FL public universities spend DEI millions on bureacrats, woke classes, 'racial and gender report cards': report

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently required public universities to report their resources and expenditures on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as well as those related to critical race theory (CRT), by January 13. Now the data are coming in, with the Board of Governors submitting a combined DEI report to the Governor’s Office.

UF, according to the report, spent over $5 million on such initiatives, including 10 DEI-related courses, such as “Art Appreciation: American Diversity and Global Arts,” “Introduction to Health Disparities,” and “Social Science Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality.”

UF’s greatest expense, however, was for roles in the Office of the Chief of Diversity Officer, costing the Gainesville university over $1 million. The Chief of Diversity Officer develops “inclusive excellence” strategies, and “ensure[s] that inclusion and a sense of belonging are realized for all members of the Gator Nation.”

[RELATED: PROF. JENKINS: DeSantis makes Florida where DEI goes to d-i-e]

The University of Central Florida (UCF) spent around $4.5 million on DEI and CRT programs. Included in this cost were eight courses with diversity and inclusion components, such as “Gender Issues in Communication,” “Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice”, “Third Wave Feminism”, and “Intro to Diversity for Educators.”

Expenses at UCF also included $150,000 towards the school’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), which provides “annual racial and gender report cards” and weekly summaries “of all news articles regarding Sexuality in Sport both domestically and internationally.” Additionally, UCF spent $400,000 on a “Faculty Recruitment Program” to hire “underrepresented groups.”

Florida A&M University’s most costly DEI program, coming at over $1.7 million, was their Center for Environmental Equity and Justice, which aims to create awareness of how minority communities are “disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards,” and “assists, trains, and educates people about environmental justice.” 

Other state-funded Florida universities in the report followed this pattern, spending large sums on courses, centers, organizations, and a variety of other initiatives oriented around DEI and CRT.

Florida’s Deputy Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern explained to Campus Reform that “[t]he governor, as chief executive of the state, has every right to ask how public dollars are being spent by public state entities, like state colleges and universities. In fact, that is good government.”

[RELATED: ANALYSIS: DEI leaves students unequipped for workforce, companies step in]

When asked for comment by Campus Reform, UF student Randol Recio expressed that “the incredible amount of money being put into [DEI and CRT initiatives] could be much better spent in providing students with 24 hour libraries, providing better food quality in dining halls or in finishing the tons of projects they have closing streets on campus.”

“While it is important for people to be informed on diversity and inclusiveness,” he continued, “there are times where I feel some of these classes create separation and animosity between students of different races or ethnicities.”

Gretys Améngual, a mother of two university students in Florida, expressed her concerns over the report results. 

She said that her “tax dollars could be used for the benefit of so many students who have financial needs to go to school.” Instead, according to Améngual, her taxes have been “misused and wasted on these corrupted groups and institutions.”

Campus Reform contacted all relevant parties and will update accordingly. 

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