By Dr. Barbara K. Rimer
Professor Emerita and Dean Emerita
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL (April 25, 2024) – I am not a Tar Heel born and bred, as the fight song goes, but I am a Tar Heel through and through. I love UNC-Chapel Hill and the state. For 17 years, I led the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill, again the top public school of public health and #2 overall. The school continues its deep commitment to serve North Carolina through practical research, service and educating some of the best students in the world.

What I learned in my years as dean provides the motive for writing today. To be clear, I write as a former dean and in no way represent my views as those of the school or university. My reason for writing is to ask the UNC Board of Governors to pause their move to end Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) positions on UNC campuses. There is an urgent need for these positions if North Carolina is to remain a leading state with some of the most coveted universities in the world. I respect President Peter Hans and the Board of Governors, but I believe they are on the wrong path. 

On April 17, the Board’s Committee on University Governance voted on a new policy regarding DEI without the presence of many who would have offered different perspectives, including students who were not permitted to attend. As the Daily Tar Heel reported, the committee voted unanimously to refer the new policy to the full BOG for a vote May 23. The new policy, “Equality within the University of North Carolina,” would replace the current one that requires diversity officers on campuses, among other things.

DEI offices are not a threat to the UNC system. They serve as engines of innovation, helping to create tomorrow’s teachers, physicians, future taxpayers, and contributors to the NC economy. The modest investment in DEI infrastructure strengthens us all.

In over a decade of working with people in DEI positions, I found them to be important sources of evidence about DEI who acted on behalf of community, not solely about race, and not advocates for divisiveness.

Board of Governors, please pause the vote regarding the new policy. I applaud your protection of academic freedom in the new guidance, but eliminating DEI positions will have intended and unintended consequences. Such a momentous action requires full and open discussion of all points of view regarding the issues. 

Making our universities places where every student can thrive is one of the hallmarks of UNC campuses and a priority of President Hans. Disallowing DEI positions will make it harder for every student to achieve their potential. It risks causing our schools to lose stature nationally, as appears to be occurring in Florida where a recent survey showed high levels of faculty dissatisfaction, and many reported seeking positions outside the state (including in North Carolina). 

Eliminating DEI will remove the foundational structures for fairness and cause potential students, faculty, and staff to ask whether our state’s universities are the right fit for them. The committee’s action already has caused a ripple of unease across campuses.

When I began as dean, our language focused on equality of opportunity. But the lessons I learned from serving as dean and nearly a decade as a member, then chair of an ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) committee for a Fortune 300 company caused me to shift my thinking and language. 

Equality is not sufficient; our society and universities also should strive for equity.

The highly regarded Annie E. Casey Foundation provides clear definitions for equality and equity:

“Equality requires that everyone receives the same resources and opportunities, regardless of circumstances and despite any inherent advantages or disadvantages that apply to certain groups. Equity, on the other hand, considers the specific needs or circumstances of a person or group and pro¬vides the types of resources need¬ed to be successful.”

“Equality assumes that everybody is operating at the same starting point and will face the same circumstances and challenges. Equity recognizes the shortcomings of this ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and under-stands that different levels of support must be provided to achieve fairness in outcomes.”¹

Interaction Institute for Social Change | Artist: Angus Maguire.

Equality might be fine if the playing field for success was level, but it is not. That is why many social, educational, and government organizations and businesses have recognized the need to focus on equity. Of course, equality is important, and critical pieces of legislation have been passed to grant equality. To optimize the educational experience for all students, equity is critical.

Seeking equity enables educational experiences tailored to the needs of individual students.

For example, some minority and first-generation students need help with study skills and resources to help them afford their education. They should have this, within the guardrails of last year’s Supreme Court decision. Students who are autistic or on-the-spectrum are eligible, within guidelines, to have more time on tests. These students bring many strengths to our universities, and we recognize that by providing special accommodations, they are more likely to graduate.

DEI also includes people with disabilities. Our society recognizes the needs of people in wheelchairs and with mobility issues by requiring sidewalks in certain areas to have ADA-slopes and curb ramps. I welcome these when walking. We all benefit from such innovations to achieve equity.

DEI organizations also address issues of first-generation students, religious differences, veterans’ concerns, particular sexual identities, and many others. Race is important, because major inequities in health, transportation, income, housing, nutrition, and education are due to race and ethnicity injustices from the very beginning of this country.

As I wrote several years ago, numerous studies have shown that inequity among people contributes to ill health through multiple pathways, such as decreased access to health care, poorer nutrition, lower levels of education and income, and increased, well-documented stressors that particularly affect people of color and, in turn, influence behavioral factors such as smoking. Many minority, first-generation and low-income students on UNC campuses come from families that have suffered the ill effects of those backgrounds. But they, too, deserve a chance to thrive. This is an issue of fairness and not of divisiveness. 

Emphasis on equity reflects the reality that some people need extra help to cross the finish line. With a boost, they are just as and sometimes more accomplished than the rest of us.

DEI is meant to offer that boost, not at the expense of other students, but because we are a stronger society when every person can be their best self.

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¹ https://www.aecf.org/blog/equity-vs-equality.