Tipsheet

University of Florida Fires All DEI Staff

Sarah Arnold
Sarah Arnold  |  March 01, 2024 5:30 PM

The University of Florida is firing all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) related employees as it’s becoming apparent that hiring based on race is not as important as hiring based on qualifications. 

According to a memo released on Friday, University of Florida officials confirmed that the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer has shut down permanently. It also states that all DEI positions and administrative appointments have been eliminated, and DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors have been abandoned. 

In total, 13 positions were terminated, and 15 administrative positions for faculty were halted. 

Conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk called the news “massive,” adding that “Conservatives are finally fighting back. Every red state must follow suit as soon as humanly possible. This is the way.” 

The $5 million that was previously allocated to DEI initiatives will be reallocated into a faculty recruitment fund.

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The decision comes after the Florida State Board of Education approved rules that will prevent colleges from spending money on DEI programs and remove a sociology class from a list of “core” courses, as part of a controversial 2023 law.

In a law signed last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), the state’s Board of Education banned the twelve universities that it oversees from using state or federal dollars for diversity programs and activities. 

The law states that taxpayer money cannot be used for "differential or preferential treatment of individuals, or classifies such individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation." It also bars classroom instruction that "systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”

DeSantis has argued that DEI initiatives create a liberal "orthodoxy" on college campuses. 

“This has basically been used as a veneer to impose an ideological agenda, and that is wrong,” DeSantis said.