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 the spike in premature deaths in Appalachia is due to the 'toxicity of whiteness,' a damning report says.

Open the Books, a spending watchdog, says the flagship public college in Charlottesville drops $15 million on salaries and $5 million more in benefits to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team.

They include Rachel Spraker, an 'equity and inclusive' officer, who calls Appalachia's wave of premature deaths a sign of 'white toxicity,' and the school's diversity chief Martin Davidson, who pockets nearly $600,000 a year.

The university disputed parts of the report and says it only spends $5.8 million out of its annual $2.3 billion academic budget on DEI.

The University of Virginia educates 17,000 undergraduates on its grounds and is ranked as the state's top school

Researchers studied the school's 2023 payroll file, and then estimated an extra 30 percent in spending for benefits

Adam Andrzejewski, author of the damning study, said UVA has 'embraced the divisive quotas of the neo-Marxist DEI crowd.'

'Tens of millions of dollars in student tuition and taxpayer monies are flowing into promoting anti-American notions and radical philosophies that judge the color of one's skin instead of the content — and competence — of their character.'

For some, DEI schemes are important and necessary, as they help to 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 they're a form of reverse discrimination that blows back on straight, white men.

DEI schemes face a backlash from conservative legal action groups — especially those funded by taxpayers.

The University of Florida this month terminated all DEI positions and shuttered diversity programs in the state's publicly-funded education system in compliance with new state regulations.

Researchers highlight Rachel Spraker, a $242,840-a-year equity and inclusion expert with a track record in 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 aims at a bloated DEI infrastructure — about four times the cost of Florida's shuttered programs, he says.

He highlights 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, says the report.

Davidson is the author of a book about diversity in US institutions, in which he says they often fail to make gains.

The second-biggest DEI paycheck goes to Kevin McDonald, the vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion and community partnerships, who takes home some $520,000 with benefits, the report says.

Other DEI bosses pocket upwards of $250,000 each year — a good deal in a state where average living costs are a modest $48,000 per year.

Researchers looked at the school's 2023 payroll file, taking the positions and salary and then estimating an extra 30 percent in spending for benefits.

Virginia students pay $20,000 to attend UVA each year, compared to $56,000 for those from out of state

They spotlight Spraker, a $242,840-a-year equity and inclusion expert with a track record in controversial comments about racism in her native Appalachian region.

Spraker has spoken about how her community embraced white supremacy, and suggests that is linked to its social problems, which include rising rates of gun suicides and opioid overdose deaths.

'I grew up in rural Appalachia,' she says in a video for the college's AntiRacist Table group.

'White people are dying of whiteness too. The toxicity of whiteness … many of them were dying prematurely also, in their twenties.'

University spokesman Brian Coy spoke up for UVA's diversity efforts and questioned the report's findings.

'The study seems to count individuals who have full-time positions in non-DEI posts and counts them as full time DEI staffers,' he told DailyMail.com.

Davidson, for example, leads DEI efforts but is also a regular professor, said Coy. 

University spokesman Brian Coy disputed the report, saying UVA only spends $5.8 million on DEI

Taxpayers in Virginia and beyond took to social media to complain about what they saw as a wasteful overspend of public money

Rather than 235 DEI employees, UVA 'has 55 dedicated DEI positions at an institution of more than 40,000 students, faculty, and staff,' costing $5.8 million per year, he added.

Andrzejewski says his numbers are correct and that the school has 'consistently undercounted DEI staffers in presentations to the public.'

Taxpayers in Virginia and beyond took to social media to complain about what they saw as a wasteful overspend of tax dollars.

One user said the money could easily provide 'full ride scholarships' to 100 deserving students.

Another said that it 'seems like a lot of money for identity-based pizza parties.'

Virginia students pay $20,000 to attend UVA each year, compared to $56,000 for those from out of state.

DEI staff now make up more than 3.4 positions for every 100 tenured professors, according to nationwide research by The Heritage Foundation, stoking fears of a ballooning sector that some say is no more than a woke box-ticking exercise.