As more Republican states clamp down on college diversity efforts, the Alabama legislature is asking state universities to disclose their DEI budgets.

Alabama public four-year colleges spent a total of $16.2 million on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training, staffing and programming in 2022, according to responses to a legislative request obtained by AL.com.

“It is important that we understand the role of these programs, ensure that they have measurable goals and objectives, and are not being duplicated throughout institutions,” education chairmen Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, wrote in a letter to college presidents in February 2023.

But it’s unclear exactly how colleges are expected to define their diversity and inclusion efforts, and to what extent programs may be affected by possible legislation.

The bulk of reported funds supported salaries for about 140 full- and part-time staff working not only in newly formed diversity offices, but across various college departments, as well as federally-mandated disability and anti-discrimination programs, AL.com found. And while some colleges appeared to overreport their spending, others didn’t report anything.

It’s common for the legislature to make budget requests of the institutions the state supports, experts say. But advocates are wary of what these kinds of inquiries could mean for programs that have increasingly been the subject of right-wing criticism.

A recent New York Times investigation found that many of the anti-DEI efforts aimed at college campuses – including a report calling for the defunding of diversity programs at The University of Alabama and Auburn University – can be linked to a small, but widely connected group of conservative activists.

In a statement to AL.com, Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, said anti-DEI legislation would ultimately prevent historically marginalized students from fully engaging in higher education.

Funding inquiries, she added, “along with the political fanfare that accompanies them, advance a false narrative of the power that diversity offices that lead such work actually have.”

“The reality is that diversity work extends beyond a single office,” Granberry Russell said. “This work is essential to extending educational opportunity for all, to providing leadership for a diverse workforce, and to ensuring all members of a campus community are able to fully engage in the research and intellectual inquiry that shape our society. Yet too often the professionals who carry out these vital responsibilities are under-resourced, underfunded and understaffed.”

Can the legislature defund DEI?

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, at least 22 states, including Alabama, have introduced legislation targeting college diversity and inclusion efforts as of July 2023.

Oklahoma, Florida and Texas have now prohibited state funding toward such programs. Other states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, have also introduced bills requiring colleges to track DEI spending.

Similar proposals have failed in Alabama, but could resurface this year. The state’s GOP chapter listed banning DEI offices, trainings and practices like pronoun usage in state colleges as a top priority at its 2023 winter meeting, and Republicans are discussing potential legislation that would ban diversity and inclusion policies in state institutions.

Orr, in an interview with AL.com, said he doesn’t expect to make a similar funding request this year, but will wait to see how lawmakers approach the topic during this year’s legislative session, which begins in February.

“I do know that there’s a lot of conversation about that issue, and I think it’s to be determined how it’ll be addressed,” he said.

According to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, no restrictions have been placed on state support for DEI programming in the past, and typically, it’s up to trustees to decide how colleges spend their money.

But it wouldn’t be impossible to set restrictions in next year’s budget, Orr said.

“That’s probably not the cleanest way to address the issue, but we’ll just have to see where we go in the session,” he said.

A ‘snapshot’

Most of the 12 college respondents told AL.com that they were not contacted by lawmakers after submitting their budgets, and had not made any subsequent changes to their diversity plans. Jacksonville State University and the University of West Alabama did not respond to questions from AL.com.

Orr denied that the funding inquiry was a political move, and said it came from genuine concerns from constituents. He noted that several of the complaints he received had to do with mandated diversity trainings, where, they told him, white people were made to “feel guilty for things they’ve never thought or believed.”

Although several colleges require students and staff to complete trainings and application materials that may touch on diversity-related topics, few listed any penalties for not completing them.

Orr said he has not sat in on any trainings, but that he has had several recent discussions with college presidents and provosts about their broader campus diversity efforts. He declined to give details about those conversations but said he believes some action will be taken based on colleges’ responses.

“I think we got the snapshot that we wanted, which was what are we spending on this? How broad or widespread is it and how many positions do we have in these departments and the resources that we’re putting into this effort,” he said, adding that he believes the issue goes “deeper than the expenditures.”

Auburn University and the University of Alabama’s Tuscaloosa and Birmingham campuses reported the highest DEI budgets, totaling more than $3 million each on personnel, special programs and other general expenses.

Several colleges, however, noted that their diversity work often overlaps with federally-mandated programs, like Title IX and disability services, and programs that ensure the college has appropriate policies in place to meet federal and state laws.

Auburn disclosed salaries for gender and race studies administrators, staff working with veterans and students with intellectual disabilities, and other leadership programs and services for at-risk students. Other colleges listed mentorship programs, marketing initiatives and other efforts to recruit and retain minority students and staff.

At least three Alabama colleges reported less than $15,000 in spending on DEI-related costs. Troy University said they spent zero dollars on any diversity efforts, citing their diverse student body and successful efforts to desegregate social groups.

“We have achieved this record without bowing to the growing trend of appointing an office or administrator dedicated specifically to ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,’” Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. told lawmakers in a March 29 letter. “It is my duty as Chancellor to promote a culture where all are treated fairly. When such a culture thrives, positive results happen naturally. For example, our Greek System was desegregated years ago not through administrative edict, but as a natural result of our culture.”

Growth of DEI staff

Since the passage of the Equal Opportunity in Employment Act in 1972, most colleges have had some kind of department focusing on compliance with federal antidiscrimination laws. Over time, it has become more common for colleges to hire additional staff, at all levels of leadership, to help improve campus diversity.

As of 2016, more than two-thirds of major U.S. universities had a chief diversity officer in place, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. But reports have found that, in recent years, DEI roles have been declining at a much faster rate than other positions, and those who fill them are often underpaid for the work they’re expected to do.

Of Alabama’s respondents, eight colleges hired a cabinet-level officer to oversee DEI efforts, and seven said they had one or more separate offices focused on diversity and inclusion initiatives.

The University of North Alabama reported $325,697 in funding for three staff members and other DEI-related activities, including a mentoring program. That number is relatively low because the college has taken a “decentralized” approach that spreads expectations across multiple departments, UNA President Ken Kitts told AL.com this fall.

“I’ve actually had some very good conversations with lawmakers and I think they understand what we’re trying to do here and how we approach questions relating to diversity,” Kitts said at the time. “They see that we’re doing this the right way and our heart’s in the right place and the goals we have are really goals that everyone should be able to get their arms around.”

“We really don’t have an office populated by half a dozen people who are doing nothing but DEI work,” he added, “and my sense is that that’s the concern that I’ve been hearing out of Montgomery, but that’s really not our world.”