Republican legislators’ assault on University of Wisconsin System campuses’ diversity, equity and inclusion offices failed to address the problem the politicians purportedly wanted to solve: Ensuring the state’s universities, particularly UW-Madison, help grow Wisconsin’s economy.
Led by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, legislators in 2023 held up $800 million for a new UW-Madison engineering school and employee pay raises – their bargaining chip to force closure of public universities’ DEI offices.
“If they want to increase their funding, they have to show they can prioritize things to grow the economy, not grow the racial divide,” Vos (R-Rochester) told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The deal that finally released the $800 million has the System making concessions – reclassifying 43 DEI jobs, removing diversity statements from student application processes, seeking donor funding for a UW-Madison faculty position focused on conservative political thought, and more.
Read more here: https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2024/03/19/gallagher-uw-madison-taking-strong-steps-to-restore-its-prominence/72936717007/