The Gainesville (Florida) Sun reported the University of Florida announced Friday that it is eliminating all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion employee positions. On X, formerly known as Twitter, Christopher Rufo, a conservative education activist and New College of Florida Board of Trustees member, announced the news of the firings and posted, “The conservative counter-revolution has begun.”
This change, announced through an emailed administrative memo, comes after the Florida Board of Governors labeled expenditures related to DEI programs as prohibited expenditures. Approximately $5 million previously allocated to DEI initiatives will be reallocated into a faculty recruitment fund.
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.
“Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies,” Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. said in a statement.
“These actions today ensure that we will not spend taxpayers’ money supporting DEI and radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society,” he added.
Friday afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis commented on X (formerly Twitter): "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."
The University 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."
Subsection 3 of Regulation 9.016 also bars state schools and their direct-support organizations from using public tax dollars on campus activities that “promote or engage in political or social activism.”
The announcement comes about a week after the College Fix reported UF employs one administrator for every four undergrads, a 12% increase from 10 years ago.
The UK’s Daily Mail reported University Director of Public Affairs Cynthia Roldan confirmed the cut consisted of 13 full-time positions, as well 15 administrative appointments - 28 in total.
“Florida is where DEI goes to die,” wrote Mr. DeSantis, who has been a vocal critic of DEI and related initiatives.
Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, a conservative student movement, called attention to the University of Florida’s move and encouraged other states to take similar actions.
“Conservatives are finally fighting back. Every red state must follow suit as soon as humanly possible. This is the way,” Mr. Kirk wrote in a post on X reported by NDT.com.
Call your state legislator today, tell him or her you want legislation like the Florida Educational Equity Act enacted in your state.
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