The University of North Carolina Asheville and all campuses within the UNC System are immediately suspending all general education and major-specific requirements mandating completion of course credits related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, according to a Feb. 5 memo obtained by Asheville Watchdog.
The memo, signed by Andrew Tripp, UNC System senior vice president for legal affairs & general counsel, follows a Jan. 21 executive order from President Donald Trump titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
That order prohibits program requirements related to diversity, equity and inclusion, also known as DEI. UNC risks more than $1.4 billion in federal research funding if it doesn’t comply with the order, Tripp wrote.
“Accordingly, effective immediately, all general education requirements and major-specific requirements mandating completion of course credits related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, or any other topic identified in Section VII of the Equality Policy are suspended,” Tripp wrote in the memo.
On Thursday, UNCA Chancellor Kimberly van Noort sent an email to students and faculty announcing the change.
University of North Carolina Asheville Chancellor Kimberly van Noort // Photo credit: UNCA
“At UNC Asheville, that means immediately suspending existing graduation requirements related to diversity intensive courses,” van Noort wrote. “I want to reassure students, particularly those graduating in May, that the University’s top priority is ensuring that this change does not impede graduation or your academic degree progress.”
Van Noort said the suspension does not prevent students from finishing course work or the teaching of DEI-related courses.
“The System directive does not impair the academic freedom of faculty within the University of North Carolina to pursue teaching, research, and service, or of our students to pursue the coursework of their choosing,” van Noort wrote.
Students enrolled in spring 2025 courses that satisfy a DEI requirement can stay in them or withdraw without penalty, according to van Noort’s email.
“I recognize that such substantial curricular changes during the course of a semester are unprecedented and may be confusing and difficult to navigate,” van Noort stated. “It is my top priority to ensure that all UNC Asheville students have a clear path to graduation, including providing all academic student success resources available to meet program of study requirements.
“Equally,” van Noort wrote, “I want to ensure everyone in our community that we remain steadfastly committed to fostering a culture of belonging, access, and student success.”
According to Tripp’s memo, the executive order directs multiple actions by federal agencies. “Most notably for purposes of higher education, the Jan. 21 EO imposes additional requirements on federal agencies seeking to contract with third parties, including institutions of higher education, as well as those parties’ subcontractors,” Tripp said.
UNC institutions received approximately $1.4 billion in federal research dollars through contracts and grants in the 2023–24 fiscal year, Tripp wrote, making up about 62 percent of all UNC System research funds and 13 percent of the system’s annual budget. Tripp also noted that the system received more than $600 million in federal dollars in the form of student aid and other funding.
“The risk of jeopardizing over $1.4B in critical federal research funding is simply too great to defer action,” Tripp wrote.
“The University of North Carolina leaves its indelible mark on the world through the great work of its doctors, scientists, professors, and researchers tackling seemingly insoluble problems in the fields of science, chemistry, research, and medicine, among others. Indeed, right now – at this very hour – there are thousands of researchers in the University working to improve the health and wellbeing of everyday North Carolinians and people across the globe,” Tripp wrote.
This story will be updated.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Andrew R. Jones is a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email arjones@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 14:16:00
(The Center Square) – Planning and response to Hurricane Helene with early voting already underway has been deemed worthy of an award for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Fifty-three programs from 258 nominations earned the Exemplary Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Efforts award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Additionally, election boards in the counties of Buncombe, Currituck, Durham and Wake won 2024 Clearinghouse Awards, and those in Durham, Rockingham and Union counties earned honorable mention.
Helene killed 107 and caused an estimated $60 billion damage.
The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.
Election Day was six weeks away. The disaster area declared included 25 counties and coordination with the state board; county boards; lawmen on the federal, state and local levels; the state National Guard; the U.S. Postal Service; and information technology professionals on multiple levels.
Voter turnout in the 25 counties was 74.9%, a tick higher than the state average of 72.6%.
“We are extremely proud of the efforts of our state’s election officials and our partners to pull off a successful election under the most trying of circumstances,” said Karen Brinson Bell, the state board’s executive director. “Hundreds of thousands of western North Carolinians were able to vote in the important 2024 election because of state board planning, along with the hard work and resiliency of county election officials and the invaluable assistance of our emergency management and law enforcement partners.”
The award is a different kind of light for the state board.
Between July 22 and Sept. 12, seven lawsuits were filed against the state board of Democrats Alan Hirsch, its chairman, Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen; and Republicans Stacy Eggers and Kevin Lewis; and Bell. More followed the election and are still unresolved along with the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Republican Jefferson Griffin.
SUMMARY: U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, traveled to El Salvador to check on Abrego Garcia, who has been held for over a month at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The Trump administration acknowledged the deportation error. Despite challenges in securing a meeting, Van Hollen met Abrego Garcia and shared an update with his wife. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele mocked the meeting, commenting that Abrego Garcia would remain in custody.
SUMMARY: In Disney’s “Magic of Storytelling” podcast, Thumper discovers a robin’s egg after a storm. He and his four sisters—Trixie, Tessy, Daisy, and Ria—worry about the egg being cold and try to keep it warm with leaves. As they debate the best approach, they decide to find the mama robin for help. Meanwhile, Thumper and Daisy attempt to cheer the egg by singing and dancing. Eventually, the sisters return with a nest just as the mama robin arrives. The egg hatches, bringing joy to the bunnies as they celebrate their teamwork and caring efforts.
Thumper the bunny is hopping along one day and finds a special egg! Soon, he and his family are set out on an adventure to find the egg’s Mama.
