Michigan regent discusses hope to remove DEI with programming that is 'good for everybody'

The University of Michigan, home to one of the largest DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) bureaucracies, could soon be set to eliminate the programming altogether.

On Sunday, Regent Sarah Hubbard appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend to explain the considerations of the university prior to an upcoming board vote on DEI this week.

[RELATED: University of Michigan Board of Regents targets DEI office for ‘defunding’ or major changes, faculty senate freaks out]

”We have a very large bureaucracy that’s impacting our students and our faculty across the board,” she said. “We really are taking a critical look at the programs and the spending at the University of Michigan right now and want to better understand what our metrics are, what the results we are getting out of that, because we’re really not seeing the needle moving related to diversity of thought in particular on campus, let alone diversity in other ways.”

Hubbard, one of the few Republicans on the primarily Democrat board, stated that she thinks the university needs to “do something differently” concerning DEI and focus on programs that are “good for everybody.”

She also said that the large sums of DEI spending the university has spent in recent years could have instead gone toward aiding students with tuition and other financial needs. Hubbard noted that the regents are considering eliminating diversity statements, which she called a “litmus test” for faculty who seek employment and promotion.

”These diversity statements require them to talk about what have they done for DEI lately and what do they plan to do, and they really limit the amount of effort and talk that can go into other kinds of program, unrelated to that other other approaches,” she added.

When asked why the Democrat-led board appears willing to undo DEI, Hubbard answered that this process has been underway for a “long time” and that it comes in response to increased scrutiny concerning protests and “other kinds of upheaval.”

[RELATED: Leadership Institute-trained students win seats on University of Michigan student gov]

Just last year, the university’s chief diversity officer said that Michigan was “doubling down and not backing down on DEI” with the release of its “DEI 2.0” plan in October.

Since 2016, Michigan has reportedly spent roughly $250 million on DEI programming and employees.