UNC System schools eliminate, realign positions after DEI system cuts

By Sept. 1, all 17 UNC System schools submitted their compliance reports demonstrating adherence to the Equality Within the University of North Carolina policy, a manual delineating the UNC System's "commitment to equality in education and employment."

On Sept. 11 and 12, the UNC Board of Governors released the compliance reports to the public and announced system-wide DEI cuts, declaring $16.2 million in redirected savings and $17.1 million in reported savings. 

Across the UNC System, there were a total of 59 eliminated positions and 131 realigned positions— UNC-Chapel Hill reported the most eliminated positions and N.C. State University reported the most realigned positions. 

All campuses made changes to their job descriptions, admissions of student support centers, employee training and the programmatic content presented to students, Andrew Tripp, the senior vice president and general counsel in the UNC BOG Office of Legal Affairs, said in a BOG meeting on Sept. 11.

At the BOG meeting, Tripp also said Appalachian State University closed its Intercultural Student Affairs Office and opened a new center for student success and community. He said efforts that were geared toward diversity initiatives will now be focused on meeting student enrollment goals. 

Toby Posel, a UNC-CH junior and TransparUNCy organizer, said the initiative to overturn DEI wasn’t a shocking one, but it was disappointing. 

“The felt impacts of those administrative changes are huge,” he said. “It’s the most fundamental parts of your college experience [that are] being debated and changed.” 

After the BOG decision, some students have noticed an increase in self-censorship and fear among faculty, Julian Taylor, a UNC-CH senior and TransparUNCy organizer, said in a text to The Daily Tar Heel. He said students have realized professors feel threatened by the current right-wing influences in the governing boards and administration.

“However, even as the day-to-day experiences remain unclear, the symbolic message has been very explicit,” Taylor said.“Students feel like the administration and the larger structures of university governance simply don’t care about them and don’t represent their values.” 

Kayla Brawley, an N.C. State senior, said she used to participate in protests as a part of her residential community, but those activities have declined due to the recent changes.

"The repealment of DEI and the whole thing about institutional neutrality has made students more scared to speak their mind on campus,” she said.

Brawley also said a key part of her career path in social work involves engaging in anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion. With the repeal, she said the UNC System is essentially saying that DEI is no longer a core tenet in UNC System schools.

Michael King, a student at UNC Charlotte and the founder and president of Open to All UNCC — a space dedicated to queer BIPOC and allies — said walking into UNCC's Office of Leadership & Community Engagement, which used to be the Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement, is disappointing. 

“It lost all of its color,” he said. 

King said it has become harder for some organizations to receive funding with the repeal of the DEI policy. He also said being unable to reach a larger population of students has made recruiting and organizing very difficult. 

“When you’re a marginalized person on these large campuses where it’s predominantly white, it’s hard to find your people,” King said.

From what he observed, he said the newly established office of leadership and engagement accommodates fraternity and sorority life, rather than its initial objective. 

Mana Tangirala, a junior at N.C. State, said N.C. State seems so welcoming to different ideas, thoughts and opinions compared to her rural hometown — but, despite that, discrimination still exists.

While she understands the importance of DEI and believes it is a necessary force, she said she does not see it as effective in reducing larger-scale discrimination and the use of microaggressions on campus. 

“I wasn’t seeing a lot of change happening, but now that it’s no longer here, I’m worried,” Tangirala said. “Was that not even the worst of it? Is there more to come?” 

University writer Sofia Szostczuk contributed reporting to this story.

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