University Of Florida Fires All DEI Employees

The University of Florida announced that it had closed the budget of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program and relieved all of its employees from duty. The move followed a number of promises from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to limit the influence of DEI in state government and public education.

The college system released a statement in which it announced the closure of the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, as well as eliminating DEI positions and appointments and ending similar contracts with non-state vendors.

“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,” said the governor.

The college system would also transfer $5 million in DEI funding to a faculty recruitment fund. The university said in a statement that it was and would be “unwavering in our commitment to universal human dignity. As we educate students by thoughtfully engaging a wide range of ideas and views, we will continue to foster a community of trust and respect for every member of the Gator Nation.”

Florida is where DEI goes to die… https://t.co/1PsGgHE6nP

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) March 1, 2024

The move came a little more than a month after the Florida State Board of Education voted to remove DEI content from public colleges in the state. The measure barred funding for “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.”

Last year, DeSantis signed into law an order barring public DEI funding for the state’s public colleges.

In signing the legislation, DeSantis cited a “recognition that this whole framework has been very intellectually oppressive.”

“People feel like they’re walking on eggshells. … That’s not a healthy environment. They don’t believe that they have the freedom to speak their minds on a lot of these university campuses,” he said.

The governor also signed a bill that prohibited public universities from requiring that students and faculty submit “diversity statements” as part of their admission or hiring processes.