Megan Pugh #
Introduction #
Megan Pugh was the Dean of Students at the University of North Carolina at Asheville until June 2025, when she was fired after the conservative watchdog group Accuracy in Media published a secretly recorded video in which she appeared to suggest the university was still doing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work despite a UNC System ban. The university confirmed within days that she was “no longer employed” â one of three UNC System employees to lose jobs after the group’s hidden-camera videos. Pugh was never criminally charged and nothing about her conduct was ever adjudicated in court.
Background Information #
Pugh served as Dean of Students at UNC Asheville. Her firing cannot be separated from the policy environment around her. In May 2024, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted 22-2 to eliminate its DEI program from the system’s 16 campuses, replacing it with a new policy called “Equality Within the University of North Carolina.” According to BPR’s reporting, 15 positions at UNC Asheville and Western Carolina University were 100% focused on diversity and inclusion; after the policy change, 59 UNC System employees were fired and 131 positions realigned, including two at UNC Asheville. Accuracy in Media, the group that targeted her, describes itself as a nonprofit that “uses investigative journalism and cultural activism to expose corruption and hold bad public policy actors accountable.”
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
Allegations. The characterization in this section comes from a hidden-camera video recorded by Accuracy in Media, a conservative watchdog group, whose investigator misrepresented their identity to gain access to university offices. The remarks were never admitted by Megan Pugh as accurately characterized, she was never criminally charged, and the matter was never adjudicated in court. Whether anything she refers to is explicitly unlawful is unclear.
Accuracy in Media posted the video to its YouTube page on June 5, 2025. An unidentified interviewer is heard speaking with Pugh on DEI-related subjects. When the cameraperson states, “I’m so glad that you guys are still doing equity work,” Pugh responds, “We probably still do anyway, but, you know, gotta keep it quiet[…] But, I love breaking rules.” Later in the video, the cameraperson says, “Breaking rules, having fun doing it,” to which Pugh replies, “You know, until more or less, they get mad at us, but they haven’t done it yet.” The university’s spokesperson, Brian Hart, said UNC Asheville was aware of the incident “in which an employee makes comments implying that the university does not comply with UNC System policies or legal requirements and supports employees disregarding such obligations.” “These remarks do not represent the practices of UNC Asheville. The University remains firmly committed to upholding all UNC System policies as well as federal and state laws, both in principle and in practice,” Hart wrote.
The group’s write-up added that Pugh told its investigators she had to keep DEI work “quiet” and on the “down-low,” but that she “loves breaking rules” and claimed the university is supportive of keeping DEI, possibly hosting implicit bias trainings in the future. In the same footage, asked about the potential for implicit bias training, Pugh said: “My hope and my intention is that we can incorporate those things under a broader banner of ⊠I don’t know, we will see where it fits. But I try to include those things wherever I can.” BPR’s account noted the contested nature of the edit: “In the video, Pugh is heard alluding to âbreaking rulesâ and continuing DEI work in some capacity, but whether the programs and approach she refers to are explicitly unlawful is unclear.”
The university also said the secret filming violated its policy and that it “was unaware it was being recorded and did not authorize it.” Hart confirmed “following a prompt review of the matter, the individual [Pugh] is no longer employed by the university,” and said UNCA would take on a “comprehensive review to reinforce expectations and ensure all employees are aligned with applicable laws and policies.” Chancellor Kimberly van Noort said in an email to staff that the video “was secretly recorded by an individual who misrepresented their identity in order to gain access to University offices.”
Public Reaction and Consequences #
Allegations. As above, the characterizations at issue originate in Accuracy in Media’s hidden-camera recording, not in any court or formal finding; Pugh was never charged and nothing was adjudicated.
The consequence was immediate. The university confirmed the employee was no longer employed, identified as Pugh by Asheville Watchdog and BPR. The story traveled well beyond Asheville. Accuracy in Media said its investigation has “received widespread media coverage, caught the attention of politicians, and has even resulted in the termination” of Pugh. U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx told Fox News: “The UNC System has made a good faith effort to get rid of DEI, but obviously the word has not reached the ears of UNC Ashevilleâs administration.” Pugh became the second UNC System employee out via AIM footage within a week â Janique Sanders, UNC Charlotte’s assistant director of leadership and community engagement, was removed after a separate hidden-camera video days earlier â and Karen Price at Western Carolina University followed, making three.
Current Status #
As of the most recent reporting, Pugh remains separated from UNC Asheville, her employment ended by the university’s “prompt review” in early June 2025. No criminal charge, lawsuit, or formal legal proceeding against her appears in the fetched sources; her firing was a personnel action, and the university declines to comment on those matters. Accuracy in Media has continued campaigning, directing supporters to SaveNCSchools.com “to demand the Board of Governors crack down on even more administrators who brag about evading or breaking the rules.”
Impact on Their Career/Life #
Pugh’s career as a student-affairs administrator ended with a recording and a spokesperson’s confirmation. The impact extended beyond her: her case became the template in a series of sting-style firings across the UNC System, cited by Accuracy in Media as proof its method works and by state politicians as evidence the DEI ban was being evaded. It also sharpened the debate over tactics â the chancellor warned staff about an individual who “misrepresented their identity in order to gain access to University offices,” and reporting at the time noted the footage left unclear whether anything Pugh described was actually unlawful. Not disputed is the outcome: a dean lost her post over remarks made in what she believed was a private conversation. Her firing was contested terrain, but the university never retracted it.