Historically Christian women's college lays off 6% of workforce after years of 'anti-racism initiative'
Staff at Meredith College was informed of the layoffs, which the school blamed on shifting demographic and economic factors.
The news comes after years of an "anti-racism initiative" that brought about changes at the school.
Meredith College, a historically Christian women’s college, has laid off approximately 6% of its staff, citing financial challenges despite years of aggressive diversity and anti-racism programming.
The cuts come as Meredith, like many private institutions, faces enrollment pressures and shifting demographics. Tuition for the 2024–25 academic year stands at $45,630, and a recent fundraising campaign raised over $1.6 million from 2,700 donors.
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“No departments were eliminated, Meredith College public affairs director Melyssa Allen told WRAL-TV. ”Reductions were made strategically in different campus departments. These difficult decisions were made for the good of the college as a whole.”
Allen said Meredith faces “financial pressures as a result of economic and demographic shifts.”
The workforce reduction also follows a years-long campaign focused on racial equity.
In 2020, the college launched a campus-wide “Anti-Racism Initiative” involving campus climate surveys, regular diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) updates, and historical re-evaluations of landmarks on school grounds. That initiative culminated in the 2022 renaming of Joyner Hall, previously named for James Yadkin Joyner, whom the college described as a white supremacist and segregationist.
In an April 6, 2022 announcement, Meredith revealed Joyner Hall would be temporarily renamed Lux Hall. A portrait of Joyner that once held a prominent spot in the building was moved to a remote storage location.
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In that same statement, the college celebrated the “appointment of the College’s first full-time DEI coordinator, additional DEI training for faculty and staff, and reviews and changes to processes and traditions to make them more equitable and inclusive.”
Meredith’s 2024-25 student handbook shows the college still holds positions for DEI officials, including a DEI coordinator and a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Board Chair.