American colleges and universities continue to spend millions on “diversity” initiatives even as they prepare to demand billions in bailout cash from the federal government in response to the Chinese virus pandemic.

MarketWatch reported last week that several for-profit colleges and universities could receive $1 billion in federal bailout money as a result of the Chinese virus pandemic. At the same time, thousands of students around the country have already demanded pro-rated refunds for the spring semester as classes have shifted online.

According to a report by Campus Reform, universities and colleges continue to spend millions on “diversity” programming. Columbia University, for example, has spent $185 million on a program that aims to cultivate a more “diverse” faculty.

At institutions around the country, “Chief Diversity Officers” often make an annual salary that borders on $200,000. Breitbart News reported in May 2018 that the University of Michigan spends $11 million annually on salaries for employees that work in the university’s “Diversity and Inclusion” office. The office boasts approximately 100 employees who each receive a full salary and benefits.

Irrational spending at large colleges and universities doesn’t stop at “diversity” programming. Dozens of institutions pay million-dollar salaries to their presidents. Many university presidents earn two or three times as much as the President of the United States. In many states, the highest-paid public employee is the president of the state’s largest public university.

Bob Shireman, deputy undersecretary of education under President Obama, argued that certain institutions that have previously taken advantage of students should be disqualified from federal bailout programs.

“Colleges like these with a predatory history and thousands of prior students who are still awaiting compensation for deceptive practices should not be getting a federal bailout,” Shireman said.

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