Are N.C. Colleges Cutting Their Mandatory DEI Courses?

In February, the UNC System sent a memo regarding one of President Trump’s executive orders, instructing UNC System schools to eliminate “all general education requirements and major-specific requirements mandating completion of course credits related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, or any other topic identified in Section VII of the Equality Policy” (emphasis added). The memo went on to note that the mandatory nature of such courses could “further jeopardize federal funding.” In other words, DEI courses are still permitted so long as they are not required. A month later, the Martin Center is checking in to see: Are UNC System schools complying?

Upon closer inspection, it appears that university claims fail to show the full picture of Chapel Hill’s gen-ed requirements. Several UNC institutions already claim to have no required DEI-related courses. For example, Appalachian State University and Winston-Salem State University have both reported that no changes are necessary to their course catalogs. Meanwhile, other institutions, specifically North Carolina State University, UNC Greensboro, and East Carolina University, admit having some changes to make or are unsure about how to proceed. Still others are not transparent in their public comments.

On February 10, Chancellor Lee Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens released Chapel Hill’s official comment in response to the memo, stating,

This policy does not suspend any current classes, and it does not change any content taught within those classes.

As a result, Carolina will no longer require the “U.S. Diversity” requirement under the Making Connections general education curriculum. This change accelerates an ongoing transition from the old Making Connections to the new IDEAs in Action general education curriculum.

As this reads, Chapel Hill is implying that its only DEI required course(s) fall under the prior general-education curriculum, Making Connections, which is already being phased out and applies only to students who began their undergraduate education prior to the fall of 2022. The institution introduced a new general-education program, IDEAs in Action, starting in 2023.

The Faculty Executive Committee defends the new curriculum, stating decisively, “We believe that the IDEAs in Action curriculum is unaffected by the February 5 memo,” since “no student is required to take a course in DEI.” Roberts confirmed the university’s position in a Q&A released by University News, saying, “We believe that we are broadly in compliance already.”

Upon closer inspection, however, it appears that these claims fail to show the full picture of UNC-CH’s gen-ed requirements. The IDEAs in Action program contains nine “focus capacities” from which students are required to take one class each. Below is a list of all nine.

Number seven, “Power, Difference, and Inequality,” is particularly suspicious. Indeed, its stated purpose is to “explore inequalities in access to power among different social groups” and to “interrogate the systemic processes by which forms of inequality are sustained”—words that would make any DEI lover’s heart sing. While, as the faculty stated, not all of the courses within this “capacity” are required (students having only to pick one), a scroll through the over 400 courses makes clear that avoiding DEI politicization is nearly impossible.

Here are a few classes from which students can choose:

AAAD 58. First-Year Seminar: Health Inequality in Africa and the African Diaspora. 3 Credits.

This first-year seminar examines the ways that healthcare access and health itself are shaped by social, racial, and economic inequalities in our society and others. The geographic focus of this course is Africa and the United States. Drawing on research in medical anthropology, sociology, public health, and history, we will gain an understanding of the political, economic, and social factors that create health inequalities.

AAAD 257. Black Nationalism in the United States. 3 Credits.

This course traces the evolution of black nationalism, both as an idea and a movement, from the era of the American Revolution to its current Afrocentric expressions.

AAAD 260. Blackness in Latin America. 3 Credits.

The majority of people of African descent in this hemisphere live in Latin America. This course will explore how blackness is understood and reproduced in Latin America, as well as Black history, cultures, experiences, and social movements in the region.

AAAD 333. Race and Public Policy in the United States. 3 Credits.

Exploration of the relationship between race and public policy in the U.S. Primary focus on African Americans, but other racial groups also studied. Key areas include reproductive justice, health care, employment, labor, welfare, education, housing, environmental justice, policing, criminalization, foreign policy, immigration, and war.

AAAD 491. Class, Race, and Inequality in America. 3 Credits.

Examines the origins of race in America, the relationship of racial oppression to class struggle at key points in American history, the proliferation of versions of the concept of privilege, and approaches to eliminating class and racial privilege.

AMST 75. First-Year Seminar: Food and the Media. 3 Credits.

This course examines how food representations establish, reproduce, and also counter cultural and social assumptions about individuals and communities. We will consider the impact of the history of advertising in America on our national food habits and practices, the issue of authenticity in food and its intersection with the American immigrant food experience, the complicated gender politics of resistance baking movements, and the literary voices that shape ideas about American food politics and ethics.

AMST 248. Intersectionality: Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Justice. 3 Credits.

The first goal of this super course is to give students real tools for how to address multiple modes of difference and identity formations like race, gender, class, and sexuality.

ANTH 302. Language and Power. 3 Credits.

This course provides an overview of language and power studies. Issues: sexist and sex-neutral language; languages of subcultures defined by gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity; hate speech; “politically correct” language.

CHIN 480. Queering China. 3 Credits.

This course explores “queer” expressions in Chinese literature and visual culture from 1949 through the twenty-first century. It surveys a combination of all-time classics and lesser-known cultural texts featuring non-heteronormative sexual desire and gender-bending performance. We mobilize queer as a broad site of critique beyond Western models of the concept, asking not only how queer challenges normative bodyminds, but also how it negotiates notions of age, family, race, and the neoliberal order.

COMM 318. Cultural Diversity. 3 Credits.

Introduction to basic paradigms of thinking about cultural difference, encouraging students to examine how these paradigms shape how we think, act, and imagine ourselves/others as members of diverse cultures.

ECON 486. Gender and Economics. 3 Credits.

This course uses basic microeconomic theory and recent empirical studies to examine the causes and consequences of gender differences in economic outcomes. Topics covered may include family formation and dissolution, fertility decisions, human capital investment, labor force participation, the gender earnings gap, and occupational choice.

EDUC 375. Identity and Sexuality. 3 Credits.

This course will guide students in the examination of the vital role that sexuality, sexual identity, gender, race and class play in families, communities, and educational settings. These and other socio-cultural factors, which often intersect and are embedded in historic ways of constructing what it means to be “normal,” fundamentally shape how individuals understand themselves, their place in the world, as well as others around them.

EDUC 533. Social Justice in Education. 3 Credits.

Course examines how education can help create more fair and just societies, ultimately contributing to high performing educational systems internationally. Students explore multiple perspectives on social justice; examine efforts at local, state, national, and global levels; and learn to articulate efforts in classrooms and schools with wider community initiatives.

ENGL 129. Literature and Cultural Diversity. 3 Credits.

Fulfills a major core requirement. Studies in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, Native American, Anglo-Indian, Caribbean, gay-lesbian, and other literatures written in English. Honors version available.

ENGL 140. Introduction to Gay and Lesbian Culture and Literature. 3 Credits.

Introduces students to concepts in queer theory and recent sexuality studies. Topics include queer lit, AIDS, race and sexuality, representations of gays and lesbians in the media, political activism/literature.

ENGL 244. Queer Cinema. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on gender and sexuality by examining the history, theory, politics, and aesthetics of queer identities in film and possibly other audiovisual media. Questions of representation, authorship, genre, and performance are addressed, either in national or transnational contexts.

GEOG 124. Feminist Geographies. 3 Credits.

This course explores the relationship between gender and place and introduces feminist approaches to key geographical concepts. We will study how places that we live in shape our gender identities and how gender relations affect our worlds. Topics include bodies, home, city, migration, development, nationalism, and war.

GLBL 383. Global Whiteness. 3 Credits.

This course looks at race as a theory and practice as it has been constructed in academic disciplines, popular culture, and social struggle.

HIST 236. Sex and American History. 3 Credits.

Does sex have a history? This course argues that it does. Exploring American history from the earliest encounters of Indians, Europeans, and Africans through the aftermath of the sexual revolution, we will consider diverse perspectives, important dynamics of change, and surprising ways in which the past informs our present–and our selves.

PLCY 365. Sexuality, Gender, and Public Policy. 3 Credits.

Public policies affect men and women differently, and they participate differently in the policy-making process. This course examines several key areas of public policy, some expressly related to gender or sexuality and others that have significantly gendered impacts, organized around four themes: family, labor, body, and the world.

The UNC System’s memo was clear that “DEI requirements of the same substance, but identified by a different name” are included in the directive. Avoiding naming this section “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” and instead choosing “Power, Difference, and Inequality” doesn’t change the fact that it’s a poorly disguised DEI requirement. Again, although students are able to choose from a wide selection of courses to meet this requirement, it would be challenging and perhaps impossible to avoid the DEI narrative most courses seem to include. It would appear that Chapel Hill administrators are trying to appease the faculty by leaving such a component in the general-education program, but the UNC System will have the final say regarding the school’s compliance.

Of course, the memo will impact not only general-education programs but also majors with required DEI courses. One example comes here, too, from UNC-Chapel Hill, the “Human and Organizational Leadership Development Major, B.A.,” which contains the following required course:

EDUC 508. Equity, Leadership, and You. 3 Credits.

This course was developed to confront and address questions of global cultural competence and self-critique. Culturally competent leaders work to understand their own biases and patterns of discrimination.

Similarly, NCSU offers a “Middle Grades Education (BS): English Language Arts and Social Studies Concentration” major with this course required:

ECI 305 Equity and Education (3 credit hours)

This course examines the intersection of diversity, inclusivity, equity, and P-16 education; specifically by considering multiple identity markers such as: gender, sexuality, race, socioeconomic status, ability, and all aspects of culture. This interdisciplinary course uses a sociological lens to examine educational materials, research studies, memoirs, and media to explore the following essential questions: In what ways do students’ cultural identities impact their experiences in schools?; How are social inequalities perpetuated by and within the educational system?; What types of individual and systemic practices can help disrupt the marginalization of students in P-16 schools? How can schools celebrate and sustain students’ cultural identities?

These are just two of many required courses across the system that should no longer be required.

Additionally, it seems that several schools are taking this time to remove references to DEI from their websites. NCSU has made changes to its strategic plan and mission statement, while ECU has reportedly made changes to department statements. Wade Maki, chair of the UNC System Faculty Assembly, said that such practices are taking place “all over the system … and it’s happening very quickly, and generally pretty quietly.”

At the very least, universities should prioritize transparency during this process. Although some schools and faculty may have feelings of opposition toward ending DEI requirements, this is a change the Martin Center has supported for many years. There is certainly room for discussing difficult topics such as slavery and racial hatred in academic courses. However, requiring all students to take courses with topics including “preferred pronouns,” “social justice,” and “gender identity,” to name a few, isn’t necessary to meet the ultimate goal of higher education: gaining a quality education and being prepared for the workforce.

It will be interesting to see how the UNC System moves forward with determining compliance with the memo at each constituent institution. At the very least, universities should prioritize transparency during this process.

Ashlynn Warta is the North Carolina reporter for the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.