Battle Continues Over Universities of Wisconsin and Pay Raises

Friday, November 17th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

(Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio) In June, the Wisconsin Legislature approved pay increases for the 34,000 employees of the Universities of Wisconsin.

According to Rich Kremer with the Wisconsin Public Radio, months later, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said legislators wouldn't give final approval for the pay raises until the university system eliminates 188 positions, all the university system's jobs Vos claims are dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Last month, a GOP-controlled committee affirmed the decision: The approved raises would go to all state employees except those who work within the university system. In response, Gov. Tony Evers sued the Legislature, calling the move an unconstitutional "legislative veto."

The ongoing battle represents an escalation in a decades-old debate about how universities should promote diversity within their student bodies, in campus programming and among faculty.

And it comes as universities are still reacting to the June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court barring the consideration of race in student admissions. Records obtained by WPR show conservative activists have called for lawmakers to "apply pressure" to the UW in hopes of driving change on topics like student free speech, making conservative students feel more welcome on campus and the elimination of DEI.

As Republicans are ramping up attacks, it's left some students and many within the university system uncertain about what campus diversity policies will look like in the future.

At the Republican Party of Wisconsin's state convention in June, 11 days before the Supreme Court's decision striking down affirmative action in admissions, Vos said DEI stands for "division, exclusion and indoctrination" and claimed DEI programming represents "overt racism" in higher education.

The conservative activist law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has published a list of government and university programs it claims amount to racial discrimination. Those include scholarships, teacher loans and health equity grants.

Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill specifying state financial aid programs can no longer consider a student's "race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or religion." A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he's likely to veto the legislation.

UW System President Jay Rothman defended the universities' diversity programs during a state Senate hearing in June. Rothman said DEI initiatives are wide-ranging and include efforts to get more women into science and engineering fields and help returning veterans with their transition to college life.

At a freshman orientation event in August, students and parents at UW-Parkside watched a video welcoming them to campus. It opened with students and staff members repeating the word "diversity" while talking about the campus's goal of helping students of all backgrounds succeed through graduation.

Students then walked to a classroom for a quiz that included questions about the definition of DEI and tips on accessing resources like the campus multicultural center. As a percentage of the overall student body, UW-Parkside has the highest percentage of Black and Hispanic students of all state campuses at around 7 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Across all UW campuses, as of 2022, Black students accounted for 2.9 percent of the system's 160,782 students, while Hispanic students accounted for 7.2 percent. Asian students accounted for 5.1 percent and Native American students accounted for less than one half of a percent of the total.

Students identifying as two or more races made up 3.4 percent of the student population. For new students such as freshman Aniyyah Young of Milwaukee, the controversy surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion is all a little confusing.

"I just don't understand why they would be upset about it," Young said. Young said she's thinking about becoming a child psychologist and chose Parkside because it seemed like an inclusive campus.

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