'Disgusting and shameful': Students, faculty react to UW deal curtailing diversity, inclusion efforts
MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- There's growing frustration among students and faculty after top university officials in Wisconsin approved a deal with Republicans on diversity positions and pay raises.
Amid mounting pressure, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents reversed course and voted 11-6 Wednesday to pass an agreement that includes restructuring 43 diversity, equity, and inclusion positions among other things.
Dr. Ramzi Fawaz, a Romnes Professor of English at UW-Madison, called the vote "disgusting and shameful."
Fawaz, a queer Arab American professor, believes the deal will threaten employee's ability to support and teach underserved students.
"They are restricting the very mission of what DEI is all about," said Fawaz. "That's insane to put people in a position, who you hired to this world class institution to talk about all of these important ideas in the world, and then to tell them if you actually talk about them freely, we will withhold your quality of life."
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who struck a deal with university leaders, said the proposal to curtail DEI was a "first step."
“Republicans know this is just the first step in what will be our continuing efforts to eliminate these cancerous DEI practices on UW campuses," Vos said.
Student advocates say Vos' statements have led some students to rethink whether they should continue their education at UW campuses.
"A lot of students are talking to me about the possibility of transferring not only from my campus, but from other campuses across the UW as well," said Kevin Johnson, chair of Associated Students at UW-Madison."
"I think that's what I fear most. If students leave and not come here -- I think it will be a really hard hit to the state."
Many institutions across the U.S. have DEI offices aimed at diversifying staff and promoting inclusivity for faculty and students.
Vos and other conservatives have cast DEI offices as divisive and a waste of taxpayer money. Meanwhile supporters say these efforts foster a more inclusive climate on campus.
"What [Republicans] want to say is they want to turn it into a different kind of institution, and they want to dismantle it," said Fawaz. "We should be very terrified of that possibility."
Uniqua Adams, a Diversity and Inclusion Officer and PhD student at a UW-Milwaukee, said if Republicans do whip out all DEI positions without input from minority groups, she believes it will backfire.
"If legislative and public leaders continue to make decisions about communities of color without engaging them in the conversation, they [Republicans] are never going to receive the return on investment that you're hoping for," Adams said.
The UW's budget was cut earlier this year after Vos demanded the funding be used to address the state's workforce needs, not DEI efforts.
Since June, Vos has withheld $32 million from the UW System. UW President Jay Rothman has presented a plan to the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee in an attempt to reclaim those funds.
Other terms of the deal regents passed include creating a faculty position at UW-Madison focused on conservative thought and freezing the number of state-funded, non-faculty positions through 2026, and supporting a GOP bill that would guarantee admission to UW campuses for high school students who place in the top 10% of their class.
In making those concessions, the UW System will receive pay raises for 34,000 employees already approved by lawmakers in the state budget, and hundreds of millions of dollars for campus construction projects, such as a new engineering building on Madison's campus.
Part of the deal will require approval from the GOP-controlled Legislature, and others may need Gov. Tony Evers approval too.