Madison Reporter

The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents has rejected an $800 million proposal aimed at curtailing diversity programs. The board's decision, which was made in favor of maintaining and expanding diversity and inclusion initiatives, drew criticism from state Republicans who saw the rejection as a missed opportunity for employee pay increases and investments in education.

Fox News reported that State Assembly Republicans responded to the decision by saying, "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."

Over the past year, according to Fox News, Wisconsin Republicans have proposed bills and entered into negotiations aimed at reducing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives with the goal of prioritizing education at state universities. However, the University of Wisconsin (UW) board dismissed the latest proposal by a narrow margin of 9-8 without allowing further discussion. The proposal recommended limiting DEI hires, eliminating diversity statements from applications at two UW campuses, and establishing admission criteria for Wisconsin high school students. In exchange, the university would have received over $800 million for construction projects and facilitated pay raises by December 31.

Speaker Robin Vos commented on this matter stating: "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 all so they could continue their ideological campaign to force students to believe only one viewpoint is acceptable on campus."

According to the Wisconsin Examiner, if accepted, this agreement would have notably allocated funds for constructing a much-desired new engineering building. It also reported that Wisconsin Republicans have been working towards implementing a policy that guarantees top academic performers access to UW System schools with an exception for UW-Madison where top 5% of Wisconsin high school students would gain automatic admission. Additionally, it was proposed that UW-Madison should secure external funding for a position focused on conservative political thought or classical economic theory.