Taxpayers are reportedly paying $20 million per year to support far-left diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the University of Virginia, according to a new report from the Open The Books nonprofit.
The $20 million funds at least 235 employees, some of whom earn up to $587,340 per year, and multiple agencies, including the Equity Center, the Center for Diversity, and the Office of Diversity & Engagement.
“With head counts in the hundreds and spending estimated at $20 million per year, the DEI infrastructure at UVA is funded with the equivalent of nearly 1,000 students paying tuition,” Open the Books CEO Adam Andrzejewski said in a statement
“Those are dollars not spent pursuing excellence within a college major field of study, but instead on radical ideologies and silly notions,” he added.
Holy shlit. Look at how much the DEI staff at UVA makes. Funded by our tax dollars. pic.twitter.com/8EhR1s9SUG
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 6, 2024
The employees include Rachel Spraker, an “equity and inclusion officer” who previously described the Appalachia opioid epidemic as an example of “white toxicity.”
They also include diversity chief Martin Davidson, who earns close to $600,000 a year, including benefits.
“The second most highly compensated DEI executive is Kevin G. McDonald, the vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion and community partnerships, who takes home $401,465, or an estimated $520,000 with benefits,” according to Open The Books.
“When McDonald began in his position in August 2019, he was making $340,000, eligible for a 10-percent bonus every year. His first year, he was given a $25,000 recruitment bonus and up to $30,000 for relocation costs, according to UVA records provided through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act,” the nonprofit notes.
UVA pays $1,100,000 annually for McDonald and Davidson to sow racial division via their positions at the top of the DEI food chain. pic.twitter.com/CXjzsJCNwk
— James Borgstrom (@BorgstromJames) March 6, 2024
The school has for its part cried foul, claiming that the study from Open The Books overestimated both the number of DEI employees and the wages being paid out to them.
“While we haven’t yet seen any detailed information about how this organization’s methodology, it seems to wildly overstate the total number of DEI employees at UVA and, thus, the cost,” spokesperson Brian Coy told The Washington Times.
Andrzejewski for his part has said that’s bull.
“The university can cloak these efforts in seemingly innocuous language, but by now the public is savvy enough to understand the insidious worldview behind DEI and its implications for American civil society,” he said.
You could probably make college more affordable by axing $400k/year DEI positions in universities @UVA @POTUS
— Tiffany Polifko (@tiffany_polifko) March 8, 2024
Keep in mind Open The Book’s calculations reportedly don’t even include faculty positions like the 10 professors in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Department.
The nonprofit’s calculations also don’t include Kimberly Barker, the Librarian for Belonging & Community Engagement at the school’s health sciences library.
As for the DEI department writ large, its purpose is to “assist and monitor all units of the University in their efforts to recruit and retain faculty, staff, and student from historically underrepresented groups and to provide affirmative and supportive environments for work and life.”
The department includes several sub-agencies such as the Equity Center that “works to create mutually beneficial partnerships between UVA and the community that go beyond the standard of ‘first, do no harm’ toward justice and liberation.”
This office reportedly employs 37 traditional employees and 73 student employees.
Students passionate about the work they engaged in during the UVA Equity Center’s three week Starr Hill Pathways Program! pic.twitter.com/viIBJXb8N7
— Daphne Keiser (@drk2f) July 22, 2022
The publication of Open The Book’s report comes days after the University of Florida terminated its entire DEI program in compliance with new regulations signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a staunch Republican.
“To comply with the Florida Board of Governors’ regulation 9.016 on prohibited expenditures, the University of Florida has closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors,” an internal memo reads, according to Fox News.
“Under the direction of UF Human Resources, university employees whose positions were eliminated will receive UF’s standard twelve weeks of pay. These colleagues are allowed and encouraged to apply, between now and Friday, April 19, for expedited consideration for different positions currently posted with the university. UF HR will work to fast-track the interview process and provide an answer on all applications within the twelve-week window,” the memo continues.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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