RALEIGH — Two more undercover videos of UNC System employees claiming to be avoiding the systemwide ban on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Accuracy in Media (AIM) posted two more videos over the past two weeks: one of UNC Asheville (UNCA) Dean of Students Megan Pugh and another of Karen Price, the director of assessments at Western Carolina University (WCU).
In the UNCA video, Pugh claimed she “loves to break the rules” and will continue to break rules “until they get mad at us.”
Similarly, Price boasted of trying to “embed DEI across every area” and that the work is “very much still occurring” at WCU.
Statements from both schools issued after the videos were published indicate the women are no longer employed at the school.
“UNC Asheville is aware of a video in which an employee makes comments implying that the University does not comply with UNC System policies or legal requirements and supports employees disregarding such obligations,” the school said in a post regarding Pugh.
“These remarks do not represent the practices of UNC Asheville. The University remains firmly committed to upholding all UNC System policies as well as federal and state laws, both in principle and in practice.
“UNC Asheville takes these comments seriously. Following a prompt review of the matter, the individual is no longer employed by the University.”
WCU also issued a statement regarding Price.
“Western Carolina University complies fully with the spirit and letter of all state and federal laws and UNC System policies on equality and institutional neutrality,” the school said. “The director of institutional assessment, featured in the video, has no role in policy or compliance decisions and was not authorized to speak on behalf of the university.
“As of mid-April, Dr. Price is no longer employed at WCU. Further, in 2024, WCU dissolved its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in compliance with UNC Policy directives.”
The school added that it would reinforce state regulations and policies with staff.
In a separate statement, WCU Chancellor Kelli Brown announced that the Office of Intercultural Affairs (ICA) would be closed, effective immediately. Her statement said all funding for ICA will be “reinvested in campus priorities” supporting UNC performance metrics and that three existing vacant positions in the office will be eliminated.
“This decision has been made to provide clarity and consistency in how WCU offers student support services in compliance with the UNC System Policy on Equality Within the University of North Carolina,” Brown said. “WCU is committed to providing equal opportunities for our students, and I am confident that this change will not result in any loss of a robust framework for student support at WCU.”
The first video published by AIM featured Janique Sanders, assistant director of leadership and community engagement at UNC Charlotte. Sanders said in the video that despite the ban, DEI is still in place, stating, “We’ve renamed, we’ve reorganized, we’ve recalibrated, so to speak.”
Sanders, like Pugh and Price, is no longer employed at the school, according to a UNC Charlotte press statement.
All three videos can be viewed on AIM’s website and YouTube Channel.
School choice activist Corey DeAngelis has highlighted the videos in threads on his X account. DeAngelis is a senior adviser to AIM and a fellow of multiple education and policy organizations.
UNC Board of Governors member Woody White commented on a post by school choice activist Corey DeAngelis — a senior adviser to AIM — about the WCU video, calling it “the worst one yet” but “not unexpected.”
“Many have made serious money on the race/gender hussle, and pitting groups against each other based on immutable characteristics, and it’s finally being exposed,” White wrote. “Those who pushed for this divisive ideology, for years and without resistance, are true believers in their attempts to fundamentally alter our society and laws, and no one should have expected them just to disappear. I surely didn’t.
“That’s why a ‘cost reduction’ report was to be included in the sept ’24 report date from each system chancellor. Some schools did more than others but it’s starting to appear as if they all still have serious work to do to ensure system wide compliance with the neutrality policy.”
WCU is already facing a Title IX investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. The investigation is looking at reports that the school has refused to ensure sex-separated intimate spaces in federally funded institutions of higher education, in violation of Title IX.
AIM’s President Adam Guillette told North State Journal there would be “plenty more (videos) to come.”
A report by The College Fix alleges that at least two other UNC System schools, NC State and NC Central, may be dodging the ban by renaming or rebranding their DEI offices. The College Fix list also included the University of North Carolina College of the Arts.
