ATLANTA — Advocates say historically black colleges and universities are under siege from state budget cuts and state politicians targeting diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
DEI has become a buzz phrase among Republicans nationally and now in Georgia. Yet HBCUs were founded to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion for students of color. State-funded HBCUs are at Fort Valley State University, Savannah State University and Albany State University.
First there were state budget cuts – taking $66 million from the University System of Georgia's budget. The cuts will disproportionately affect the state’s three modestly sized state-backed historically black colleges and universities, according to state Rep. Tanya Miller (D-Atlanta).
"Larger universities have more reserves," Miller said Friday. "But these smaller universities just don’t have it. So Ft. Valley can’t sustain the kind of cuts the University of Georgia could, or Georgia Tech could or Georgia State could."
Then there’s the conservative effort to undo diversity equity and inclusion in education, which they say actually creates inequality.
Lt. Governor Burt Jones’s office provided us with a letter he sent to the chancellor of the state’s university system. Jones, a Republican, writes “I share the concerns of various commentators and leaders of other states about the use of taxpayer funds by universities… for DEI programs.”
In the letter, Jones demands information on the names of any DEI programs, the number of students they would serve, how much they would cost, and the names and salaries of any university employee involved in diversity equity and inclusion programs.
The letter is of great concern to HBCUs, which are explicitly set up to advance the cause of collegiate diversity, equity and inclusion, says Rep. Miller.
'You cannot help but think that this is a targeted, potentially racialized attack against minority students in higher education. And that is incredibly sad and incredibly disappointing," Miller said.
The Lt. Governor has demanded the information by June 30 -- which happens to be the day before the state’s new fiscal year starts.