UNC Strikes Deal With Trump Administration To End DEI Programs 

The Trump administration is having a rough go of it right now. President Donald Trump has a historically unpopular approval rating; his decisions have worsened an already unstable economy, and even his staunchest supporters are losing interest. So clearly the move is to *checks notes* strike a deal with the University of North Carolina (UNC) to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. 

I’m glad to see the Trump administration is focusing on issues that impact a wide swath of Americans. 

The New York Times reports that the Trump administration has agreed to end 19 federal investigations into UNC and restore the university’s federal funding. Under the settlement, the university agreed not to include “considerations of racial diversity, preference applicants in admissions based on any protected characteristic,” as well as promising to “not allow or tolerate, and shall actively eliminate, the use of racial proxies as a means of preferring applicants for admission on the basis of race or other protected characteristic.”

Lee H. Roberts, U.N.C.’s chancellor, said in a statement that the settlement “reinforces our commitment to the fair and equal treatment of everyone at Carolina.”

“Higher-ed policies and practices that tolerate antisemitism or favor certain racial groups over others, frustrate our colorblind justice system,” Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s top civil rights official, said in a statement. “The Civil Rights Division commends U.N.C. for its cooperation in meeting its obligations under federal law without the need for litigation; we hope other institutions will take note and do the same.”

The Trump administration has spent much of its second term attacking colleges and universities. Which is really odd when you consider that Trump’s base predominantly consists of white men who’ve never set foot on a university. One of the Trump administration’s first moves after his election was to launch investigations and withhold federal funding from several schools to pressure them into ending their DEI initiatives. 

The Trump administration targeted Northwestern, forcing it to end its DEI programs and pay $75 million to the federal government to restore funding. Brown similarly killed its DEI programs and had to pay out $50 million in grants to restore its federal funding. Columbia likely had the largest settlement with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay $200 million over three years to restore federal funding. 

UNC got off somewhat lucky as the school isn’t required to pay any money to the federal government as part of the settlement. 

While students are relieved that federal funding has been restored, there’s concern about what this means for the big picture. Devin Duncan, the student body president and an ex officio member of the campus board of trustees, said in a Monday night interview that he believed a “fair number of people who are concerned” after the announcement.

“There is legitimate concern about what does this mean?”  Duncan, a junior, told The Times. “Does it open the door to political influence?”

Unfortunately, Devin, I think that door has been kicked wide open. 

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