UNCW dismantles office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion following Board of Governors mandate
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — It’s the final hour for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UNCW after Chancellor Aswani Volety announced that the university will be dismantling the office on Thursday.
The change comes on the heels of a UNC Board of Governors decision in May that required all colleges in the UNC system to comply by September 1. That decision was met with student protests at campuses across the state, including UNCW.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Christine Reed Davis said staff that currently work in cultural centers like Centro Hispano, the Mohin-Scholz LGBTQIA Center, and the Upperman Center will be provided other employment opportunities.
“UNCW thought very carefully and intentionally about ways to comply with the new policy, while also keeping student success and wellbeing and employment of our staff members into consideration,” Davis said.
Davis added that the centers will now be reorganized under student affairs, and that moving forward, programing will also have to comply with the new system policy.
“The programming we are still looking at and assessing in relation to the new policy and our obligation to comply with institutional neutrality,” Davis explained.
Following Chancellor Volety’s announcement, the state and local NAACP criticized the decision, saying it takes aim at marginalized students. New Hanover County NAACP President Leron Montgomery said the decision reflects a nationwide attack on DEI programs in education.
“This has been an issue with equity and inclusion, and in this time that we live in, we don’t want to go backwards,” Montgomery said. “We want to continue to go forward and let everybody know that they are included.”
While Davis said that cultural centers will remain a safe space for students, Montgomery is not convinced.
“There is still space for all students, there is still space for us to recognize the unique needs of specific identities in student success in belonging and wellbeing,” Davis said.
“I’m not confident that there still will be those spaces. I can’t see how they will be used in the same way if positions are being eliminated,” Montgomery said.
In response to student protests, Davis had this to say:
“I would say that I hear and am open to listening to those concerns, but not complying with the system policy is not an option, so we have done that to the best of our ability,” she said.
