“It’s Still Here”: AIM Reveals UNC Asheville Still Has DEI Embedded in its Programs
April 20, 2026
Together with many other institutions across the country, the University of North Carolina system repealed its DEI policies in 2024, with the goal of eliminating DEI offices, titles, and branded language across all its public universities.
However, Accuracy in Media has uncovered institutions in states like Ohio, Kentucky, and Texas subverting DEI bans, while lying to parents, lawmakers, and the public. We sent an undercover journalist to UNC Asheville to discover if this deceit was occurring inside North Carolina as well.
Our journalist met with Mark Harvey, chair and professor of Psychology, to discuss how university policy had been affected by the ban on DEI.
Harvey noted that the university had closed its small Multicultural Affairs Office and relocated its two staff members to other positions. However, he mocked the new requirement to offer a mandatory Foundations of American Democracy (FAD) course, describing its focus on American founding documents like The Federalist Papers and the Constitution as “weird” and “conservative.”
When discussing how DEI had been affected by the ban, Harvey stated that: “It’s still here, like the ‘E’ is gone, but the ‘D’ and the ‘I’ are still here.”
He continued: “The reality is, because of the widespread racism, a lot of people who are needing psychological services, social work, are minorities and so they have to… Part of their training has to be to understand all those dynamics.”
However, he noted that administrators had “changed the name” of DEI-related psychology courses, adopting titles such as “Psychopathology and Clinical Science” in an attempt to remain under the radar.
It’s clear that North Carolina needs to strengthen its DEI ban further and prohibit the promotion of identity politics on its campuses. While discussing politics and other controversial issues is a constitutional right, forcing students to ascribe to far-left ideological viewpoints in order to receive an education is not.
To take action and hold these institutions responsible, visit SaveNCSchools.com to send one message that goes to all the relevant elected officials.