EXCLUSIVE – Virginia leads the nation in having the largest diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy at public universities, according to a new report from the Heritage Foundation.
Heritage Foundation analysts measured the size of DEI bureaucracies at 65 member universities of one of the Power 5 athletic conferences, which include the Big Ten, Pac-12, Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference in 2021.
After measuring staff DEI per 100 faculty members, analysts found that the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University (GMU), and Virginia Tech (VT) placed Old Dominion purple at the top. above deep blue states like California and New York. terms of having the largest DEI bureaucracies.
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University of Virginia, USA. ((Photo by Will Pryce/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images))
GMU has the largest number of DEI professors of the three.
After reviewing GMU’s DEI department, Heritage analysts concluded that their website revealed a “disturbing amount of radical content inappropriate for a taxpayer-funded public university.”
This finding contradicts the GMU’s “center-right reputation,” analysts say. The report uses as an example GMU’s University Life division, which hosts a Black Lives Matter website that recommends donating to or signing petitions for organizations and proposes legislation to “abolish policing.”
Additionally, the website refers users to an article titled “Guide to Becoming an Anti-Racist Activist” which highlights that “these actions are primarily aimed at white people.” Actions include “having difficult conversations with yourself about racism within you.”
GMU college life was not counted in the DEI at GMU total.
GMU’s main “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” website supports “anti-racism,” which it defines as “concrete engagement that intentionally examines systemic levels of oppression and challenges paradigms, ideas, languages and behaviors resulting from white supremacy. “
“The bloated DEI bureaucracies at Virginia’s public universities fail to improve campus climate but seek to articulate and enforce a radical ideological orthodoxy,” Jay Greene, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told FOX News Digital.
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Additionally, Heritage Foundation analysts claimed that DEI departments tend to urge students to “embrace radical left-wing ideologies,” including saying people should be treated differently based on their race.
They add that “ideological indoctrination is completely unacceptable at taxpayer-funded universities, and Virginia lawmakers must abolish the DEI bureaucracy at state-funded schools.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have often been intertwined with concepts from critical race theory in education. (AdobeStock)
“We see the media reporting that DEI is dying in the corporate world, because CEOs understand that it doesn’t work, that it’s un-American, and that in the current redefinition of these words apple pie, they can only have unconstitutional results,” Mike Gonzalez, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation, told FOX News Digital.
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Gonzalez went on to say, “Diversity means quotas, which are unconstitutional according to Bakke, equity means unequal treatment, which is unconstitutional according to the Fourteenth Amendment, and inclusion means language codes, which are unconstitutional because of the first amendment. of DEI also in the academy, and it is gratifying that Ibram X. Kendi must lay off a third of his staff at his anti-racist research center at Boston University. But many colleges and the Biden administration will double down on their efforts.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who takes office in 2022, criticized the DEI saying it “has gone off the rails.” Asked about the Heritage Foundation report, a spokesperson for Youngkin’s office said the governor’s administration is working to “advance equal opportunity” for Virginians.
“Unlike the previous administration that focused on promoting divisive concepts, the Youngkin administration has worked with college and university leaders across the Commonwealth to refocus attention on restoring excellence in education and provide all students with the opportunity to have a world-class experience. Youngkin will continue to promote equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes, for all Virginians,” the spokesperson told FOX News Digital.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin arrives at George Mason University May 18, 2023, in Fairfax, Virginia. Youngkin delivered the commencement address to the university’s Class of 2023. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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The report lists recommendations to combat DEI bureaucracy, such as abolishing DEIs and requiring private universities to comply with anti-discrimination law and the U.S. Constitution.
They also recommend repealing the 2020 state law creating the position of Virginia’s DEI director, which promotes DEI policies through state government and works with university administrators or boards of visitors to encourage greater intellectual diversity on campus.
The DEI mantra has recently come under criticism and been addressed by government officials and higher education institutions.
Last May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law banning all public funding of DEI programs at the state’s universities.
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