UPDATE
Dec 13, 2023 7:15 PM CST
The Universities of Wisconsin's stand lasted four days. On Wednesday, the AP reports, regents voted 11-6 to restrict the number of diversity positions on campuses in exchange for state funding of staff raises and construction projects—an offer they rejected on Saturday. The regents met behind closed doors on Tuesday with system President Jay Rothman, then scheduled a second vote. Democrats had urged the regents to stick to their first vote, while Republican lawmakers had threatened to remove those opposed to the deal who hadn't been confirmed by the Senate yet. The board's president said regents hadn't had enough time to analyze the proposal before Saturday but since have heard from faculty and students, per the Wisconsin State Journal. "That's just good governance," Karen Walsh said, "not a defense of a particular ideology."
Dec 9, 2023 5:00 PM CST
Universities of Wisconsin regents narrowly rejected a deal Saturday reached with Republicans that would have given employees a pay raise and paid for construction of a new engineering building in exchange for reductions in staff positions focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The regents voted 9-8 during an emergency meeting to turn down the deal reached Friday after being brokered by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the AP reports. "I don't like this precedent," Regent Dana Wachs said during the meeting. "We need to make this a welcoming environment."
The vote was immediately panned by leaders of the Assembly Republican caucus. "It's a shame they've denied employees their raises and the almost $1 billion investment that would have been made across the UW system, all so they could continue their ideological campaign to force students to believe only one viewpoint is acceptable on campus," the GOP leaders said in a statement. The deal would have frozen hiring for diversity positions, dropped an affirmative action faculty hiring program at UW-Madison, and created a position at the flagship campus focused on conservative thought. The engineering building would have been built at UW-Madison, per the AP.
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Democrats accused Republicans of holding employees hostage by blocking pay raises. They argue that diversity initiatives enhance the collegiate experience and play a crucial role in identifying promising students who grew up with fewer resources. Republican lawmakers in June refused to release funding for the new engineering building at UW-Madison, and Vos in October blocked pay raises for employees across the system until it cut spending on positions that promote diversity. Vos refused to allocate funding for the raises even though the state budget that Republicans approved this summer included a 6% raise over the next two years. Under the deal, the system would have frozen hiring for diversity positions through the end of 2026 and shift at least 43 diversity positions to focus on "student success." The system also would have eliminated any statements supporting diversity on student applications.
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