University of Florida cuts jobs on diversity, inclusion

The University of Florida announced Friday that it had eliminated jobs and halted contracts focused on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to comply with a 2023 state law.

Thirteen full-time positions were eliminated, and administrative appointments were ended for 15 faculty members, officials said.

The $5 million that the state flagship school in Gainesville had allocated for such efforts will be redirected to a faculty recruitment fund, according to a memo from the university’s provost, general counsel and vice president for human resources.

“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,” they wrote.

The move was celebrated by some, including Christopher Rufo, a critic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives who is a trustee at New College of Florida, which fired its top diversity officer last year.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote 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.”

Eighty-one bills attacking diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education have been filed in 23 states since 2023, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Advocates for such programs say they make campuses and workplaces more welcoming, supportive and reflective of society as a whole. Critics say they are divisive and result in expensive bureaucracies.

“The sad thing is that here we have a university system that has a known problem with maintaining both its faculty and student body of color,” said Kenneth Nunn, an emeritus professor of law at the university who retired in January. “They belatedly put a system in place to address some of those questions. And without any information or data about the success of those efforts, the whole enterprise has been dismantled. I think it’s a shame.”

The employees whose positions were cut will receive 12 weeks of pay, per the university memo, and were encouraged to apply for fast-track consideration of open positions at the university.

The memo also said the University of Florida “is — and will always 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.”