CHAPEL HILL (October 11, 2024) – Court and governing-board decisions about diversity on campus seem headed a particular way at UNC-Chapel Hill. But the university’s new chancellor says the university still needs to reflect the makeup of North Carolina.
“The university exists in a kind of moral trust with the people of North Carolina. We were founded to reflect the state, and everybody who lives here knows how quickly the state is growing and changing,” Chancellor Lee Roberts says in the accompanying video.
“We have an obligation to reflect that – and not only reflect it on paper, but to ensure that when students from all walks of life get here, they feel as though this is a place where they can flourish and thrive, a place where they belong.”
ROBERTS OUTLINES three ways to make that happen:
• Affordability. Many state residents think Carolina is too expensive, he says. But contrary to the national narrative on escalating college costs, “We have work to do in explaining how affordable a Carolina education can be. Our tuition has been flat for eight years straight. We’ve held the line on fees.”
And the university has strong financial-aid programs. “We give away $200 million a year in financial aid,” Roberts says. “So we need to do a better job telling that story.”
• Outreach: Roberts says he’s bothered by students who might not apply or who are accepted and decide not to come because they don’t think they’ll feel comfortable.
“That’s what we mean by ‘outreach,’ is getting out around the state and making sure that the folks in every corner of the state understand that they can be welcomed at Carolina, that we want them here at Carolina, that Carolina is a place for everybody,” he says.
• Plugging in: Among 4,700 freshmen this fall, some will have 60-70 classmates from their high schools, and some will be the first in several years from their school to attend Carolina.
“Those are very different experiences. Some are coming from four hours away or a long flight away or a continent away. And some went to East Chapel Hill High School. They’re all going to have different experiences when they come on campus. And the important thing is that they all feel as though there’s a way to join the community and plug in,” Roberts says.
UNC has almost 900 student clubs and activities, he says. “So there’s something for everybody, I’m pretty confident, but we need to make sure everyone’s figuring out how to get connected.”
IT’S STILL A NEW GIG for Roberts, so give him a chance.
But given the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year in cases that involved UNC-Chapel Hill and Harvard to forbid consideration of race in admissions and the UNC Board of Governors’ decision in May to repeal the University System’s policy or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the numbers don’t yet match the rhetoric.
In response to the Board of Governors’ directive, UNC-Chapel Hill closed its DEI office, eliminated 20 positions and reassigned 27 positions for a total of $5.4 million in savings that were “redirected.”1
Across the UNC System, the 17 campuses eliminated 59 DEI positions, “realigned” or transferred 131 positions, achieved $17.1 million in savings, but “redirected” $16.3 million of those savings, usually to offices focused on student success or student affairs.2
THOSE 4,700 FRESHMEN who entered UNC-CH this fall are slightly whiter and more Asian than the previous year’s class.
Black students made up 7.8%, compared with 10.5% the previous year – both far short of the 20.5% Black percentage of North Carolina’s population.3 Hispanic students declined from 10.8% to 10.1%.
Asian students increased from 24.8% to 25.8%. And White students increased from 63.7% to 63.8% of the class.4
“UNC administrators have said it’s too soon to draw a conclusion from one year’s data, but if so, that’s some coincidence,” wrote public radio WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson.5
Here’s hoping that the numbers live up to the language.
1 https://www.northcarolina.edu/wp-content/uploads/reports-and-documents/legal/equality-policy-certifications/unc-ch_equality-policy-certification_2024.pdf.
2 https://publicedworks.org/2024/09/does-everyone-feel-welcome-at-unc-schools/.
3 https://linc.osbm.nc.gov/pages/black_nc/?flg=en-us.
4 https://www.wral.com/story/unc-s-incoming-class-is-less-diverse-in-first-year-after-scotus-struck-down-affirmative-action/21610309/.
5 https://www.wfae.org/opinion/2024-09-09/on-affirmative-action-we-seem-determined-to-circle-back-to-the-past.
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