By Rachel Baldauf
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, one of the most diverse colleges in the South, dissolved its diversity office to comply with a new policy that eliminated diversity and inclusion mandates throughout the UNC System.
As part of the change, UNC Pembroke eliminated two positions: director of student inclusion and diversity and American Indian liaison to the chancellor. In addition, the job titles and responsibilities of two additional roles within the now-defunct Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity have been changed.
The changes were detailed in a recent report that UNC Pembroke sent to UNC President Peter Hans.
The UNC Board of Governors voted in May to repeal the system’s diversity, equity and inclusion policy that was adopted in 2019. Some members of the board said the policy represented a liberal agenda and was unfairly carried out on campuses.
The board then adopted a new policy mandating that universities “ensure equality of all persons & viewpoints,” and schools within the 17-campus system had until Sept. 1 to make changes to comply.
The board’s decision was controversial, with some students and faculty saying the new policy would take resources away from minority students. A petition started by a UNC-Chapel Hill student against the new policy garnered more than 5,000 signatures.
Throughout the system, 59 diversity jobs have been eliminated and 132 have been reassigned, reports show. The changes have redirected more than $17 million in funding.
At UNC Pembroke, $55,450 has been returned to the university’s budget. Nearly $225,000 has been redirected for other purposes such as grants and program funding.
No one at UNC Pembroke will lose their job as a result of the changes, according to the university. The director of student inclusion and diversity accepted another position within the university, and the American Indian liaison to the chancellor job was vacant at the time of its elimination.
Diversity at UNC Pembroke
UNC Pembroke often touts its diversity. The institution was founded in 1887 as Croatan Normal School to train American Indian teachers. From 1939 to 1953, it was the only state-sponsored four-year college for Native Americans in the country.
UNC Pembroke was ranked the most ethnically diverse university in the South by U.S. News & World Report in 2024. About 38% of students are white, 29% are Black, 13% are American Indian and 9% are Hispanic or Latino, according to the university.
Racial tensions on UNC Pembroke’s campus came to a head during a 2020 protest against police brutality following the death of George Floyd who died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. About 150 people who marched through town chanting “Black lives matter’ and “hate has no home here” were met by counter-protesters who threw rocks and bottles at them.
“What happened at this peaceful march, proved that we have a long way to go as a society, but we as a university are committed to making the change starting on our campus,” Chancellor Robin Cummings said in a statement after the protest. “We are committed to supporting our students and promoting the diversity and inclusion that has long made our campus special.”
UNC Pembroke spokesperson Jennifer McCarrel said Monday the university was “unable to arrange any interviews” about recent DEI changes.
In August, McCarrel told the Border Belt Independent the school was working to “identify implications for our campus” ahead of the Sept. 1 deadline.
“We are encouraged that any required changes will align with our commitment to the success of all UNCP students and allow us to maintain a welcoming environment that promotes a sense of belonging for every member of our campus community,” she said in an email.
‘DEI is for everybody’
In an April op-ed in the Carolina Journal, UNC Board of Governors member Woody White called DEI policies a “socially disruptive, deliberate political agenda.”
Protesters who gathered outside the Board of Governors’ meeting on May 23 said repealing the policy would be a step backwards for the university system.
“The Board of Governors’ proposed policies will be disastrous for diversity and equity on our college campuses,” North Carolina State University student Nathaniel Dibble told WUNC at the time. “Those seeking education will be locked out of the institutions that can give it to them. Those of us that are currently in these institutions will have crucial resources taken away from us.”
Sonja Nichols, a UNC Board of Governors member who voted against repealing the original policy, told ABC 11 after the vote that “DEI is for everybody.”
