All general education and major-specific course requirements related to diversity, equity and inclusion taught at UNC System schools are suspended, according to a memo sent to system chancellors on Wednesday.
This change is in compliance with President Donald Trump’s Jan. 21 executive order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which requires the removal of DEI policies within executive departments and agencies.
According to the System memo, mandatory curricular and program requirements on topics listed in the UNC Policy Manual will also be prohibited. These topics include the idea that one race or sex is better than another, that people of certain races and sexes or certain institutions are inherently oppressed or oppressive and that race or sex is related to a person’s moral character.
The UNC System could risk losing federal funding for research, which makes up 13 percent of the System’s annual budget, if it doesn’t comply with Trump’s directive, according to the memo written by UNC System Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs & General Counsel Andrew Tripp.
“Even though some form of additional federal guidance is expected, and the law in this area remains unsettled, the risk of jeopardizing over $1.4B in critical federal research funding is simply too great to defer action,” Tripp wrote in the memo.
Within 120 days of the executive order, the Attorney General and Secretary of Education are expected to provide UNC and other institutions with additional details surrounding compliance.
The System’s adoption of a new Equality Policy in May 2024 largely aligned the University with the executive order. However, there was no policy in place regarding the teaching of DEI topics in general education and major-specific course requirements.
All students enrolled in a DEI-related course this semester can choose to stay in that class or withdraw without penalty, according to the UNC System memo.
"Such withdrawal shall be deemed a course withdrawal with extenuating circumstances under section 400.1.5 of the UNC Policy Manual, 'Regulation Related to Fostering Undergraduate Student Success,'" the memo said.