The University of Florida has fired all of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employees and shut down its DEI office.
The firing of DEI employees at the University of Florida comes in response to a regulatory change from the Florida Board of Governors barring the use of state funding for DEI initiatives.
“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 positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors,” reads an email from the university’s Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, which was posted to X by conservative journalist and activist Chris Rufo.
“The conservative counter-revolution has begun,” Rufo stated alongside a screenshot of the email.
BREAKING: University of Florida has fired all employees related to DEI. The conservative counter-revolution has begun. pic.twitter.com/Lx0IAx0JHD
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 1, 2024
Local reports say that 13 DEI positions were completely eliminated, with another 15 administrative appointments ended for faculty members.
“The Office of the Chief Financial Officer will reallocate the approximately $5 million in funds — previously reported to Tallahassee for DEI expenses, including salaries and expenditures — into a faculty recruitment fund,” the email went on to say.
Governor DeSantis celebrated the move, calling DEI “toxic” and saying it “has no place in our public universities.”
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. https://t.co/oThvwowKu6
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 1, 2024
The firing of the school’s DEI employees and shutting down of the DEI office comes after the state barred the use of state funding towards any effort 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.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis previously signed multiple pieces of legislation prohibiting institutions from spending state or federal funds on DEI efforts.
“This bill prohibits programs, majors, minors, curriculum, and general education core courses that violate Florida law regarding prohibited discrimination or that are based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities,” the Governor’s office remarked after signing one such bill.
DeSantis has also completely overhauled the New College of Florida, a liberal arts college previously known for its ideological bent, appointing Chris Rufo to the Board of Trustees in a decision that the conservative activist called “the opening move in a conservative counter revolution.”