North Carolina Schools Under the Microscope on DEI — What Will Legislators Do?

While campus administrators across the country continue to grapple with political protests, some of them violent and destructive, a more positive trend appears to be taking shape at two North Carolina universities with medical schools.

But with policymakers watching, how sincere is it? And how long will it last?

At least on paper, East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina are moving away from the divisive policies of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) culture toward strategies that instead emphasize a candidate’s academic competency and personal readiness for the rigors of medical school and, ultimately, a medical practice.

In the recent past, according to documents Do No Harm obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), East Carolina University had injected DEI ideology into several aspects of its application process. For example, an interview question for applicants included as recently as 2022 was: “Name at least 3 ways in which classmates who differ from you in regard to their cultural, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic background, or sexual orientation could contribute to your development as a future physician.”

Even before the interview process, East Carolina’s screening guidelines in July 2022 gave points for life experiences and obstacles overcome such as discrimination, substance abuse, family violence, homelessness, or “mental issues with clear evidence of healing and recovery,” among other factors. Candidates also gained points for conducting research, demonstrating leadership, teamwork and service to others, as well as clinical experience. Those guidelines gave extra points for applicants who were underrepresented minorities, first-generation college students, and those who had “served minorities or marginalized populations.”

According to additional documents Do No Harm obtained, East Carolina has moved away from DEI. Now, interview questions cover situations involving compassion/empathy, responsibility/reliability, teamwork, and professionalism.

More publicly, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is also taking positive steps. The Board of Trustees in May voted unanimously to redirect $2.3 million that funded DEI programs toward public safety initiatives on campus. “I think that DEI in a lot of people’s minds is divisiveness, exclusion and indoctrination,” trustee Marty Kotis told Chapel Hill-based public radio station WUNC.

Why the shift? For one thing, compliance with the June 2023 Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action in education, based on the work of Students for Fair Admissions at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina, may be contributing to these changes.

Another factor is the potential for legislative efforts to prohibit DEI spending in public higher education. North Carolina would follow a number of other states including competitors Florida and Texas.

Under this microscope, North Carolina’s public university system is actively considering a policy to eliminate DEI system-wide.

The legislature seems content to watch and wait for now. And the public should encourage and embrace the state’s university system moving away from DEI on its own.

But members of the public and policymakers alike should regard any step in that direction with a healthy dose of skepticism unless and until a clear prohibition is codified into state law.