It is impossible to evaluate the diversity, equality, and inclusion projects because Wisconsin state agencies and the University of Wisconsin system have failed to document the millions of dollars they spent on them, according to audits revealed Friday that were mandated by Republicans.
The highly anticipated findings are being released at the same time as President Trump is actively working to cut off funding for DEI programs from the federal government. The Wisconsin Republican Party, which controls the state legislature, has also made similar attempts. Republicans will certainly step up their effort to eliminate all things associated to DEI in light of the findings of the studies.
Particularly DEI policies and procedures at UW–Madison have been the subject of intense criticism.
The chief diversity officer of the system, La Var Charleston, was sacked in January by the system’s flagship institution for what the university saw as his bad financial judgments, such as giving huge salaries and supporting what they thought was excessive expenditure on travel.
This institution is among fifty that Trump has indicated are being investigated for possible racial discrimination in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Federal education officials are examining 60 schools, including UW–Madison, on charges that they did not adequately safeguard Jewish students during last year’s anti-Gaza rallies. University of Wisconsin–Madison administrators have condemned antisemitism in all its manifestations and have stated their cooperation with the two investigations on Friday.
According to audits, DEI initiatives received millions of dollars.
Neither UW nor the fifteen state agencies examined kept detailed spending records for DEI initiatives throughout the fiscal year 2023–2024 (ending June 30), according to the audits.
Schools launched customized initiatives when auditors found that neither the UW system’s administration nor the Board of Regents mandated that they define DEI. The system reportedly spent almost $40 million on departments whose responsibilities included diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In addition to the $8 million spent on DEI-related activities, the system spent around $12.5 million on pay for jobs with DEI-related job functions. Roughly $2.2 million was spent on compensation for DEI-related positions by twelve state entities.
Audit results show that agencies were not regularly required by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration to verify the accuracy of DEI plan development and implementation. The study also found that agencies failed to regularly record when they resolved noncompliance.
The executive branch issued a warning about extrapolating the audit’s findings to DEI’s true expenditures.
According to Kathy Blumenfeld, head of the state’s Department of Administration, a significant portion of the expenditures were associated with human resources best practices, programs mandated by law, or initiatives aimed at retaining and recruiting workers.
Republican Party is proposing to do away with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
The Republican-led legislature has been trying to dismantle DEI programs for a long time, and last year they had the impartial Legislative Audit Bureau look into it. The speaker of the state assembly, Robin Vos, has vowed to put a stop to diversity initiatives, calling them “cancerous” and expressing his desire for a “truly colorblind” society.
The audits reveal that taxpayers spent millions on DEI with few results, according to a statement released Friday by Republican co-chairs of the Legislature’s Joint Audit Committee, State Sen. Eric Wimberger and State Rep. Robert Wittke.
“Assuming the guise of equality in Wisconsin’s legislative chambers is neither acceptable nor acceptable,” Wimberger averred.
DEI posts at UW are declining
The UW system halted diversity hiring in 2023 as part of an agreement with Republicans. Additionally, UW-Madison ended its affirmative action hiring program and renamed forty diversity posts as “student success” roles. Legislators received pay hikes and funded building projects in return.
At the time the agreement went into force, auditors discovered that 123 full-time jobs inside the system either offered diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) services, featured the words “diversity, equity and inclusion” in their job names, or were senior leadership roles with an emphasis on DEI. May 2024 saw a reduction in the number of posts to 110.
In an email response to the auditors, UW system president Jay Rothman announced the addition of 64 new posts. According to Rothman, auditors face difficulties in their job due to the fact that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is not universally defined, that schools create their own initiatives, and that DEI offices may have responsibilities unrelated to DEI projects, which can lead to a muddled picture of where money is going.
“When interpreting the data offered in the report, it is important to note both the UW’s philosophical shift toward a broader focus on student success and the fact that universities have different structures for offices and positions that may be related to, but not solely focused on, ‘DEI’ activities,” Rothman wrote in his letter.
