Western Carolina closes intercultural office after leaked footage reveals efforts to conceal DEI
Western Carolina University (WCU) shut down its Office of Intercultural Affairs after undercover footage revealed an administrator describing a 'strategy' to 'embed' DEI across the university.
'WCU remains committed to fostering an inclusive environment,' Chancellor Kelli R. Brown stated in a press release.
Western Carolina University (WCU) in Cullowhee, North Carolina, shut down its Office of Intercultural Affairs after undercover footage revealed an administrator describing efforts to embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) across the institution.
On June 10, Accuracy in Media released footage where WCU administrator Karen Price described a “strategy” to “embed” DEI across the university so it could not be dismantled.
Two days later, WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown announced the office closure in a press release.
“Upon review of WCU’s student support functions, I have made the decision to close the Office of Intercultural Affairs (ICA) effective immediately,” Brown wrote in a statement reported by ABC 13.
[RELATED: Another UNC system administrator gets caught on camera defending efforts to protect DEI]
Brown cited the UNC System Policy on “Equality Within the University of North Carolina,” which passed in May 2024, as the basis for her decision.
The policy implements “institutional neutrality” across the UNC System, following a vote by the Board of Governors to dismantle DEI programming and prevent taxpayer-funded support for ideological activism.
The closure also terminated three vacant positions, according to Brown’s message.
“While three vacant ICA positions will be eliminated, WCU remains committed to fostering an inclusive environment,” Brown said in the release, according to ABC 13.
Brown added that “all funding for ICA will be reinvested in campus priorities that support UNC performance metrics.”
Other UNC system schools have taken similar actions.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) closed three DEI offices and said the funds were “reallocated to student success.”
Neither WCU and UNC Charlotte have specified where the repurposed DEI funds are being directed.
Campus Reform also reported that UNC Charlotte fired an administrator after footage revealed similar comments about undermining university policy to preserve DEI.
Campus Reform has contacted Western Carolina University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
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