UW Regents protect DEI bureaucracy at any cost: Rothman-Vos agreement REJECTED

The President of the University of Wisconsin System, made up of the thirteen four-year universities in the state, and leadership of the Wisconsin Assembly, one of the two houses of the Wisconsin legislative branch, last week reached agreement on proceeding, in some fashion, on key items of interest to both. However, in an emergency meeting on Saturday, December 9, the governing body of the System, the Board of Regents, rejected the agreement by a 9-8 vote.

The Wisconsin Association of Scholars, a non-profit entity made primarily of university professors, active and retired, and others with an interest in higher education, applaud the efforts of Assembly Speaker Vos, Representative Murphy (Chair of the university oversight committee), and University of Wisconsin System President Rothman, to reach a thoughtful agreement that addressed key concerns of the parties.

The essence of the agreement offered to the System included hundreds of millions of dollars in new facilities including a new engineering building for the UW Madison campus as well as backdating over $70 million in pay raises for university staff effective July 1, 2023.  The System would also receive $32 million for a work force development program.

The agreement also addressed Assembly concerns with diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) positions and policies of the System, and the requirement for diversity statements from potential faculty and students, that the Assembly felt did not follow the spirit of the recent Supreme Court decision that banned discrimination in admission to universities. Over time, the number of DEI positions was to be reduced slightly and some of the positions were to be modified to focus more on student success.

Additionally, a chair in conservative studies was to be created on the Madison campus to be paid by private funds.   Further, admissions policy for the System was to be modified to assure that highly successful students in Wisconsin high schools would be guaranteed admission to the schools in the system.

The Israel/Hamas clash ignited feelings around the world and U.S. campuses were no exception.  The focus on higher education that resulted has been largely negative and reflect an institution that has become dominated by left wing orthodoxy and failed students, parents and the public. The recent testimony of Ivy League university presidents shouted the moral collapse of elite educational institutions, and scorn has been properly heaped upon them. While DEI programs were touted as enhancing the university experience, in practice and in spirit they have been discriminatory and violative of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling. University policies, including those of the Wisconsin System, have discriminated in both student admissions and in various ways with faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure policies. The Wisconsin Association of Scholars endorses the statement of Chief Justice Roberts that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis or race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

We also strongly support intellectual diversity. The purpose of a university education is to acquire knowledge and seek truth. Especially in the liberal arts, current faculties at virtually all universities have a strong leftward tilt. In science and medicine it is obvious that merit-based admissions are essential for the well-being of the public. To simply begin the process of exposing students to thoughtful conservative political and economic ideas, it is vital that a chair in conservative policy exist not only on the UW Madison campus but at all four-year colleges in Wisconsin. And just as with most other faculty positions, the State should fund them – their existence should not depend on philanthropic generosity.

We hope that the leaders of the Assembly and the System can resolve their differences. We applaud the initial efforts and hope discussions can be reopened and consummated. Future agreements should unambiguously extol the value of free speech on campus, provide for education on the constitutional guarantees of free speech, and establish clear standards and punishment for violations and abuse of these rights and policies. Higher education institutions play a vital role in our society and the public that pays for them deserves to know their students are being educated by competent, open-minded scholars rather and not indoctrinated by intolerant bureaucrats and tenured ideologues.