University of Virginia EXPOSED for $20M annual DEI spend on 235 staff, including $243,000-a-year equity tsar who blames premature Appalachia deaths on ‘toxicity of whiteness,’ watchdog says
The University of Virginia spends $20 million a year on its 235 DEI staffers, including a woman who says Appalachia’s spike in premature deaths is due to the ‘toxicity of whiteness,’ a scathing report says.
Open the Books, a spending watchdog, says the flagship public university in Charlottesville is dropping $15 million in salaries and an additional $5 million in benefits for its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) team.
They include Rachel Spraker, an equity and inclusion official who calls Appalachia’s wave of premature deaths a sign of “white toxicity,” and the school’s head of diversity, Martin Davidson, who donates nearly $600,000 a year pocket sticks out.
The university disputed parts of the report, saying it spent only $5.8 million on it $2.3 billion annual academic budget for DEI.
The University of Virginia educates 17,000 students on its premises and is ranked as the top school in the state
Researchers studied the school’s 2023 payroll and then estimated an additional 30 percent in benefits spending
Adam Andrzejewski, author of the scathing study, said UVA has “embraced the divisive quotas of the neo-Marxist DEI crowd.”
“Tens of millions of dollars in student tuition and tax dollars flow toward promoting anti-American views and radical philosophies that judge the color of a person’s skin rather than the substance – and competence – of their character.”
For some, DEI policies are important and necessary because they help overcome historical racism and sexism and make it easier for people of all backgrounds to get ahead in schools, colleges, and offices.
But critics say it’s a form of reverse discrimination that targets straight, white men.
DEI schemes are facing a backlash from conservative legal action groups – especially those funded by taxpayers.
The University of Florida this month terminated all DEI positions and ended diversity programs in the state’s publicly funded education system, in accordance with new state rules.
Researchers highlight Rachel Spraker, a $242,840-a-year equity and inclusion expert with a track record of controversial comments about racism in her native Appalachia
The school’s DEI supremo, Martin Davidson, wrote a book about why diversity efforts fail
Andrzejewski’s report on UVA focuses on bloated DEI infrastructure — about four times the cost of Florida’s shuttered programs, he says.
He points to Davidson, senior associate dean of the Darden School of Business and Global Chief Diversity Officer, UVA’s top DEI earner with an annual salary-and-benefits package of $587,340.
That’s more than three times the salary of Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, the report said.
Davidson is the author of a book about diversity in American institutions, in which he says they often fail to make gains.
The second-largest DEI salary goes to Kevin McDonald, the vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion and community partnerships, who takes home about $520,000 in benefits, the report said.
Other DEI bosses earn more than $250,000 each year — a good deal in a state where the average cost of living is just $48,000 a year.
Researchers looked at the school’s 2023 payroll, took the positions and salaries, and then estimated an additional 30 percent in benefits spending.
Virginia students pay $20,000 each year to attend UVA, compared to $56,000 for out-of-state students
They spotlight Spraker, a $242,840-a-year equity and inclusion expert with a track record of controversial comments about racism in her native Appalachian region.
Spraker has spoken about how her community embraced white supremacy, suggesting that this is linked to the social problems including rising rates of gun suicide and opioid overdose deaths.
“I grew up in rural Appalachia,” she says in a video for the university’s AntiRacist Table group.
“White people die from whiteness too. The toxicity of whiteness… Many of them also died prematurely in their 20s.”
University spokesman Brian Coy spoke out in support of UVA’s diversity efforts and questioned the report’s findings.
“The survey appears to count individuals who hold full-time positions in non-DEI posts and considers them to be full-time DEI staffers,” he told DailyMail.com.
For example, Davidson leads DEI efforts but is also a regular professor, Coy said.
University spokesman Brian Coy disputed the report, saying UVA spends only $5.8 million on DEI
Taxpayers in Virginia and beyond took to social media to complain about what they saw as a wasteful overspending of public money
Instead of 235 DEI employees, UVA has “55 dedicated DEI positions at an institution with more than 40,000 students, faculty and staff,” costing $5.8 million a year, he added.
Andrzejewski says his numbers are accurate and that the school “has consistently underestimated DEI staff members in public presentations.”
Taxpayers in Virginia and beyond complained on social media about what they saw as a wasteful overspending of taxpayer dollars.
One user said the money could easily provide “full ride scholarships” for 100 deserving students.
Another said it “seems like a lot of money for identity-based pizza parties.”
Virginia students pay $20,000 each year to attend UVA, compared to $56,000 for out-of-state students.
According to national research from The Heritage Foundation, DEI associates now account for more than 3.4 positions for every 100 professors, fueling fears of a booming industry that some say is little more than a woke box-check exercise.