How DEI bill vetoed by Stein is similar to — and different from — UNC System repeal
Happy Tuesday and welcome to Dean’s List, a higher education newsletter from The News & Observer and me, Korie Dean.
Gov. Josh Stein last week vetoed a bill targeting diversity, equity and inclusion in the state’s public universities and community colleges.
Senate Bill 558, “Eliminating ‘DEI’ in Public Higher Ed,” would ban the schools from promoting “discriminatory practices” or “divisive concepts” through campus divisions, employment positions or educational requirements. It would also ban the schools from operating DEI offices.
Many of the bill’s mandates already exist — in practice, at least — under the UNC System’s repeal of DEI, which the Board of Governors approved last year. But there are some key differences.
In this week’s edition, I’ll break down what’s similar, and not, between the legislation and the UNC System’s action from last year, and look ahead to whether the General Assembly has the votes to override Stein’s veto.
Also included:
- A report about a new state law on name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts for college athletes;
- A look at how the “big beautiful bill” will impact North Carolina students who receive Pell Grants;
- Leadership changes at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC A&T State University;
- and more.
Let’s dive in.
Stein vetoes anti-DEI bill for higher ed
First, let’s cover some key differences between the policies in place on DEI and SB 558.
▪ Notably, the bill would extend anti-DEI measures to the state’s community colleges.
The community colleges and public, four-year universities are overseen by different boards — the North Carolina Community College System and the UNC System, respectively. That means that last year’s DEI repeal in the UNC System only applied to universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, the public, residential high school that is part of the university system.
SB 558 explicitly directs the community college board to adopt a policy on DEI and implement the directives outlined in the bill.
▪ SB 558 also specifically and expressly targets DEI.
That’s a major contrast to the UNC System’s policy, which does not explicitly name or target DEI. Instead, the Board of Governors repealed the system’s previous policy on DEI and replaced it with new mandates requiring campuses to uphold equality, nondiscrimination and “institutional neutrality,” among other tenets.
However, legal guidance on the policy released last year did expressly mention DEI, citing it as one example of “content-specific missions, duties, and titles of employing divisions and employee positions” that would be eliminated as campuses worked to implement the policy.
▪ And further, the bill explicitly names a host of concepts that colleges and universities cannot promote.
For example, the bill bans any “discriminatory practice,” with examples including “treating an individual differently solely to advantage or disadvantage that individual as compared to other individuals or groups.” The bill’s list of banned “divisive concepts,” include that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex” and that “a meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist.”
Per the bill, such practices and concepts would be banned from required courses for students, as well as from university offices and jobs.
Still, even with those differences, much of the bill’s mandates already exist — at least in the UNC System.
The UNC System’s “equality policy” resulted in all DEI offices across the 17-campus system closing or significantly restructuring. Additionally, dozens of DEI-related jobs were eliminated or restructured across the system as campuses worked to comply with the new restrictions.
And just months ago, in response to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, the system banned its universities from requiring students to take courses on DEI-related concepts.
Noting the similarities between SB 558 and the policies already in place, Sen. Lisa Grafstein, a Wake County Democrat, in April introduced an amendment to change the bill’s title to “An Act to Do Absolutely Nothing.” The Senate voted to table the measure.
What about the chances of an override? In recent years, the General Assembly has had a Republican supermajority in both chambers, making it almost a certainty that they could override vetoes from the governor. But now, the House is one vote short of the three-fifths majority needed to do so. That means they would need at least one Democrat to vote with them to override Stein’s veto, assuming all 120 members are present.
ICYMI: Catch up on these headlines
There was big news out of UNC-Chapel Hill last week, with the university announcing that athletic director Bubba Cunningham’s contract has been extended — and that there is a new AD-in-waiting.
Steve Newmark, a NASCAR executive who is currently the president of Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing, will start Aug. 15 as executive associate athletic director. In that role, he will focus on revenue sharing, athletes’ name, image and likeness (NIL) and commercial strategies.
Then, next summer, Newmark will become AD as Cunningham becomes a senior adviser to Chancellor Lee Roberts.
The N&O’s Caroline Wills has the full report, including why the university did not hold a public search for the job: UNC AD Bubba Cunningham moving to new role in 2026 when NASCAR exec takes over
In other NIL news, Gov. Stein last week signed a bill that exempts public university athletes’ contracts from state public records law.
The new law applies retroactively to student-athlete NIL contracts in the possession of public universities.
“There’s no real good reason to exempt these from public record statutes,” said local attorney David McKenzie, who previously sued the UNC Board of Trustees for allegedly violating state law on open meetings.
The N&O’s Jadyn Watson-Fisher has the full report on House Bill 378: NC governor signs bill shielding public school NIL contracts from public records
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And in national news, Congress last week approved Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” which included changes to the eligibility criteria for Pell Grants and several other aspects of higher education.
The Senate’s version of the bill, which was approved by the House in the final vote and signed by Trump, stripped out most major cuts to Pell Grants that the House had initially proposed. Now, the bill deems students ineligible for Pell if they already receive other aid that covers the full cost of attendance.
The Charlotte Observer’s Rebecca Noel has more on the local impacts of this issue: Why some NC students could lose college aid with ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Pell Grant cuts
Comings and goings
Catherine Edmonds, who most recently served a year as interim chancellor of Elizabeth City State University, is now interim provost at NC A&T State University.
Edmonds, an NC A&T alumna, previously served as chief of staff at NC Central University. She has also worked for the state Department of Public Instruction and was superintendent for Bertie County Schools and Elizabeth City Pasquotank Public Schools.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Edmonds over the past year at UNC System and Board of Governors meetings,” NC A&T Chancellor James Martin said in a news release. “Her breadth of experience in higher education as well as in public instruction for the state of North Carolina have given her a perspective on university academic processes, instructional needs and education overall that few other professionals possess.”
The historically Black university’s former provost, Tonya Smith-Jackson, left the university to become chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark in New Jersey, effective Aug. 1.
Higher ed news I’m reading
- Many schools the Trump administration has accused of violating Title IX, including Western Carolina University, were following the applicable federal guidance or court orders on the law that were in place at the time of the alleged violations, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
See you next time
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