The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will no longer invest in diversity and inclusion, funds redirected to security after antisemitic protests

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill will dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs after the board of trustees unanimously decided that funds used for those policies should be redirected toward campus safety.

Following a vote Monday, the university board approved a major change to reallocate the $2.3 million the institution spends on DEI programs into funds for university police and public safety.

Board President David Boliek explained that the administration decided to increase funding for university law enforcement after anti-Israel protests reached a fever pitch on campuses across the country. However, he clarified that DEI programs were already under scrutiny before the violent antisemitic demonstrations began.

"It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations. It takes away resources for others,” the vice president of the budget committee, Marty Kotis, also commented.

The board's decision came ahead of a vote on restricting DEI programs planned next week by the UNC Board of Governors, which oversees the state's 17 public universities.

If the entire 24-member board votes to repeal this policy, it would take effect immediately, joining UNC with other major universities nationwide that have already decided to dismantle DEI offices.

Recently, the University of Florida also moved forward on this issue by eliminating the diversity program and using those funds to hire professors, and other institutions have also taken steps to reverse these types of woke policies. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced last week that it would eliminate requests for disclosures from its faculty hiring process.