School of the Arts, UNC Greensboro and Fayetteville State University, did not eliminate any positions.
- NC State University “realigned” the most positions, at 29, followed by UNC-Chapel Hill at 27. Other campuses reported realigning just a handful of positions.
Andrew Tripp, general counsel for the UNC System, told the Board of Governors last week that some of these differences could be due to the fact that each school is a different size and runs differently.
He said, “The bigger campuses had more work to do.” “More so on the bigger campuses, but there was still a lot of work to be done.”
All together, schools said that the new policy “saved” them more than $17 million. According to the guideline, that money should be put toward programs that help students do well.
Since the start, our goal has been to get back to basics, which means making sure our students do well, Hans told reporters last week. “I think the board wanted to reach this goal by reinvesting that $17 million to help all students, no matter their background or beliefs.”
But there are still a lot of questions about the studies and the changes they describe. And the answers from university leaders haven’t been very helpful so far.
Hello, and welcome to Dean’s List, a collection of college news from The News & Observer and me, Korie Dean. This list covers events in the Triangle and all over North Carolina.
I talk about what UNC System leaders have said so far about changes to DEI, a new inclusive education program at NC State, and other things in this week’s news.
Now let’s begin.
UNC leaders answer questions about DEI changes
It’s possible that the biggest question that still hasn’t been answered is whether any workers lost their jobs or were fired because of the changes.
Some of the jobs that colleges cut were empty when the change happened, which means that no one was fired when the job was cut. That’s what happened at Western Carolina, where the job of chief diversity officer had been open but not filled for more than a year.
But it’s not as clear what will happen to the people who held other jobs that were cut. For example, UNC-Chapel Hill shut down the School of Medicine’s Office of Rural Initiatives and got rid of several jobs in the department, including the director’s post.
The job seems to have been filled before the DEI changes, but it’s not named as a “realigned” job in the university’s report, so it’s not clear what happened to the person who had that job.
UNC Vice Provost Leah Cox, who used to be the university’s chief diversity officer before these changes, was asked last week why the office was closed and what might happen to the people who worked there.
She said, “it doesn’t look like it was closed yet, and some of the programs that you may see in the report may be being reworked, refocused, reallocated in different ways, or moved to different reporting structures.”
If changes like these are being made to the Office of Rural Initiatives, they were not explained in the university’s report.
Others in charge of universities, like Hans, have said that “most” of the employees who lost their jobs because of the strategy were offered new ones on their campuses. However, it’s still not clear how many workers took those jobs and how many were not offered new ones.
Hans said Thursday, “I can’t talk to individuals, and I don’t know that one would be allowed to do so under different employment laws.” He was asked if any employees had been fired. “But most of the people who were directly affected were moved to open positions in student success.”
When asked if he thought more jobs would be cut as campuses continued to apply the new policy, Hans didn’t answer directly. Instead, he told reporters to read the reports from campuses, which he said had “a lot of detail in them.” “As we move forward, the system will continue to operate transparently,” he said.
University leaders have kept saying that diversity is still an important goal for all campuses and the whole system.
“North Carolina is a place where diversity is normal.” The UNC System is a place where diversity is real. It’s a good thing. Hans told the news media, “We celebrate it.” “We are not focusing on it from a single, narrow ideological point of view.” We want to help and welcome things from all walks of life and faiths.
NC State inclusive education program taking applications
Now is the time to apply for the first class of students in NC State’s brand-new inclusive education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Elevate will offer educational qualifications, like certificates, to people with IDD in North Carolina. It will be located in the university’s College of Education. The program is built around five key areas that will help students succeed: schoolwork, getting a job, emotional growth, living on their own, and making friends.
“Elevate is a new chance for young adults with IDD to go to college, keep learning, and look into and find careers that match their interests,” said Tamira White, director of the Elevate program, in a news release.
“They will be able to use the many resources at NC State and in the nearby towns.” We will use cutting-edge technology to give every Elevate student a chance to improve their academic and social lives and get ready for the start of their successful jobs.
You must live in North Carolina, be at least 18 years old, and have been diagnosed with IDD or have been eligible for special education services through an individualized education program (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in order to be eligible for Elevate.
White said, “A great candidate for Elevate is a young person who wants to go to college to learn and grow and who is very driven to work.” “Elevate is going to be a life-changing experience in terms of school, work, and community connections.”
The program will start in the spring semester of 2025 with commuter students. Next fall, there will be choices for students who want to live on campus.
Higher ed news I’m reading
- A UNC-Chapel Hill police captain remains on the force despite multiple accusations of violence toward protesters, The Daily Tar Heel reports.
- Applications and enrollments are soaring at historically Black universities around the country, one year after the end of race-conscious affirmative action, Inside Higher Ed reports.