by James A. Bacon
Back in March, Adam Andrzejewski and his team at Open the Books, a non-profit dedicated to transparency in government spending, concluded that the University of Virginia is spending $20 million in payroll for 235 employees (including student interns) on work relating to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Describing Andrzejewski’s numbers as “wildly inflated,” UVA officials countered with a count of 55 employees earning salaries of $5.3 million.
So, Andrzejewski sent his researchers back for a second look. As it turns out, Open the Books concluded, their initial findings were far off the mark. They were way too low. The organization has identified 100 additional employees across 80 offices and departments who have been sucked into the University’s DEI vortex.
These are employees who, in addition to their primary roles at the university, contribute variously as DEI deans, directors, project leads, coordinators, representatives, fellows, council members, faculty advisors, ex officio members, and even “JEDIs” (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion personnel), Andrzejewski writes in a column published in City Journal.
The findings reflect the reality that under the flag of “inclusive excellence,” DEI permeates every nook and cranny of UVA. In addition to the formal bureaucracy identifiable by DEI in the names of offices and in titles of employees, significant DEI-related responsibilities have seeped into the day-to-day duties of many faculty and staff with other teaching, research and administrative duties. The networking, committee meetings, memo writing, grant applications, etc. represent a significant drain on productivity.
“These employees are spread across the university,” says Andrzejewski. “The medical school has more than 20 DEI ‘representatives.’ Engineering has nine DEI ‘directors.’ The architecture school has six JEDI types, not counting the dean, Malo Andre Hutson, who earns $393,600 and named JEDI as a ‘key priority‘ for the school. Not even Virginia’s Division 1 athletic department is immune: Ed Scott, the deputy athletics director, is a DEI ‘diversity council member.’”
Open the Books is still digging. Its latest count does not include 22 employees whose names appear on the UVA website but whose salaries are not listed in 2023 payroll numbers.
UVA has refused to release the documentation behind its claim that the University has only 55 DEI employees. By contrast, Open the Books has been fully transparent, publishing lists of employees, titles and salaries for the public to view and evaluate.
“Though President Ryan and his administration don’t want to disclose its size, UVA’s DEI program is massive,” Andrzejewski concludes. “Every bit of it pulls resources from the university’s educational mission and brings the school further from the Enlightenment values championed by its founder.”
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