UVA dissolves central DEI office, says it still ‘highly values diversity’

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) -- The University of Virginia (UVA) has dissolved its central office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), with all of its programs now under review.

On March 7, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued a press release praising the university's Board of Visitors for voting unanimously in favor of a resolution dissolving this central office. He called it a vote for "common sense."

In the aftermath, 8News has been working to better understand exactly which offices and programs this decision impacted.

Per UVA's website, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) was made up of multiple offices that served various functions at the university. This included the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, the Office for DEI and the Center for Community Partnerships.

A UVA spokesperson confirmed to 8News that it's this Division that was dissolved.

What did the Division and its offices do?

"The University’s Division for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Partnerships houses several important functions, including the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, Title IX compliance, the UVA Tribal Liaison, and the University’s Office for Community Partnerships," the spokesperson told 8News in a statement.

The Division's website is still live as of the time of reporting. Through that website, 8News learned more about some of the programming being impacted by this decision.

Families of 3 JMU students killed in crash file wrongful death lawsuits against fraternity

The Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights (EOCR)'s work included handling cases of harassment, retaliation and misconduct, according to its website. It also helped ensure equal opportunity employment, as well as compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Center for Community Partnerships had a focus on being a "good neighbor," according to the university. This included creating a presence in downtown Charlottesville so UVA could "[connect its] community-focused initiatives" and "strengthen its relationship with the broader community."

"[The Center for Community Partnerships] at UVA will serve as both a front door to the University for community members and a collaborative space for UVA’s existing community efforts," the university said.

UVA also lists programming like its UVA Equity Center and its Racial Equity Task Force as related to the division.

What will happen to these programs?

All programs within the Division of DEI will be reviewed by UVA's administration to determine whether or not they are "permissible under state and federal law," according to the spokesperson.

Thrive Virginia to close King and Queen County location in June

The spokesperson provided 8News with the resolution, which elaborates on what the university must do regarding its programming:

• All university programs must comply with the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal civil rights laws.
  • "This includes, but is not limited to, admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic and campus life."
• The university must "ensure there are no efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends."
• The university must "ensure there are no third-party contractors, clearinghouses or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race."

Any programs that are found to be permissible will be transferred to other offices within the university within 30 days of the board's initial decision, which -- per the board's meeting schedule -- was made between March 5 and March 7.

Additional information will be provided by UVA at a later date, according to the spokesperson.

"As the resolution, which was approved unanimously, states, the 'University of Virginia highly values diversity, including diversity of thought and experience, and fosters an inclusive environment, encouraging a culture of opportunity for all' and those values will guide this process going forward," the spokesperson said.

Why was this decision made?

Within the resolution, the university explains that this process began with President Donald Trump's Jan. 21 executive order called "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," which demanded all federal departments and agencies eliminate their DEI policies.

In the order, Trump described DEI and related policies as "illegal," saying they "violate the text of and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws" and "undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system."

‘I didn’t know if he was alive’: Eyewitnesses recount crash involving Richmond principal

In its resolution, UVA said that the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) sent the university a letter on Feb. 14 to "clarify and affirm the nondiscrimination obligations of institutions receiving federal funds." UVA is one such institution. This was followed by a Frequently Asked Questions document on March 1, which UVA said was issued to address any questions raised by the letter and to "facilitate compliance."

As a result, UVA moved to issue this resolution. Its full text is included below.

Given 8News' current understanding of when the resolution was issued, decisions on all impacted programming could be made by April 6. However, the next scheduled meeting of UVA's Board of Visitors is not until early June.

This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.