Following the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees’s policy decision to slash diversity, equity, and inclusion programs earlier this year, campus administrators have reported a combined total of $17.1 million in DEI program cuts, with nearly 60 employee positions eliminated.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has eliminated 20 positions, changed 27 positions, and cut about $5.3 million in funding, according to a report distributed during a Wednesday Committee on University Governance meeting.

The report shows that NC State cut the second-highest amount of DEI initiatives, saving nearly $5 million, eliminating eight positions, and realigning 29 positions. A combined total of 131 positions through the UNC system have been ‘realigned’ to comply with the new policy, and over $16 million have been shifted to different areas.

Focused on maintaining “institutional neutrality,” the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors voted in May to amend Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies on campuses statewide. Campuses were required to lay out spending and job cuts to comply with the new policy.

“We certify that UNC Chapel Hill fully complies with the University’s commitment to institutional neutrality and nondiscrimination required by law and Section 300.8.5 of the UNC Policy Manual,” campus leaders wrote in a submission form to UNC President Peter Hans.

SEE ALSO: UNC System Board of Governors votes to amend DEI policy for ‘institutional neutrality’

UNC-Chapel Hill had previously estimated its DEI spending at around $2.3 million, while the table indicates savings of $5.4 million. The entire Office of Diversity and Inclusion has been eliminated at Chapel Hill. Many positions have been altered such as the Senior Associate Dean for DEI. The new position is called the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Staff Development and the role is focused on creating and supporting professional and leadership development and mentoring opportunities for faculty and staff.

“On its face, it appears that UNC institutions have made a serious effort to comply with the new policy,” commented Jenna Robinson, president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. She added that the cuts seem reasonable, given the Martin Center’s estimate of systemwide DEI expenditures was about $10.7 million.

A detailed report of every UNC school’s DEI cuts can be found here.

Disbanding DEI-centered departments was initiated in an effort to circumvent matters of “contemporary political debate or social action,” as laid out in policy documents. It comes as university campuses have reignited as hotspots for partisan politics and activism, something that has resulted in higher education forfeiting “so much public confidence,” Hans previously said.