The University of Virginia’s governing board voted Friday to shut down its office of diversity, equity and inclusion and end all DEI programs at its campuses statewide, citing President Trump’s directives to end practices in education that violate federal civil rights laws.
University President Jim Ryan must report back within 30 days to update the board on the university’s progress in complying with the directive, according to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.
“The Board of Visitors voted for common sense, saying ‘no’ to illegal discrimination and ‘yes’ to merit-based opportunity,” Youngkin said it a statement. “DEI is done at the University of Virginia. We stand for the universal truth that everyone is created equal, and opportunity is at the heart of Virginians’ and Americans’ future.”
The board is overwhelmingly controlled by Youngkin appointees but the vote was unanimous, the Washington Post reported, adding the resolution “allows the university to transfer programs ‘permissible’ by law to other homes.”
Typically that means programs that oversee Title IX, special needs and disabilities services, and veterans affairs.
The resolution covers “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes . . . discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of student, academic and campus life,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding:
This is a major departure for UVA, which has been all-in for DEI. In 2020 the school’s Racial Equity Task Force called for $950 million for racial equity initiatives. By 2021 the school tied for the second largest number of DEI personnel among major universities with 94 and had 6.5 DEI staff for every 100 professors, according to a report by Jay Greene and James Paul of the Heritage Foundation. In March 2024, Open the Books reported UVA was spending $20 million a year for 235 DEI employees.
The UVA faculty won’t be pleased by the board’s decision. In a meeting of the Faculty Senate Executive Council in February, DEI committee chair Eric Ramirez-Weaver said the committee was looking for “workarounds” to preserve race preferences and DEI on campus. The goal was to find “how new recruiting techniques can be done post the Harvard decision,” he said, referring to the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that found preferences in admissions violated the Constitution.
As The College Fix previously reported in October 2024, UVA was accused of violating federal anti-discrimination laws with its “BIPOC Alumni-Student Mentoring Program.”
MORE: University of Virginia paid Ibram Kendi $32,500 for one-hour Q&A
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