The University of Wisconsin System (UW) Board of Regents narrowly rejected on Saturday a proposal that would have put a halt to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices, according to The Daily Cardinal.
The proposal would have restructured some university DEI positions into student success positions in exchange for $800 million in funding that would have gone to employee pay raises and building projects, according to The Daily Cardinal. The board rejected the proposal in a 9-8 vote and UW System President Jay Rothman posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was “disappointed” in the decision.
“On balance, I believe this proposed agreement was in the best interests of the Universities of Wisconsin,” Rothman wrote. “While I am disappointed, I respect the decision of the Board of Regents.”
On balance, I believe this proposed agreement was in the best interests of the Universities of Wisconsin. While I am disappointed, I respect the decision of the Board of Regents.
— Jay Rothman (@JayORothman) December 9, 2023
If approved, the university system would have been required to stop hiring for DEI positions for a three-year period and nearly a third of the 130 DEI positions would have been restructured, according to The Daily Cardinal. Each Wisconsin high school would also have guaranteed admission to UW-Madison for the schools’ top 5% of students.
The system would have received $800 million from the state legislature for pay raises for employees, a new engineering hall for UW-Madison, and other projects, the outlet reported.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin announced in November that he was suing the Republican-controlled legislature after it withheld raises for UW System employees over its estimated $32 million in funding for DEI.
“I’m a born-and-raised Wisconsinite, and what I know for certain is that Wisconsinites expect elected officials to govern, they expect us to get things done, and they expect their government to work and work for them—and certainly not against them,” Evers said.
The Board of Regents did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
