UW regents back GOP deal; funding in exchange diversity effort limits
MADISON, Wis. - The Universities of Wisconsin regents have approved an $800 million deal with Republican lawmakers for pay raises and building projects, in exchange to limit diversity positions.
The deal calls for freezing hiring for diversity positions through 2026 and the UW system must also "realign" one-third of those jobs to focus on academic success.
The regents approved it by a vote of 11-6 Wednesday evening, Dec. 13. That action came days after the regents had voted down the proposal 9-8 on Saturday. Three regents, including board president Karen Walsh, changed their votes after rejecting the deal.
Walsh said the UW system will remain committed to helping underserved students.
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"This proposal does not put that in jeopardy," Walsh said. "We are not turning away from this core value."
Republicans will release money for a 6% raise for 34,000 employees and construction projects, including a new UW-Madison engineering building.
"I don't love this deal," regent Kyle Weatherly said. "I don't even like this deal."
UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone vowed his campus can make this work, while faculty and staff deserve their cost-of-living raise.
"They will be much more inclined to stay and help with higher morale and more ability to serve the students of UW-Milwaukee," he said.
Reactions
Gov. Tony Evers
"This vote today represents a vast overreach by a group of Republicans who’ve grown exceedingly comfortable overextending, manipulating, and abusing their power to control, subvert, and obstruct basic functions of government. Republicans are unconstitutionally obstructing UW pay raises and investments that were already discussed, negotiated, and approved in the biennial budget the Legislature passed and I signed in July—these never should’ve been part of this conversation, period, because Republicans need only choose to release today what we all approved of months ago. Wisconsin also has readily available state resources we could invest right now, today, in our UW System to prevent further closures and layoffs—a fact of which legislative Republicans are more than well aware but refuse to do anything about, having rejected, for example, my proposed investments for the UW-Madison engineering building on two separate occasions already. Legislative Republicans similarly could have spent the last several months advancing the very legislation at issue in these negotiations but instead declined to exercise the singular constitutional authority unique to their branch of government—the ability to pass a bill.
"I disagree with the regents’ decision today. I am disappointed and frustrated with this result, this proposal, and the process that led up to this point. It is also my expectation that every individual who promised in this process that the important work of building diversity, equity, and inclusion and making sure our campuses are welcoming and work for everyone would not be diminished by this action will be working in earnest to make good on that commitment. And I’m going to make damn sure that they do."
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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos
"I'm glad they approved the compromise tonight despite reported last-minute lobbying by Gov. Evers to scuttle the deal. We finally have turned the corner and gotten real reforms enacted. Republicans know this is just the first step in what will be our continuing efforts to eliminate these cancerous DEI practices on UW campuses."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.