This story was last updated on Sept. 17 to reflect the most up-to-date information for each school.
North Carolina’s 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Math have released reports detailing how they are complying with a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. About half have shuttered DEI offices and 59 DEI-related positions have been eliminated.
In May, the UNC Board of Governors repealed its policy that had previously mandated DEI offices and staff. It’s been replaced with a new directive that enshrines “institutional neutrality” and directs campuses to avoid “political controversies of the day.”
The next month, the UNC System’s legal team sent guidance to universities expanding on this directive. The guidance directs chancellors to significantly rein in DEI jobs and offices on their campuses — and fast. Campuses had to submit a report to UNC President Peter Hans detailing how they’re complying with the new policy by Sept. 1.
DEI on college campuses can mean everything from specific scholarships for minority students, to supports for faculty members of color, to multicultural centers. North Carolina’s policy is the latest example of such activity receiving scrutiny. Supporters of DEI say it's a vital part of ensuring students and faculty members of color, as well as LGBTQ people, feel safe and welcome on college campuses.
In Texas and Florida, which have both banned DEI offices, programming and training at public universities, officials have laid off faculty and staff members. The University of Texas at Austin also ended a scholarship for undocumented students. Already in North Carolina, Duke University — which is a private institution and not subject to the UNC guidance — ended a scholarship for Black students “due to the legal landscape related to race-based considerations in higher education.”
Chancellors are also directed to avoid making public statements or delving into political or social advocacy, according to system guidance.
Here's what universities say they've done:
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University has closed its DEI office. There is no longer a Chief Diversity Officer, and the position has been removed from the Chancellor’s cabinet.
Six positions were eliminated and six were “realigned” to non-DEI roles within the university. This includes the university’s former Chief Diversity Officer, who now works in the academic affairs department and is focused on “faculty and student success.”
The university closed its “Intercultural Student Affairs Office,” which is more colloquially known as its multicultural center. The university replaced it with a “student success and community” center, with a commitment to the “whole student.” The university is also mandating its Women’s Center and LGBTQ+ center staff to take “institutional neutrality training.”
Appalachian State has also taken away dedicated center space for identity-based student organizations. The university used to also have $10,000 of funding specifically for those organizations. It is now being reallocated to general student club funding.
Any student club funding from the university will be limited to supporting “club membership and organizational development.” The university is prohibiting funds to be used for furthering “programmatic content.” Donor-supported scholarships will also have to follow the UNC BOG’s “institutional neutral” policy and the university will review any “gift restrictions.”
The university removed a web page that previously showed the percentage of minority students enrolled, as well as DEI events and news. It was replaced by a resources website.
East Carolina University
ECU has made changes to its DEI office, but they took effect May 1 — before the Board of Governors vote, said spokesperson Jeannine Manning Hutson. All of the university’s personnel-related units are now consolidated under one department: Department for People Operations, Success, and Opportunity, she said.
The university cut four positions and “realigned” 18 to non-DEI roles. None of these changes resulted in layoffs, according to the university.
ECU’s Chief Diversity Officer is now the university’s Chief People Officer. Two other job titles also changed to remove words like diversity, equity, inclusion and affirmative action.
The university has also added a new position, a manager for well-being and engagement programs. This seemingly aligns with a provision in the system’s new policy to redirect DEI spending to student-success initiatives.
The Brody School of Medicine’s Diversity Affairs office has also been dissolved.
East Carolina has “significantly adjusted” funding, programming, and governance of its LGBTQ and Cultural centers. The majority of the centers' programming will now be led and developed by student organizations. Staff that used to lead those centers have been reassigned to the university’s new “Student Engagement” department.
Elizabeth City State University
Elizabeth City State renamed its “Office of Diversity and Inclusion” to the “Office of Student Engagement and Leadership.” The HBCU eliminated two positions – Chief Diversity Officer and DEI Director – and “realigned” three others.
The university also renamed its “Prevention Awareness and Cultural Education Center” to the “Prevention Awareness and Civic Engagement Center.” Instead of focusing on multicultural and DEI initiatives, the center will be “repurposed” as a collaborative space for student organizations.
Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State University never had a DEI office, according to its report to UNC System President Peter Hans.
The university also never had a staff member dedicated to DEI initiatives and therefore didn’t have to eliminate any positions. Any duties required by the UNC BOG’s previous DEI policy were completed by a human resources employee.
Fayetteville State has set up a review process for student organization programs that throw events related to Black, LGBTQ+ and women’s history. The HBCU has also changed the process for approving student organizations.
Any words that reference “diversity and inclusion” are also being removed from the university’s website.
North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina A&T State has closed its Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. The HBCU also eliminated its Chief Diversity Officer position, but didn’t “realign” any roles. It’s unclear if the university has laid anyone off.
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central now has an Office of Student Development and Support, which is focused on improving four-year graduation rates and reducing debt for first-year and transfer students. It will also “promote healthy lifestyles, such as good sleep” and connect students with a “wellness coach,” according to the university’s report. This is replacing the university’s previous Diversity and Inclusion department.
The university eliminated one position – University Diversity Officer – and “realigned” two to non-DEI roles. NC Central’s LGBTA Resource Center coordinator is now a “Student Engagement” coordinator.
North Carolina School of Science & Math
The North Carolina School of Science & Math didn’t have a DEI office and didn’t have to eliminate any positions.
However, the school did change admission criteria for two of its summer programs for underrepresented minority students. The admission criteria was expanded to students from under-resourced communities in the state. The school also changed the job title for the associate director of this program – from STEM Outreach, Equity, and Engagement to STEM Access and Outreach.
The school also revised its MLK Day activity plan. According to the university’s report, it will now have a “larger focus on service” with optional educational sessions for students and employees. It also revised hiring materials and training for hiring committees.
A $15,000 fund that used to be tied to the school’s DEI goals will now go toward student success initiatives.
North Carolina State University
NC State renamed its DEI office twice. First it changed from the “Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity” (OIED) to the “Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity.”
Two weeks later, Provost Warwick Arden announced that he and his team were removing “equity” from the title. It is now just the “Office of Equal Opportunity.”
Arden said in a campus message that the office will solely focus on equal opportunity and “related compliance areas.” It will still be led by Sheri Schwab, who was previously vice provost of the OIED.
Arden and his team have also suspended all DEI-related trainings and ordered for university websites to be changed to comply with the BOG’s policy.
“Trainings that are required by federal or state law or UNC System Board of Governors policy will continue,” Arden said in a campus message.
The school’s four community centers – the African American Cultural Center, the LGBTQ Pride Center, Multicultural Student Affairs, and the Women’s Center – have moved to the university’s student affairs department. Carrie Zelna, who’d been assigned to lead the university’s student success initiatives, will oversee the centers.
The Disability Resource Center moved to the new equal opportunity office.
NC State eliminated eight DEI-related positions and “realigned” 29 positions to non-DEI roles.
UNC-Asheville
UNC Asheville changed its Director of Multicultural Affairs position to Associate Dean of Students. According to Michael Strysick, a spokesperson, the position will be housed within the Dean of Students Office and focus on student education, care and retention.
Carlton Smith, the previous director of multicultural affairs, is leaving UNC Asheville to become a faculty member at UNC Wilmington. Strysick said the search for his replacement will begin soon.
UNC-Chapel Hill
UNC-Chapel Hill has closed six DEI offices. This includes the university and individual departments’ DEI offices.
Half of the shuttered offices were in the School of Medicine, which no longer has Offices of Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement, Rural Initiatives, or Scholastic Enrichment and Equity. The remaining eliminations are from the Schools of Business and Pharmacy.
UNC-Chapel Hill makes up a third of the eliminated positions system-wide, with 20 DEI-related roles cut.
A little over $800,000 of DEI funding will be redirected to existing staff. UNC-Chapel Hill administrators “realigned” 27 positions to non-DEI roles. These new responsibilities include roles in faculty and staff development, admissions, and “collective well-being.”
Several DEI committees across the university’s schools have also ended, this includes the School of Public Health’s “Inclusive Excellence” committee, the School of Dentistry’s “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging” committee, and an “Action Steps for Equity” grants program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The School of Journalism and Media will keep its ABIDE committee, but the university removed “diversity and equity” from the title and replaced it with “dignity and excellence.” “Access, belonging, and inclusion” will remain in the title.
UNC-Chapel Hill also ended a hiring program designed to “recruit faculty from underrepresented groups.” The Valuing Inclusion to Attain Excellence (VITAE) program has changed to the Faculty Collaborative Excellence Program. It is also no longer focused on hiring diverse faculty, but instead to “enhance faculty’s academic and research capabilities through cluster hiring.”
“We will continue to support those faculty members who have already been hired through the VITAE program until those commitments have reached their conclusion,” said Provost Chris Clemens in an email to faculty.
UNC-Charlotte
UNC Charlotte has closed three of its DEI offices: the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement, and the Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusion.
The university eliminated seven full-time positions and “realigned” nine to focus on “student success initiatives.” UNC Charlotte defines this as programming that improves “student graduate rates, degree efficiency, or student mental health.”
All of the offices’ full time employees were relocated to other positions within the university. University spokesperson Buffie Stephens said nobody has been laid off as a result of the reshuffling.
The university cut several DEI-related initiatives including: Cultural and heritage month programs, sexual and gender diversity programs, Intercultural leadership council, and Latinx programming like Dia de Muertos.
There will also no longer be identity-based graduations.
Money “saved” from the university eliminating these programs and graduation celebrations will be used to offset “student union accounts” like Esports and “expanded outdoor event support.”
Departments are no longer allowed to have DEI liaisons, and instead are allowed to appoint “faculty or student success” liaisons, according to an FAQ highlighting UNC Charlotte’s response to the BOG policy.
The university is also instructing any equity or DEI committees to shift their focus to student, staff and faculty wellbeing as opposed to “matters of contemporary political debate or social action.” The committees must also be renamed.
Any identity-based student mentoring, programming and support also must align with student success initiatives.
The university is mandating identity-based training programs to be reviewed to ensure they also comply with the BOG’s new institutional neutrality policy. This includes Safe Zone, a program that the university defines as “an umbrella for all educational Queer programming including the Safe Zone Ally Program and Friendly Peer Training.”
Several of the university’s websites and social media pages will also be updated to remove statements about DEI.
UNC-Greensboro
UNC Greensboro didn’t have a DEI office and didn’t have to eliminate any positions. It did, however, “realign” six positions that were dedicated to DEI-related work.
This includes a fellow that ran the university’s racial equity website, staffed the chancellor’s DEI advisory council and supported DEI-related efforts around campus. The position now has a faculty leadership and training focus.
UNC Greensboro also removed its racial equity webpage. The previous website was a hub for the university’s DEI efforts, including events, diversity education and training resources, and several diversity dashboards.
The university eliminated several DEI-related programs like “House of Privilege” and “Tunnel of Oppression.” These initiatives previously taught students about various forms of oppression and privileges people have because of their identities. The school also eliminated a “Community Dialogue” series that focused on social justice.
UNC Pembroke
UNC Pembroke closed its Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity and eliminated two positions. This includes a DEI director and “American Indian Liaison” who was tasked with improving the “outreach, retention, and graduation rates of American Indian students. The university rerouted money “saved” from eliminating that position to the Southeast American Indian Studies program and a grant program that supports student success efforts.
UNC Pembroke is the only historically American Indian university in the UNC System.
The university’s DEI webpage now requires a password to access. Previously, the website was open to the public and included information about the university’s inclusion and diversity council, American Indian Heritage Center, and implicit bias and accessibility education resources.
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts’ “Division of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging” is now the “Division of Institutional Engagement.” The university has also changed job titles for several of its employees.
Its Vice Provost for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging is now Vice Provost of Institutional Engagement. The university has also removed wording like “community” and “belonging” from its job titles.
UNC School of the Arts is the only university with a former DEI office that didn’t eliminate any positions.
The university will use money “saved” from the “realigned” positions to fund career readiness initiatives, expand study abroad opportunities, and strengthen immigration and visa compliance support for international students.
UNC Wilmington
UNC Wilmington has closed its DEI office. Chancellor Aswani Volety has also eliminated the chief diversity officer position and moved the university’s cultural and identity centers to Student Affairs.
The previous chief diversity officer, Donyell Roseboro, is moving back to the university’s Watson College of Education as a faculty member.
The university’s cultural centers, including for African American, Hispanic, LGBT, and Asian student communities, will keep their physical locations on campus. However, Volety has made changes to their staffing and programming to comply with the new BOG policy.
Several leaders of identity-based centers have new job titles, according to UNC Wilmington’s staff directory and as reported by Port City Daily and WHQR.
The director of the African American Cultural Center is now the associate director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. The LGBTQIA Resource director is the associate director for Budget and Facilities Operations. The interim Asian Heritage Cultural Center director is now a “temporary EHRA employee.” The director of Centro Hispano is the associate director of Pre-college Programs and College Access.
UNC Wilmington also created several new positions to coordinate recruitment, campus life, and student success initiatives. The university also redirected $760,000 from eliminated positions to need-based financial aid.
None of these changes resulted in layoffs, according to the university.
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University hasn’t had a permanent Chief Diversity Office since 2023. A temporary employee filled the role on a contract, which ended last month. No employees have “been separated” from the university as a result of the new system policy, said spokesperson Julia Duvall.
The university eliminated this position and closed its Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs.
Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University didn’t have a DEI office and didn’t have to eliminate any positions. The HBCU has, however, “realigned” six positions. This includes its case manager for “student belonging, wellbeing, and advocacy” whose job title has been renamed to case manager for “health and wellbeing.”
The university will also no longer have an “Advocacy Day.” The August event usually involves students meeting with lawmakers to discuss political positions. Last year, several HBCUs in North Carolina participated. The university said it will instead shift to initiatives that “encourage students to develop their sense of self-agency” in a neutral environment.
The university has also mandated that student groups focus their programming on “student success” and “avoid political or social commentary.”
Winston-Salem State deleted its DEI webpage. Previously, the website had several pages about DEI initiatives at the university, including DEI research, training and a cultural holiday calendar.
Have updates we're missing? Email us: batkinson@wunc.org.
