The University of Florida has fired all staff related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
University officials announced Friday that the school has closed down its “Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors” in order to comply with a regulation banning expenditures for the ideology across Florida’s public universities.
Outgoing DEI-related employees are receiving 12 weeks of pay, and the school is encouraging them to reapply for other positions on an expedited basis. The university’s human resources department said it will “fast-track” the interview process for those severed employees and provide answers to them within the 12 weeks. The $5 million once allocated to DEI is being redistributed to a faculty recruitment fund.
“The University of Florida is – and will always be – unwavering in our commitment to universal human dignity,” the press release announcing the decision stated. “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. The University of Florida is an elite institution because of our incredible faculty who are committed to teaching, discovering, and serving.”
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The Florida Board of Governors passed the anti-DEI regulation late last year after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed Senate Bill 266 in May 2023. The regulation blocks all state and federal funds from being used to “advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism,” as defined by the Boards of Education and Governors.
Florida’s move to ban DEI at public universities comes as other states have made similar plans. Texas, for example, had its ban go into effect on Jan. 1, but as the Washington Examiner reported, many of the DEI-related initiatives and employees were simply housed in other departments while continuing to do the same work.