Florida Slashes DEI State-Funded Jobs; Alabama To Follow

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

State-funded diversity, inclusion and equity positions were recently cut at the University of Florida, while DEI programs are poised to be cut at Alabama’s state-funded public schools and universities.

According to news reports, the University of Florida issued a recent memo that said it has slashed all DEI positions, closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer and stopped DEI-focused contracts with external vendors. The university will now use its $5 million DEI funds, allocated for salaries and expenditures, into a retirement fund for the school’s faculty, according to the memo.

Gov. Ron DeSantis applauded the move in a post on social media platform X, saying, “DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.”

He added, “I’m glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit.”

On Jan. 21, DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race, suspended his campaign, and endorsed Trump. His campaign failed to attract massive support, as it encountered “setbacks like mass layoffs and the fallout from producing a social media video that featured a Nazi symbol,” according to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said if state lawmakers pass a bill barring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in Alabama’s state-funded public schools and universities, he would encourage parents of minority student-athletes to select colleges in states “where diversity and inclusion are prioritized.”

Woodfin’s statement refers to the state Senate’s recent approval of a bill that would bar public schools from affirming “a divisive concept,” such as teaching that “slavery and racism are aligned with the founding principles of the United States” and that “fault, blame, or bias should be assigned to members of a race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin.”

The bill would require an Alabama House vote before it can be signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican.

Woodfin said, “Although I’m the biggest Bama fan, I have no problem organizing Black parents and athletes to attend other institutions outside of the state where diversity and inclusion are prioritized. If supporting inclusion becomes illegal in this state, hell, you might as well stand in front of the school door like Governor [George] Wallace.”

About 30 percent of all athletes enrolled at state-funded schools in Alabama are non-white. The state is home to five Football Bowl Subdivision football programs, highlighted by Alabama and Auburn and their combined string of four straight national championships in recent years.