The University of Virginia Board of Visitors passed a resolution dissolving the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Partnerships and requesting an audit of all university policies and program to ensure compliance with Equal Protection Clause of U.S. Constitution.
The resolution explained it was referring to an Executive Order by President Donald Trump entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restorating Merit Based Opportunity”, as also a “Dear Colleague’ letter that cited federal civil rights laws.
The review will include “admissions, hiring, promotions and compensation, financial aid, scholarships, awards and administrative support, housing, graduation ceremonies and other aspects of academic and campus life”.
In the resolution, it is also made clear that the use of proxy names to mask race to circumvent guidelines will not tolerated.
The Board dissolved DEI of the University but allowed “permissible” programs to be transferred to a “new organizational home”. It did not address the quasi independent DEI Offices of College of Arts & Sciences of University or other schools.
The Board told the university president to report back within 30 days about the state of compliance.
The resolution discussion was conducted in closed-door session, even though it dealt with one of the most contentious issues of the day. Cliff Iler, University counsel at the University of California Berkeley told Bacon’s Rebellion he justified the discussion behind closed doors by saying he provided “privileged legal advice.”
