The University of New Hampshire may be facing tens of millions of dollars in cuts in state funding, but it’s still spending money on controversial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and employees. Not only are DEI policies unpopular with Republicans in the New Hampshire House, but President Donald Trump has also signed an executive order seeking to end government support for them.
An appeals court upheld the Trump administration’s ability to execute the order while legal challenges work their way through the court.
On Tuesday, the House Finance Committee passed an amendment to the state budget banning government contracts with DEI mandates.
But if UNH is shying away from the race-based DEI policies in question, it isn’t showing. The school has made no announcements about shutting down any of its many DEI operations, and has previously indicated it does not see any changes coming.
“We believe diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are foundational values inextricably linked to achieving our core educational mission and embrace the many characteristics of our community members that make them uniquely themselves,” the school’s Diversity Statement reads on its DEI page.
When Trump started signing anti-DEI executive orders hours into his second term, UNH told NHJournal it had no plans to change its programs or courses.
“Nothing to report at the moment, but I can let you know if that changes,” UNH Executive Director of Media Relations Tania deLuzuriaga responded in January.
Since that initial inquiry, UNH has not scaled back any of its public DEI offerings. deLuzuriaga did not respond to NHJournal on Tuesday.
The school continues to offer a full slate of classes that examine race, like “Race, Ethnicity, Class & Classics,” “Gender, Race, and Class in the Media,” and “Gender, Race and Technology.”
UNH has a Civil Rights & Equity Office, an Office of Community, Equity and Diversity, and the Aulbani J. Beauregard Center for Equity, Justice and Freedom. There is also the Faculty and Staff of Color Affinity Group and the LGBTQIA+ Faculty and Staff Affinity Group.
It’s difficult to gauge how much UNH spends on all of its DEI initiatives, as they are spread throughout different sections of the school budget. Some costs are easier to find, like the $195,000 annual salary for Nadine Petty, UNH’s Chief Diversity Officer.
A review conducted by NHJournal last year estimated funding for the various DEI programs in New Hampshire’s higher education institutions at between $6 and $9 million. An estimated $2 million was UNH funding.
“Members have long been asking for a breakdown of DEI funding for the University Systems and have yet to receive an adequate answer. Hearing that UNH alone spends roughly $2 million on DEI, clearly intervention is required,” House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said at the time.
Before Trump, DEI initiatives made business sense for many colleges. UNH is facing a demographic crisis that is impacting all higher education institutions in New England. Small colleges throughout the region have been closing or merging as there are not enough students to go around. Without the students and the federal loans they get to pay tuition, many more schools will be forced to shut their doors.
But the DEI initiatives meant to bolster attendance could cost UNH serious money. Trump has threatened to pull federal funding from schools that continue offering DEI programs, and that could endanger student loan funding and the ability of the ever-decreasing pool of students to pay UNH’s tuition.
UNH already went through painful budget cuts last year, slashing $14 million caused by declining enrollment and lower-than-anticipated tuition revenue. The university eliminated its journalism major, closed an art museum, and laid off 75 people in 2024 to address the shortfall.
But the DEI programs remained.
State Rep. Sam Farrington (R-Rochester) is a UNH student, and he says it’s time for the university to end its DEI policies.
“UNH has the potential to be an economic asset for the state in terms of job growth, but is unfortunately turning into a clown show,” Farrington told NHJournal.
“Why should the state continue to invest taxpayer resources when they are being dumped on exorbitant administrative salaries and foolish DEI agendas?”
