To comply with Florida law, the University of Florida has terminated all of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) positions.
In a memo sent out Friday, the university announced that it would be doing away with its DEI office, eliminating all DEI positions, administrative appointments, and DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors.
According to the memo, employees will receive 12 weeks of pay and are encouraged to apply for other positions available at the university with “expedited consideration.”
The destruction of DEI at the university affected 13 positions and resulted in the cancellation of 15 administrative appointments for faculty.
Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed an executive order banning public colleges from using taxpayers’ money to pay for DEI incentives, which affected 28 colleges.
After the news broke, several politicians and educators were quick to share their thoughts about the decision.
“I am stunned but not surprised at the elimination of DEI staff at the University of Florida, my Alma Matter,” said state Rep. Yvonne Hinson. “The culture wars engaged in the Republican-dominated Florida House of Representatives will continue until Floridians have had enough and develop the will and determination to flip the majority in the Florida House.”
DeSantis decided to celebrate the news by posting on social media, calling DEI “toxic.”
DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.
I’m glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit. https://t.co/oThvwowKu6
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 1, 2024
“Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies,” Florida’s commissioner of education, Manny Diaz Jr, said. The actions, he added, would ensure taxpayer money won’t be spent on DEI and “radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society.”
Last summer, the university was in hot water after getting caught underreporting its DEI incentives in its filing. It reported having 30 when in reality it had over 1,000.
The discovery was made by Christopher Rufo, a DeSantis education appointee.
“But I’ve discovered through these bombshell documents that they, in fact, had more than 1,000 separate DEI programs embedded in every facet of the university’s programs and administration,” he said last year.
The $5 million that the university put into DEI will now go towards a faculty retirement fund.
