University professors condemn UVA’s decision to dissolve central DEI office

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia professors have condemned the University of Virginia's (UVA) decision to dissolve its central office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and are asking for its Board of Visitors to reverse course. They are also alleging that UVA violated not only its own policies, but state law.

On March 7, UVA's Board of Visitors voted unanimously to dissolve its Division of DEI and other related offices. This included offices that dealt with harassment and retaliation claims, community outreach, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and more.

Within 30 days of that initial decision, the university is to review all programming and move any that are "permissible under state and federal law" to other departments.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued a press release praising this move, calling it a vote for "common sense" and stating that "DEI is done at the University of Virginia."

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The Board of Visitors said it was doing this in response to a Jan. 21 executive order by President Donald Trump -- which demanded federal departments and agencies end DEI policies -- as well as a subsequent letter from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) that “clarif[ied] and affirm[ed] the nondiscrimination obligations of institutions receiving federal funds.” UVA is a federally funded institution.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is a national nonprofit organization made up of university professors. According to its website, its purpose is to "define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, advance the rights of academics -- particularly as those rights pertain to academic freedom and shared governance -- and promote the interests of higher education teaching and research."

The UVA chapter of the AAUP (AAUP-UVA) and the related Virginia chapter (VA-AAUP) issued a response to UVA's decision. Within its statement, the UVA chapter said it condemned the board's move, saying it was "an act of ideologically motivated anticipatory obedience."

"[Trump's executive order] and the February 14, 2025 'Dear Colleague' letter from the U.S. Department of Education [do] not have the force of law, is currently being challenged in federal courts and has been enjoined to be halted through subsequent litigation in the courts," the AAUP-UVA said.

Such a response from UVA is something that the chapter claimed has been influenced by outside political forces -- including Youngkin.

MORE: University of Virginia moves to dissolve DEI office, earning Youngkin’s praise

"Political interference in U.S. higher education has reached an alarming level and this action by the UVA Board of Visitors comes in the context of recent political interference by the Governor of Virginia undermining academic freedom related to the curriculum at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and in the context of political crackdowns of free speech at Virginia’s universities during Spring 2024," the AAUP-UVA said. "Such actions have a chilling effect on academic freedom at Virginia’s universities, including UVA."

In addition to disagreeing with UVA's actions on a more fundamental level, the VA-AAUP also accused the Board of Visitors of violating its own policies and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

According to the VA-AAUP, the Board of Visitors violated its public notice requirements, which "[mandate] that written notice of agenda items be posted publicly at least seven calendar days before a meeting."

March 5 through 7 meeting documents on the Board of Visitors' website do not appear to include any reference to its DEI-related resolution as of the time of reporting.

The chapter went on to state that a FOIA violation occurred when the Board of Visitors did not provide all agenda packets and materials to the public at the same time they were provided to the board.

This "circumvent[ed] the spirit of transparency and open governance," the VA-AAUP said, "leading to the passage of [the resolution] under a cloud of secrecy and suspicion."

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In a formal resolution of its own on March 12, the Virginia chapter formally condemned the Board of Visitors for its "blatant violations of public notice and transparency requirements, its failure to engage in open and democratic governance and its complicity in advancing a political agenda that undermines the core values of higher education."

The chapter added that it also condemns Youngkin and his administration for "their continued efforts to erode diversity, equity, and inclusion in Virginia’s public institutions, thereby threatening academic freedom, faculty governance and the ability of Virginia’s universities and colleges to serve all members of their campus communities."

“Does the Board of Visitors want to wind back the clock to a time when racism, sexism, and homophobia went unchallenged at UVA, and when the benefits of a UVA education were only available to a privileged few?” said VA-AAUP President Timothy Gibson in a press release

VA-AAUP formally requested that UVA walk back its vote to dissolve the Division of DEI.

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“For over 50 years, the American Association of University Professors has stated unequivocally that the intellectual rigor, depth, and quality of American universities and colleges depends upon our social, economic and cultural diversity,” Gibson said. “We were shocked and appalled at the BOV’s decision to eliminate the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Virginia, and we call on the Board to immediately reverse course and rescind this harmful resolution.”

The VA-AAUP's statement and resolution formally condemning UVA are included below.

Given 8News’ current understanding of when the resolution was issued, decisions on all impacted programming could be made by April 6 -- assuming that UVA does not rescind its vote.

The next scheduled meeting of UVA’s Board of Visitors is not until early June.