Latest news with #UNCSystem
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Love breaking rules': Red state dean ousted after admitting on hidden cam she was secretly pushing DEI
FIRST ON FOX: Newly released undercover video shows a university administrator in North Carolina boasting about DEI efforts still taking place at the school despite state and federal efforts to roll back the policies, prompting the school to sever ties with that employee. "I mean we probably still do anyway… but you gotta keep it quiet," UNC Asheville Dean of Students Megan Pugh tells an undercover journalist in a video released by Accuracy In Media and exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, after being praised for continuing to do "equity work" at the school. "Keep it on the down low?" the journalist responds, to which Pugh says, "Yeah." "But, I love breaking rules," Pugh then says. 'Bureaucratic And Wasteful': Doge Sniffs Out Eye-popping Spending On Biden Dei Efforts In Key Agency Pugh's comments come a year after the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors voted to essentially ban DEI and focus on "institutional neutrality," Carolina Journal reported. Read On The Fox News App The Accuracy in Media video captures Pugh saying "M'hm" when asked if "breaking rules" is "why y'all kind of spread it out and stuff?" "Well, yes, and no," Pugh clarifies. "Part of it is that, part of it is just because we don't have a dedicated office for it anymore, it's easier to maintain." Pugh continues, "Until more or less they get mad at us, but they haven't done it yet." When asked if the school was "supportive" of the ways DEI is still being implemented, Pugh says, "M'hm" and answers in the affirmative. The undercover investigator asks Pugh about "implicit bias training" and Pugh explains that they haven't taught that since the "spring" because the school administrators have been specifically opposed to that in a way that "I don't enjoy." Red State Treasurer Reveals Why State Financial Officers Have 'Obligation' To Combat Esg, Dei Despite that, Pugh explains her openness and "intention" to implement that sort of training under a "broader banner." "Just maybe being creative," the undercover investigator says. "Yeah, exactly," Pugh, whose profile on the school website uses the pronouns "she/her," responds. In response to a Fox News Digital inquiry about the video, a UNC Asheville spokesperson said the school is "aware of a video in which an employee makes comments implying that the University does not comply with UNC System policies or legal requirements and supports employees disregarding such obligations." "These remarks do not represent the practices of UNC Asheville. The University remains firmly committed to upholding all UNC System policies as well as federal and state laws, both in principle and in practice." The university added that after a "prompt review of the matter" the "individual is no longer employed by the university." "The University will undertake a comprehensive review to reinforce expectations and ensure all employees are aligned with applicable laws and policies." University Doctor Resigns After Unearthed Audio Exposes Him Boasting About Skirting Anti-dei Laws GOP Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, who represents North Carolina's 5th Congressional District, expressed concern about the video in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The UNC System has made a good faith effort to get rid of DEI, but obviously the word has not reached the ears of UNC Asheville's administration," Foxx said. "Dean Pugh is a picture-perfect example of how entrenched this caustic ideology really is within postsecondary education. It's time to clean house at the university level and cast out personnel who believe they can act with blatant impunity." In addition to North Carolina making moves to roll back DEI, which have seemingly been unsuccessful, the Trump administration has made efforts to roll back DEI on the federal level and tell universities that accept federal funding that they must stop promoting the agenda. "It's abundantly clear that the Marxist principles associated with DEI are fully embedded into this university," Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette told Fox News Digital. "Removing one employee is merely the first step toward reform." "Resolving the institutionalized radicalism at UNC-Asheville will require new leadership at the university level and bold reform from the Board of Governors," he continued. Will Hild, executive director of Consumers' Research, told Fox News Digital earlier this year that companies and organizations are working hard to rebrand DEI policies by giving them new names. "It is the exact same toxic nonsense under a new wrapper, and they're just hoping to extend the grift because a lot of these people, I would say most of the people working in DEI, are useless," Hild article source: 'Love breaking rules': Red state dean ousted after admitting on hidden cam she was secretly pushing DEI
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As higher ed faces new pressures, UNC's president and staff leader offer sobering assessments
Nationwide, institutions of higher education are seeing federal funds cut if they fail to abide by directives from the Trump administration. (Photo of UNC-CH by Clayton Henkel/NCNewsline) With weeks left before the spring commencement season gets underway, UNC System President Peter Hans offered the University of North Carolina's Board of Governors a sobering message at last week's meeting. 'I believe higher education has been and remains an enormous source of strength for our state and nation,' Hans said. '[But] the public confidence in higher education nationally has fallen, reflecting a broad trend of weakening trust in institutions of all kinds.' Hans said even with that perception, the system owes it to future generations to fortify North Carolina's critical engines of knowledge, mobility, and culture. 'In the long history of American public life, periods of ease and harmony are the exception, not the rule. We need universities built for all seasons ready to thrive and play their part in the grand American experiment,' Hans advised. But being 'built for all seasons' did not perhaps envision an administration in Washington determined to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education while threatening to strip federal funding from all universities that refused to comply with its mandates. In March, Johns Hopkins University announced plans to slash 2,000 jobs as the Trump administration made deep cuts to international aid programs. Columbia University saw $400 million in grants and contracts cancelled due to the university's alleged 'inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.' Cornell University faces the loss of $1 billion in federal funding. And Raleigh's News & Observer reports 13 research projects at UNC-Chapel Hill were terminated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Without mentioning the institutions now in the crosshairs, Hans told the Board of Governors that to maintain public trust, it was crucial to stay focused on the core educational mission. Hans said by following the university system's strategic plan with a focus on affordability and on-time graduation, the system is seeing improvements in the areas that matter to the state. 'We've also taken steps to minimize distractions in this fraught era, again to the focus. Our early adoption of institutional neutrality has allowed campus leaders to focus on their educational roles instead of constantly chasing the news cycle.' Hans made no mention of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but he did not need to. It's been almost a year since the UNC Board of Governors voted to repeal the system's DEI policy. Legislation that cleared the state Senate last week would further expand restrictions for DEI on North Carolina's college campuses to include the banning of instruction in 'divisive concepts.' 'I'm proud to say the UNC system was ahead of the curve on these critical questions that so many other universities across the country are right now struggling with,' Hans told his colleagues. Moving forward, Hans said the university system will need to avoid overreaching its mission, lower administrative spending, and find ways to operate more efficiently. Standing up to 'strong forces' Shayna Hill, chair of the UNC System Staff Assembly, used her time before Hans and the governors last Thursday to remind them that there should be space to discuss thorny, complex subjects, even when it can be a messy process. 'Sometimes we get passionate and heated. And sometimes what we advocate for doesn't make it into the work that we do. But we always come to the table with a desire to make our institutions better,' she said. But Hill said that 'strong forces' right now collectively give the staff pause. 'Some of us are worried about how we will sustain our research. Some of us are worried if students will still have the same options when it comes to financial aid. Some of us are worried about our funding and staffing levels. Some of us are worried about the rising cost of absolutely everything.' Hill said she was personally distressed by news reports that at least two-thirds of the staff of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, are expected to be laid off. 'I am familiar with the research done to study cancer rates in firefighters as some of this work is done in my own department. This is noble and important research, and I couldn't help but feeling like we were abandoning these brave folks who worked so hard to keep us safe.' It felt like a gut punch. She cried briefly at her desk. Hill reminded the board that UNC staff and faculty fervently believe in their work, even when strong forces seek to disrupt their mission. 'We believe that we can help improve our world through the projects, research and education that takes place in our departments and our institutions. So, when we feel defeated or depressed, we find ways to hold each other up, to elevate each other and to continue to serve the state of North Carolina with love, guts and passion. It is what we are supposed to do.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina professor who waged 'war on DEI' at university touts win
North Carolina State University professor Stephen Porter is celebrating after his university ditched DEI in its strategic plan following his formal complaint. Porter has taught applied statistics and data analysis to graduate students at NC State since 2011. The self-described "populist Republican" has been fighting against DEI policies at the university for the past decade and believes he achieved his first victory in February. "Two weeks ago, I filed a complaint citing four violations of the UNC System's policies on institutional neutrality and the ban on compelled speech. The university has now conceded on three out of four counts—but they're saying as little as possible about it," Porter wrote on his blog. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Porter said he was surprised and thrilled when he learned the university announced it would be making changes, just two weeks after he had filed his complaint. Unc Board Of Governors Votes To Repeal Dei Mandates For North Carolina Public Universities "I wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen. So I was really, really happy with the final outcome," he said. Read On The Fox News App The university announced on February 25 that it had made revisions to the language in its strategic plan and vision and values statements in order to align with the UNC System's equality policy. Porter had filed a complaint to the UNC Board of Governors on February 8 alleging NC State was violating the UNC System policies on institutional neutrality and compelled speech in multiple ways, including in its strategic plan. In 2023, the UNC Board of Governors voted to ban DEI statements and compelled speech from admission, hiring, promotion and tenure practices at 16 public universities. UNC also repealed and replaced its diversity and inclusion policy with an "equality policy," which requires schools to "comply with nondiscrimination laws, comply with institutional neutrality, refrain from compelling others' speech, and refrain from promoting political or social concepts through training or required beliefs." University Of North Carolina Moves To Ban 'Diversity, Equity And Inclusion' Statements In Anti-woke Backlash Porter said these policies "marked a significant victory for intellectual freedom in North Carolina's public universities." Yet he says his university simply moved its DEI measures "underground" rather than actually eliminating them. For example, DEI terms remained in NC State's strategic plan and other strategic plans in various colleges at the university, he said. The university also renamed its DEI office multiple times rather than abolish the office. "To me, it was really insulting when they just renamed the office. It's like, really? That's how you're complying with this?" he remarked. The university should have gotten rid of this office and hired people "who actually believe in equality of opportunity as opposed to equality of outcomes," he added. Porter's complaint to the board cited other alleged violations, such as 4,750 references to "diversity, equity and inclusion" on administrative websites and text on the university's Pride Center website which said that students and faculty members are required to use a student's preferred pronouns. That text has since been removed from the university website. University Of North Carolina Committee Scraps Dei Goals, Roles In Dramatic Policy Shift In Porter's complaint, he asked the board to review these alleged violations and take any necessary corrective action. Although he didn't hear anything back, he was pleasantly surprised to see the university announcement and said it appeared that the university had been "quietly scrubbing" language from some of the websites he flagged in his complaint. "I was astonished I won on the strategic plan," he told Fox News Digital. "That was the one I really cared about. I thought, boy if anything can happen, if we can get this stuff out of the strategic plans, that is just a huge, huge victory." When reached for comment, North Carolina State University referred Fox News Digital to the university's February statement about the changes. The UNC Board of Governors did not respond to a request for comment. The professor's victory comes after he lost a federal civil rights lawsuit against NC State in 2021 in which he alleged retaliation for criticizing DEI and social justice at the university. The university announcement came just two weeks after universities in the state were ordered to drop any mandated diversity, equity and inclusion course credits, in order to comply with President Trump's anti-DEI executive order, Inside Higher Ed reported. Porter told Fox News Digital he was pleased by the Trump administration's actions tackling DEI in education. "I wake up every day eager to read the news," Porter said. "It's been absolutely delightful. A fantasy come true."Original article source: North Carolina professor who waged 'war on DEI' at university touts win
Fox News
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
North Carolina professor who waged 'war on DEI' at university touts win
North Carolina State University professor Stephen Porter is celebrating after his university ditched DEI in its strategic plan following his formal complaint. Porter has taught applied statistics and data analysis to graduate students at NC State since 2011. The self-described "populist Republican" has been fighting against DEI policies at the university for the past decade and believes he achieved his first victory in February. "Two weeks ago, I filed a complaint citing four violations of the UNC System's policies on institutional neutrality and the ban on compelled speech. The university has now conceded on three out of four counts—but they're saying as little as possible about it," Porter wrote on his blog. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Porter said he was surprised and thrilled when he learned the university announced it would be making changes, just two weeks after he had filed his complaint. "I wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen. So I was really, really happy with the final outcome," he said. The university announced on February 25 that it had made revisions to the language in its strategic plan and vision and values statements in order to align with the UNC System's equality policy. Porter had filed a complaint to the UNC Board of Governors on February 8 alleging NC State was violating the UNC System policies on institutional neutrality and compelled speech in multiple ways, including in its strategic plan. In 2023, the UNC Board of Governors voted to ban DEI statements and compelled speech from admission, hiring, promotion and tenure practices at 16 public universities. UNC also repealed and replaced its diversity and inclusion policy with an "equality policy," which requires schools to "comply with nondiscrimination laws, comply with institutional neutrality, refrain from compelling others' speech, and refrain from promoting political or social concepts through training or required beliefs." Porter said these policies "marked a significant victory for intellectual freedom in North Carolina's public universities." Yet he says his university simply moved its DEI measures "underground" rather than actually eliminating them. For example, DEI terms remained in NC State's strategic plan and other strategic plans in various colleges at the university, he said. The university also renamed its DEI office multiple times rather than abolish the office. "To me, it was really insulting when they just renamed the office. It's like, really? That's how you're complying with this?" he remarked. The university should have gotten rid of this office and hired people "who actually believe in equality of opportunity as opposed to equality of outcomes," he added. Porter's complaint to the board cited other alleged violations, such as 4,750 references to "diversity, equity and inclusion" on administrative websites and text on the university's Pride Center website which said that students and faculty members are required to use a student's preferred pronouns. That text has since been removed from the university website. In Porter's complaint, he asked the board to review these alleged violations and take any necessary corrective action. Although he didn't hear anything back, he was pleasantly surprised to see the university announcement and said it appeared that the university had been "quietly scrubbing" language from some of the websites he flagged in his complaint. "I was astonished I won on the strategic plan," he told Fox News Digital. "That was the one I really cared about. I thought, boy if anything can happen, if we can get this stuff out of the strategic plans, that is just a huge, huge victory." When reached for comment, North Carolina State University referred Fox News Digital to the university's February statement about the changes. The UNC Board of Governors did not respond to a request for comment. The professor's victory comes after he lost a federal civil rights lawsuit against NC State in 2021 in which he alleged retaliation for criticizing DEI and social justice at the university. The university announcement came just two weeks after universities in the state were ordered to drop any mandated diversity, equity and inclusion course credits, in order to comply with President Trump's anti-DEI executive order, Inside Higher Ed reported. Porter told Fox News Digital he was pleased by the Trump administration's actions tackling DEI in education. "I wake up every day eager to read the news," Porter said. "It's been absolutely delightful. A fantasy come true."
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UNC system president committed to keeping in-state tuition in reach
More of my interview with Hans (in which he talks about each of the UNC System campuses in the Piedmont Triad: UNC-Greensboro, North Carolina A&T, Winston-Salem State and UNC School of the Arts) is presented below. (WGHP) — You'd be surprised what goes through your head when anchoring live daily newscasts. Sometimes, the stories you read trigger memories of stories you've done over the years or people you've met. This happened to me a little more than two weeks ago. During our 5 p.m. newscast, I read the story of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors naming Kevin Howell the new chancellor of North Carolina State University. The appointment, in and of itself, was history-making: N.C. State's first black chancellor, a 1988 N.C. State graduate who—during his time in Raleigh—served as the university's first Black student body president. After I processed that significance and finished reading the story, I thought, 'Wow, I bet today's been a busy one for Peter Hans.' I had interviewed him a few days before. Hans is the University of North Carolina System president. I knew he—per state law—had to nominate Howell to the UNC Board of Governors from a list of candidates recommended by N.C. State's board of trustees. It would be hard to name a more powerful and influential person when it comes to education in North Carolina than he. Practically everything that has the letter combination 'UNC' in its name falls under his watch. This includes all 17 UNC institutions. All the chancellors answer to him, and he answers to the board of governors whose members are elected by the North Carolina General Assembly. UNC Health, East Carolina Health, PBS North Carolina, the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority, UNC Press, even the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville are UNC 'affiliates' he oversees. Talk about coming a long way from a young man who grew up in a modest family in two small North Carolina towns (At age 8, he moved from Southport south of Wilmington to Hendersonville just south of Asheville when his parents retired.) He would become the first person in his family to graduate college (UNC-Chapel Hill.) 'I do believe (growing up modestly in a small town) has affected my decision making for the better because I haven't lost sight of my 'raisins,'' he told me during that recent interview in the home in Chapel Hill that's been the residence of UNC presidents since 1907. 'I'm in touch with all sorts of folks, family, friends and strangers who related to that experience. As a first-generation college graduate (I know) that as families struggle to make ends meet, we have to keep a UNC System education well within their reach. It has to be accessible, and it has to be high quality.' It's among the main reasons Hans has made it a priority to keep in-state undergraduate tuition at all UNC campuses 'within reach.' The board of governors has now kept that tuition flat the last 9 years, and Hans is determined to keep it that way. There are tangible signs it's paying off. 'Our enrollment is up. Our retention is up. Our graduation (rate) is up,' he told me. Fewer UNC students are borrowing money. 'That's because funding is up. Private support is up. Research is up.' But controlling the amount of money coming in is tough when inflation's done a number on food and housing costs. Plus, you need to pay faculty members competitive salaries to keep them and maintain quality. 'We exercise a great deal of leadership and management in driving down costs where we can so that we're not passing that along to those students and their families,' he said. '(And) when out-of-state students come to North Carolina we're asking them to pay a little more because, of course, it's the sons and daughters of North Carolina, their families have paid for the university. But we want many of those (out-of-state) students to stay in North Carolina and add to the talent pool.' Hans is also aware federal money for education appears to be shrinking. The Trump administration's ordered a 15% cap on National Institutes of Health funding. UNC-Chapel Hill got about $531 million in NIH funding last year. At this writing, this issue is still making its way through the court system, and Hans is watching it closely. 'There are tremendous breakthroughs that come from NIH research,' he told me. '(But) I think at the same time having a conversation about the costs, how it's funded, what it means to American competitiveness, I hope one positive thing might come from this.' Then there are the calls to eliminate the United States Department of Education which—among other things—oversees federal student loans. 'My primary concern at this point is the protection of those student financial aid programs that are housed in the federal department of education,' he said. 'Now I have heard the president and (Education) Secretary (Linda) McMahon express a desire to locate those student financial aid programs in the Federal Department of the Treasury or send some of those existing programs back to the states.' 'Now that (sending programs back to the states) is something we would have to adapt to, but we certainly would. But I want to maintain the ability of students to be able to benefit from programs like Pell Grants.' Needless to say, I couldn't have a conversation about costs with Hans without talking about the fact the institution from which both of us have undergraduate degrees (UNC-Chapel Hill) agreed last year to pay its football coach $50 million over five years. 'Guaranteed for three years!' Hans interrupted as I was asking the question. 'It's a lot of money no matter how you look at it,' he went on to tell me. But Hans argues athletics are crucial parts of the college education experience. I agree. In fact, if you were to ask me to name my top five college experiences, UNC-Chapel winning the national basketball championship in 1982 when I was a student would be at or near the top. That, of course, was before UNC paid its coaches millions upon millions of dollars. But times have changed. Hans points out football and basketball financially support all the more than 25 non-revenue sports at UNC-Chapel Hill. (Think baseball, field hockey, and women soccer.) 'In order to maintain those non-revenue sports, you've got to bring in money. Well how can you bring in money? Well, put people in the stands, get better TV contracts, win games.' Add that to the fact today's best college football and basketball players expect to be paid for their names, images and likenesses, the pressure to pay high-dollar coaches to win games is real and challenging. 'If people say to me 'well, I don't like it and we ought not to do it' that's not an option,' Hans said. 'That horse left the barn many years ago. So you either participate to try to play at a competitive level or you go back to what is essentially intramural sports. And there's nothing wrong with that. But that's not going to be interesting to so many basketball or football fans in North Carolina. They want to see competitive games.' You get the feeling I'm going to be thinking about Peter Hans a lot more while I anchor future newscasts. To read more about the University of North Carolina System, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
