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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?”

President Donald Trump’s executive orders ending so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) regulations at the federal level made big headlines this week. But in New Hampshire, they appear to be old news.

For example, newly-elected Gov. Kelly Ayotte has already taken down the webpage for the Governor’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion.

When asked by NHJournal how many state employees are DEI managers or diversity officers, New Hampshire Commissioner of Administrative Services Charlie Arlinghaus said the answer appears to be “none.”

The webpage for the Governor’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion was not available on Wednesday.

“The state does not employ diversity officers, DEI officers, or any similar type positions, nor am I aware of any position whose duties, regardless of title, are managed in such a way,” said Arlinghaus, whose agency is in charge of procurement for New Hampshire’s government.

“There is, in fact, not a position in the classification for such a thing. Nonetheless, the state and every agency does ensure that all of its policies and programs are implemented in all ways to avoid discrimination and bias as is befitting of those of us working on behalf of the people of the state,” Arlinghaus said.

There are around 5,000 federal employees in New Hampshire, not including military personnel, and their agencies are dealing with a large number of executive orders from Trump, some of which are sweeping in nature. Local federal offices are trying to sort out the details.

“It’s like trying to take a drink from a firehose,” one federal official told NHJournal.

Under Trump’s order, signed Tuesday, agencies had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to place all DEI staffers on paid leave and remove all DEI information from federal agency web pages. All DEI training sessions are to be canceled, as are all contracts with outside DEI consultants.

Federal employees were also instructed to report anyone suspected of still engaging in DEI work inside their agency. Employees were told they could face “adverse consequences” if they did not report suspected DEI colleagues. 

NHJournal asked newly-elected Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s office if there will be a move to push state government agencies to follow Trump’s lead. It declined to respond.

Trump’s actions only apply to federal agencies, not state and local. And while the Ayotte administration may not have any DEI officers, many local towns and school boards have hired DEI employees.

As of last April, for example, Oyster River School District in Durham and SAU 16 in Exeter were each paying six-figure salaries to at least one DEI staffer.

The city of Concord just approved a $40,000 contract with DEI consultant James Bird Guess as part of a $140,000 diversity spending initiative.

“He really is a Horacio Alger type of story,” Concord Mayor Byron Champlin said of Guess. “He’s a self-made man.”

Guess is the man behind the “Cash Cow Consultant” seminar which taught people how to get rich as an expert consultant without the need for specialized subject matter training, degrees, or qualifications. Now, Guess works for municipal government and businesses spreading the word on DEI.

“Now, don’t get me wrong, speaking with passion and helping people is a blessing. I love helping people, but that’s only a small part of the equation of making six to seven figures!” Guess wrote on the Cash Cow website. (Emphasis in original.)

The Cash Cow website, which was still up and running before the Concord city council vote, has been shut down.