Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Employees Will No Longer Have a Job at UF

The University of Florida announced Friday that it is eliminating all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion employee positions.

This change, announced through an emailed administrative memo, comes after the Florida Board of Governors labeled expenditures related to DEI programs as prohibited expenditures.

The memo explains that “to comply with the Florida Board of Governor’s regulation 9.016 on prohibited expenditures, the University of Florida has closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors.”

The Board of Governors defines DEI as “any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification.”

The regulation says a state university “may not expend any state or federal funds to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities” that violate section 1000.05 of Florida Statutes, advocate for what it defines as diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in what it defines as political or social activism.

Florida Statute section 1000.05, named the Florida Educational Equity Act, requires equality of access and prohibits discrimination “on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or marital status” against students and employees in the Florida K-20 public education system.

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UF’s Diversity Dashboard recorded that between fall 2012 and fall 2022, nearly half of students enrolled at the university have been white. In 2012, white students represented 56.11% out of 28,102 students and in 2022 they represented 49.80% out of 30,278 students.

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