The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has abolished its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program.
The UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted Monday to cut funding for diversity programs in next year’s budget, approving a change that would divert $2.3 million toward public safety and policing.
The vote to allocate more funding to public safety comes as ongoing pro-Palestinian protests on the UNC campus have resulted in several arrests in recent weeks.
The campus made national news after members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity took it upon themselves to protect the American flag after protesters replaced it with the Palestinian flag.
Budget Committee Vice Chairman Marty Kotis said law enforcement has already been forced to react to the protests, but they need more funding to keep the university “safe from a greater threat.”
The campus made national news after members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity took it upon themselves to protect the American flag during an anti-Israel protest.
The school approved a change that would divert $2.3 million toward public safety and policing
“It’s important to consider the needs of the 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so who might want to disrupt university operations,” Kotis said.
“It takes resources away from others.”
Budget Chairman Dave Boliek said the decision gives the university an “opportunity to lead on this” and get ahead of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ vote on its diversity policy.
Last month, the state board’s University Governance Committee voted to roll back and replace its DEI policy for 17 schools across the state.
The change would alter a 2019 diversity, equity and inclusion regulation that defines the functions of several DEI positions, and would appear to eliminate those jobs if the policy is eliminated.
The full 24-member board is scheduled to vote next week on the policy change. If the amendment is approved, it will take effect immediately.
Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with police after replacing an American flag with a Palestinian flag on April 30 at UNC.
In March, the University of Florida eliminated its chief diversity officer position, eliminating program staff jobs and halting any contracting related to the issue because of a new law passed last year pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In that case, the $5 million that had been earmarked for the DEI program will be diverted to a teacher hiring fund.
A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and on college boards, and officials in about a third of states are now taking some form of action against them.
Republican lawmakers in about two dozen states have introduced bills seeking to restrict DEI initiatives this year. They are countered by Democrats who have sponsored measures supporting DEI in about 20 states.
In total, lawmakers have proposed about 150 bills this year that would restrict or promote DEI efforts, according to an Associated Press analysis.