Florida Slashes DEI State-Funded Jobs; Alabama To Follow

State-funded diversity, inclusion and equity positions were recently cut at the University of Florida, while DEI programs are poised to be cut at Alabama’s state-funded public schools and universities.According to news reports, the University of Florida issued a recent memo that said it has slashed all DEI positions, closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer and stopped DEI-focused contracts with external vendors. The university will now use its $5 million DEI funds, allocated for salaries and expenditures, into a retirement fund for the school’s faculty, according to the memo.Gov. Ron DeSantis applauded the move in a post on social media platform X, saying, “DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.”He added, “I’m glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit.”On Jan. 21, DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race, suspended his campaign, and endorsed Trump.