By Corinne Murdock |

The University of Arizona (UArizona) ranked high for its number of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) staff compared with 65 other universities. Arizona State University (ASU) ranked toward the bottom. This data was published in a study by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in D.C.

The data was organized into four categories: the total number of DEI personnel at the university, the ratio of DEI personnel to American Disability Act (ADA) personnel, the average number of DEI personnel per 100 faculty members, and the ratio of DEI personnel to history faculty.

Out of all 65 universities, UArizona ranked #13 for having 59 total DEI personnel, #54 for their nearly two-to-one DEI personnel per ADA faculty ratio, #19 for their average number of nearly 4 DEI personnel per 100 faculty members, and #7 for their over two-to-one DEI personnel/History faculty ratio.

By comparison, ASU ranked #49 for having 28 total DEI personnel, #63 for their one-to-one DEI/ADA personnel ratio, #58 for their average number of two DEI personnel per 100 faculty members, and #48 for their one-to-one DEI personnel/History faculty ratio.

The Heritage Foundation only catalogued the 65 universities within the Power 5 conferences – those athletic conferences with the nation’s top football programs – which is why they didn’t include Northern Arizona University (NAU).

In a summary report of the data, The Heritage Foundation found that the average university sampled had more than 45 people with formal DEI promotion goals, 4.2 times more DEI staff than student disability accommodation staff, 1.4 times more DEI staff than professors in corresponding history departments, and 3.4 people working to promote DEI for every 100 tenured or tenure-track faculty members.

Three schools nabbed the number-one ranking for their number of DEI personnel. The University of Michigan (UM) earned two number one slots for having 163 DEI personnel total, nearly 15 DEI personnel for every one ADA faculty member. New York’s Syracuse University (SU) earned a number one slot for having over 7 DEI personnel per 100 faculty members. Lastly, Georgia Tech (GT) earned a number one slot for having over 3 DEI personnel for every history faculty member.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.