UW Regents vote down DEI and buildings deal brokered with Republican leaders

In an unexpected move Saturday, the board overseeing state public universities narrowly rejected a deal University of Wisconsin System leaders brokered with the state's top Republican over campus diversity efforts.

The UW Board of Regents voted 9-8 to strike down an agreement "reimagining" campus diversity efforts, which many saw as selling out students of color in exchange for $800 million in employee pay raises and building projects.

The deal would have restructured dozens of diversity staff into positions serving all students and frozen the total number of diversity positions for the next three years.

"The Legislature has made decisions over the years that have proved to have a negative lingering effect on our public universities," Regent Angela Adams said during the hastily-called special meeting. "But to finally and begrudgingly propose to start funding the universities in exchange for insulting people historically excluded and underrepresented in higher education is a nonstarter for me. It's divisive, it's polarizing, and will ultimately lead to even more negative effects on the university system for decades to come."

Months in the making, UW System President Jay Rothman and UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin brokered the deal with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Burlington. The details announced Friday looked to cap a contentious six months of negotiations over diversity, equity and inclusion programming.

"No one is going to look at this agreement and love every piece of it," Mnookin said Friday. "But I do think this approach to bridging a divide makes sense. This compromise allows us to hold on to our core values, and that includes our commitment to diversity."

Campuses view DEI programs and staff as critical in supporting a broad range of students while conservatives cast the effort as wasteful and racially divisive.

Vos made the first move in May when he called for the elimination of all campus DEI positions. Over the summer, Republicans cut $32 million from the UW system budget and pulled the UW-Madison engineering building from its funding list. Vos raised the stakes again this fall when he withheld UW employee pay raises already approved by the Legislature.

The board's divided vote was rare. Most resolutions pass overwhelmingly.

Vos said what he agreed to was "our best and final offer."

"We negotiated in good faith and expected the same," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a text message Saturday. "It was It's a shame they've denied employees their raises and the almost ($1 billion) investment that would have been made in the UW System to continue their ideological campaign to force students to believe only one viewpoint is acceptable on campus."

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg could not be immediately reached Saturday but was noncommittal about the deal on Friday, saying only that his caucus would deliberate.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who appointed the majority of the board members, urged the Legislature to release the already approved UW employee pay raises and find common ground with UW as negotiations continue.

“It’s clear the regents are deeply divided over this proposal, have immense concerns about this process and the difficult position they were put in, and are all committed to their charge—doing what’s best for our past, present, and future students, faculty, and staff, and the institutions that have defined our state for generations," he said in a statement. "I believe that’s what they did today in voting their values, and I understand and support their decision and vote."

UW Regents emotionally discuss deal and its implications

In one of the most emotional board meetings in recent memory, board members candidly wrestled with the message they would send campuses if they accepted the deal. They also questioned the precedent it may set when seeking funding from the Legislature.

Some regents were on the verge of tears. A few board members of color shared their own stories of discrimination.

Ed Manydeeds, who is an enrolled member of the South Dakota Standing Rock Sioux tribe, reluctantly shared his experience at a government-run school for Native children. He said he had no hope and didn't learn anything at the school where he was banned from speaking his language and practicing his culture.

"I am not going to take hope away from anybody − doing this is going to take hope away from somebody," he pleaded to the board before the vote was taken. "Do you know what losing hope looks like? There were no smiles in that school. There was no laughter. There were just sad eyes. And that haunts me to this day."

Regent Ashok Rai shared his own experience. He arrived at UW-Milwaukee in 1990 in the midst of the Gulf War. He said he was called names he never imagined being called before. Rai said he holds DEI close to his heart but he also trusted Rothman and Mnookin.

“As a board, we have trusted them to negotiate what's in the best interest of the System, of the campus, of the students and of the mission, which they have over and over and over to us committed they will not fail that," he said. "For that reason, I stand in support of the motion, although with a heavy heart.”

Joining Rai were three appointees of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker − Bob Atwell, Mike Jones, and Cris Peterson, as well as Evers appointees Héctor Colón, Kyle Weatherly and Jim Kreuser. Wisconsin Technical College System Board President Mark Tyler also voted in favor.

Voting against were all Evers appointees − Regents Karen Walsh, Amy Bogost, Adams, Evan Brenkus, Manydeeds, John Miller, Joan Prince, Jennifer Staton and Dana Wachs. State Superintendent Jill Underly didn't attend the meeting.

In statements a few hours after the deal collapsed, Mnookin called the agreement "an imperfect compromise" while Rothman said he believed it was in the best interest of universities. Both said they were disappointed but respected the board's decision.

UW deal criticized by Democrats, campuses

Criticism of the deal began trickling out even before details of the deal were officially announced Friday.

The Legislative Black Caucus blasted the agreement, saying UW was sacrificing DEI efforts for buildings.

"It sends a bad message, communicating that DEI has a price tag," said caucus chair Rep. Dora Drake, of Milwaukee. "How does this deal communicate to our students and faculty of color that they are supported on these campuses?"

UW-Oshkosh professor Vincent Filak said the deal would have "sold out" students and faculty of color for a couple buildings and modest raises. He said he would gladly give up his pay increase in solidarity.

"I don’t think you should be held hostage by someone who unilaterally gets to decide what’s happening at a statewide level," he said, referring to Vos. "That feels like what's happened here."

The campaign urging Regents to vote down the deal began swiftly. Assembly Democrats organized a letter. The UW-Madison student government offered a template email for students to send to board members.

Board members said they had received “hundreds” of emails and phone calls from students and staff.

“The secretive process which excluded students and people of color used to negotiate this dealwas its own downfall,” said UW-Madison senior MGR Govindarajan, who serves on the Madison City Council. “Organizing works. Democracy works, and the UW System needs to democratize its process.”

What was in the deal for Republicans?

Alarmed by the growing administrative size of campuses, Republicans have sought to rein in UW system hiring and roll back diversity programs.

Under the deal, from 2024 through 2026, the UW System would have maintained its total number of positions, with exceptions for faculty or staff who directly support students or research.

The UW System would have also restructured one-third of its 130 DEI positions to jobs supporting success of all students. Rothman said none of the 43 people in the restructured positions would have lost their jobs.

Also in the deal was UW-Madison ending a hiring program that has helped diversify its faculty ranks. The university would have instead launched a different hiring program for faculty who have demonstrated their ability to work with underrepresented students.

GOP lawmakers have long believed there are too many progressive professors on campus promoting liberal views. Under the deal, the UW System would have developed a mandatory online orientation on free speech for incoming students. UW-Madison would have sought donor money to fund a faculty position focused on conservative political thought, classical economic theory or classical liberalism.

Another long-held Republican request has been for more transparency in the admissions process. UW System would have removed diversity statements from the student application process.

UW-Madison would have also agreed to guarantee admission to the top 5% of Wisconsin high school students. Other UW campuses would have to accept the top 10% of in-state students.

What was in the deal for UW?

The deal would have infused universities with cash for capital projects and pay raises for employees.

The Legislature already approved the pay raises but a committee Vos co-chairs declined to sign off. The deal called for the committee by Dec. 31 to approve a 4% raise in 2023 and a 2% raise in 2024 for most UW employees.

The $32 million Republicans cut from the UW budget earlier this year would have been released back to campuses to spend on nursing, engineering and other workforce needs.

UW-Madison would have gotten approval to renovate three dorms and move forward on a new engineering building.

UW-Whitewater would have received $78 million to renovate two academic buildings, a request Rothman said was made by Vos, who is an alumnus of the university.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: University of Wisconsin board rejects deal on diversity, buildings