Administrators at a North Carolina university were caught on undercover video acknowledging that they continue diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts under new names—despite state and federal measures aimed at rolling back such programs.
According to Fox News, the recordings, obtained by Accuracy in Media, show staff at North Carolina A&T State University describing how they have adapted their DEI initiatives by changing terminology rather than halting operations.
The videos were taken in August and September 2024, several months after the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors voted to prohibit official DEI programs and shift toward what it called “institutional neutrality.”
“It shook things up around here, but fortunately for us, this office is not actually under the DEI office at all, so we’re able to just keep going,” said Pascha Miller, assistant director in the university’s Office of Intercultural Engagement. “We just like switched up our, you know, changed the wording of things.”
Michael Eccles, office manager for the same department, said staff had altered terminology to comply with the new policies. “The word ‘diversity,’ we had to change saying ‘diversity’ to competency,” Eccles explained. When asked if that amounted to “creative naming,” he agreed, adding that it was done “cleverly.”
Another staffer, Austin Horne, assistant director of LGBTA programs and services, described the statewide restrictions as intentionally ambiguous.
“The Board of Governors did a statute in May that is really like, attacking DEI jobs and restricting some of our language,” he said. “It’s really leaving it up to each university to kind of think about it in their own way and consider how much they want to open themselves up to litigation.”
When asked if A&T had simply “got creative” to comply, Horne confirmed, “Yes.” He added that rather than eliminate positions, the school modified them and adjusted language to “shield ourselves from litigation.”
In another clip, Eccles said, “It’s been a little bit of a challenge, but we’re still pushing through and trying to make sure people get what they need.” Miller added later, “We don’t use DEI anymore, it’s kind of hard not to use the word ‘diversity,’” before laughing and admitting, “We try not to, you know, just to be safe.”
Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette condemned the practice, telling Fox News Digital, “Any government employee who is caught circumventing laws should never again be allowed to earn a paycheck from taxpayers. And the legislature needs to enact a Kansas-style DEI ban, which includes both a reporting mechanism and actual consequences for those who flout the law.”
The revelations come amid growing scrutiny of U.S. universities accused of rebranding or concealing DEI operations to avoid sanctions from the Trump administration or state lawmakers seeking to limit such programs.
