UVA spends $20 million each year on DEI personnel: report

A recent report finds that one of the country’s top public schools spends approximately $20 million annually on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) staff positions.

“The University of Virginia (UVA) has at least 235 employees under its ‘diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)’ banner — including 82 students — whose total cost of employment is estimated at $20 million,” OpenTheBooks.com writes. “That’s $15 million in cash compensation plus an additional 30-percent for the annual cost of their benefits.”

[RELATED: New PA legislation would block colleges from requiring DEI courses]

According to the piece, Martin Davidson, a Chief Diversity Officer and business professor at UVA, is the highest paid DEI official at the Charlottesville school, making $452,000 per year and up to $587,340 with benefits. “For comparison,” the study highlights, “Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia earned $175,000.”

The second highest paid DEI official is Kevin McDonald, the vice president for DEI and community partnerships, who receives reportedly $401,465 per year. His position amounts to almost $520,000 with benefits, OpenTheBooks.com writes.

The piece also contends that UVA has underreported the actual number of its DEI staff.

“Adding to the confusion, the university has consistently undercounted DEI staffers in presentations to the public,” the report asserts. “In April 2023, Kevin McDonald told the New York Times that UVA had only 40 DEI employees. In May 2023, a presentation to the Board of Visitors claimed UVA had only 55 DEI positions.”

“We were surprised at how deeply embedded the philosophy of diversity, equity and inclusion is at the University of Virginia. It’s embedded in everything that they do,” Adam Andrzejewski, CEO & founder of OpenTheBooks, told The National Desk.

UVA has disputed the findings, however, claiming that it spends less on DEI than the report indicates.

“While we haven’t yet seen any detailed information about how this organization’s methodology, it seems to wildly overstate the total number of DEI employees at UVA and, thus, the cost,”  UVA spokesperson Brian Coy told The Washington Times.

In response Andrzejewski defended the report, telling The Washington Times that the data is public and the findings are indeed robust.

“The university can cloak these efforts in seemingly innocuous language, but by now the public is savvy enough to understand the insidious worldview behind DEI and its implications for American civil society,” he noted.

[RELATED: Anti-DEI bill to end mandated ‘divisive concepts’ passes KY Senate]

A 5019(c)3 nonprofit, OpenTheBooks describes itself as a “government watchdog organization.”

“We believe taxpayers have a constitutional right to government oversight,” the organization states on its website. “We believe hard data is a game changer. Once citizens are able to see how the government spends their money, it will influence how they vote and how they view their government.”

Campus Reform has contacted the University of Virginia and OpenTheBooks.com for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.