University of Florida has fired all of its employees related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), according to conservative activist and CRT expert Christopher Rufo.
“University of Florida has fired all employees related to DEI. The conservative counter-revolution has begun,” Rufo said in a Friday X/Twitter post.
BREAKING: University of Florida has fired all employees related to DEI. The conservative counter-revolution has begun. pic.twitter.com/Lx0IAx0JHD
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 1, 2024
In his post, Rufo included a screenshot of what appears to be an internal email sent from University of Florida officials to faculty and staff.
The email announced that the university is closing its “Office of the Chief Diversity Officer,” eliminating “DEI positions and administrative appointments,” and halting “DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors” in order to comply with the Florida Board of Governance’s regulation regarding prohibited expenditures.
University of Florida officials added that employees whose positions have been eliminated will receive twelve weeks of pay and can apply for a new job at the school in the meantime.
“HR will work to fast-track the interview process and provide an answer on all applications within the twelve-week window,” the email read.
Moreover, “the Office of the Chief Financial Officer will reallocate the approximately $5 million in funds,” previously used for DEI-related expenses, “into a faculty recruitment fund to be administered by the Office of the Provost,” the email added.
The email concluded by reassuring faculty that “the University of Florida is — and always will be — unwavering in our commitment to universal human dignity.”
“As we educate students by thoughtfully engaging a wide range of ideas and views, we will continue to foster a community of trust and respect for every member of the Gator Nation,” the email asserted.
As Breitbart News reported, DEI has been plaguing colleges and universities across the country, prioritizing skin color over merit.
Last week, Florida’s Board of Governors voted to ban state spending on DEI programs across all public universities in the state, defining DEI as “any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification.”
In 2022, Dr. Jordan Peterson announced that he resigned from his tenured position at the University of Toronto, citing the “appalling ideology of diversity, inclusion and equity” that is “demolishing education and business.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.