The University of Florida has shuttered its Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement (CIME), at least temporarily, to comply with legislation banning state-funded DEI programming at public institutions, according to the Independent Florida Alligator, UF’s student newspaper.
The center—which houses the Office of Hispanic Latinx Student Engagement, the Office of Black Student Engagement, the Office of Asian Pacific Islander Desi Student Engagement and the Office of LGBTQ+ Student Engagement—was initially not subject to the university’s sweeping DEI program cuts this spring, but its future has been unclear since. UF spokesperson Steve Orlando told the Alligator that the center is changing to comply with the law and that more information would be available in the coming weeks.
CIME’s closure and rebranding may be the latest casualty for underrepresented student services amid state Republicans’ attacks on DEI. The Universities of Texas at Austin and Dallas initially took steps like renaming student support centers and reallocating resources before they were forced to eliminate those centers and lay off dozens of employees earlier this year.
