Dive Brief:
- The University of North Carolina Charlotte dissolved its three DEI-related offices — the Office of Diversity and Inclusion; the Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement; and the Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusion — and reassigned 11 workers to comply with a new system-wide policy that bans such offices, the university announced Aug. 8.
- The policy, Equality Within the University of North Carolina, “requires offices and positions at all System institutions to comply with institutional neutrality, refrain from compelling others’ speech and refrain from promoting political or social concepts through training or required beliefs. Specifically, it does not allow any institution in the System to have offices that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion,” according to the announcement. All institutions need to comply with the new policy by Sept. 1.
- UNC Charlotte said it is reviewing its websites and employee training and programming to ensure compliance and could make other adjustments ahead of the deadline. A UNC Charlotte spokesperson said the university did not have anyone available for an interview and directed HR Dive to public resources on the changes.
Dive Insight:
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2023 — which combined complaints targeted at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — held that race-conscious college admissions programs were unconstitutional (Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard). Employment experts said the ruling could chill corporate DEI efforts and limit the pipeline of diverse candidates.
In May 2024, the UNC Board of Governors voted to repeal and replace the Policy on Diversity and Inclusion Within the University of North Carolina with the new neutrality-focused policy.
UNC Charlotte said the policy protects faculty members’ academic freedom and university work focused on student success, such as “mentorship programs for first-generation college students, cohort-based programs that connect students with shared identities to campus resources and each other and networking events.”
UNC’s rollback of its DEI initiatives comes amid a flurry of such initiatives at higher education institutions across the country.
The University of Kentucky eliminated its DEI center Tuesday and banned mandatory diversity training and the use of diversity statements in hiring to get ahead of concerns expressed by conservative lawmakers in the state.
Last October, Wisconsin legislators voted to withhold pay raises awarded to state employees at the Universities of Wisconsin as part of a fight over DEI efforts.