People tell me I am known for my constant criticisms of University of Wisconsin System diversity programs and admissions policies. That may be true. But, today I take a different approach. I want to relay several suggestions to you. My hope is that sooner rather than later we can move beyond race/ethnicity. Our goal must be to build an ever stronger UW System, one that through its central mission of teaching, research, and public service, best moves the State of Wisconsin forward.
For the past decade you and your predecessors, have politely listened to my views on these matters–that
—race/ethnic preferences are illegal under Chapter 36 of the Wisconsin Statutes;
—race/ethnic preferences are politically suspect because they are at odds with the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
—race/ethnic preferences in admissions are unfair to both minority and non- minority students because of their stigmatizing and stereotyping effects;
—UW System and UW-Madison know too little about the educational benefits of diversity programs to justify their strong defense of these programs;
— —UW System minority programs have entailed hundreds of millions of dollars of expenditures while accomplishing little in advancing the well being of the state’s minority student population; and finally
—UW System faculties, for what would seem to be obvious reasons, should be involved, or at least consulted, in decisions to change admissions policies.
To many Wisconsin citizens, the UW System appears to be mired in the quicksands of diversity. Recent interviews with the UW-Madison Chancellor (Badger Herald January 25, 2007), and interim Dean of Students (Badger Herald January 25, 2007), as well as a Daily Cardinal Editorial (Tuesday January 23, 2007), attest to this. Taken together, they suggest that though progress is being made in expanding diversity, much still remains to be done, and the proposed “holistic” admissions process is essential to preserve if not strengthen diversity. In short, campus administrators seem to believe that minority programs developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and continued since then, can succeed in the early 21st Century, but only with the help of “holistic” admissions. Is there no other way?
Four intriguing suggestions came forward last week. They originated not from campus administrators, not from the faculty, not from the diversity program staff, not from outsiders. Three were put forth by undergraduates. The fourth is my suggestion.
The first suggestion comes from Daily Cardinal columnist, Anna Williams, “Affirmative action undermines equality” (January 24 2007). She discusses the lack of fairness in “comprehensive review” which by considering race/ethnicity sets a different standard for minority entrants. She elaborates the conflicted views it produces in both minority and non-minority students. It leads to both stereotyping and stigmatization, neither of which is productive in a university setting.
Why doesn’t the Board ask those people who are most affected–our students–
whether they favor comprehensive review and its use of race/ethnicity as one among a number of considerations affecting admissions decisions? Let’s ask individual students what they think; we know what student organizations are likely to say. And, let’s be sure to ask both those who are admitted competitively and those who receive extra consideration because of their race.
A second suggestion comes from Daily Cardinal columnist Enye Langree, “Bottom-up approach a must for diversity” (Tuesday January 23, 2007). Landgree concludes that top-down efforts such as Plan 2008 and the programs it spawned (e.g., the PEOPLE program) “are too narrow to have the necessary impact on UW diversity levels.” The solution is to work from the bottom up. Enlist students in the cause of diversity by “offering them a way to help out that won’t interfere with their studies.” What is needed is a broad base of student support and a program that taps into student time, interest, and energy.
How can the Board of Regents engage UW System students in helping to alleviate the varied conditions that perpetuate poverty and contribute to the low academic achievement of so many minority children? Perhaps the Board should develop what might be called a ServeWisconsin program, analogous to the national TeachAmerica program. Doing so would move us far beyond the empty statement that “diversity is everyone’s responsibility.” We all know that everybody’s responsibility is really nobody’s responsibility.
The third suggestion comes from Badger Herald columnist, Bassey Etim, “Public schools, property taxes spur lack of diversity” (Tuesday January 23, 2007). Etim who is black concludes the only real solution to the UW System’s diversity problem is: “Fixing the Milwaukee Public Schools.” Public school funding must be restructured to provide greater equality of educational opportunity in the K-12 grades particularly in Milwaukee. He concludes: “Unless we address the property tax question, UW is going to need admissions and recruitment aimed at minority communities for the foreseeable future.”
Might not the Board of Regents broaden its Wisconsin Growth Agenda to push for greater equality of educational opportunity in the K-12 grades? Wisconsin can never produce a powerhouse state economy until quality K-12 educational opportunities are available to the state’s entire population, both minority and non minority. Realizing this goal poses a formidable challenge but one the Board and the UW System should seize to demonstrate their commitment to the Wisconsin Idea.
I offer a fourth proposal based on my Wisconsin State Journal Op-ed “Review admissions policies” (January 22 2007). It calls for an independent evaluation of diversity efforts at UW-Madison and the UW System. Many claims made for campus diversity programs are anecdotal, backed by neither quantitative nor qualitative evidence. Other claims are based on empirical assumptions that have never been verified, much less examined. The time has come put diversity programming on a sounder intellectual, research-driven foundation, one based on reality rather than rhetoric.
The Board of Regents would do well to commission an independent, outside appraisal of these and related issues. The results will better inform the Board as it considers what must be done to advance the widely-held goal of providing greater equality of educational opportunity for all Wisconsin young people.
In conclusion, before rushing to embed race/ethnicity even more deeply in campus admissions policies through adoption of a “holistic” approach, the Board should engage in a wide-ranging examination of other approaches to diversity. It should advertise its openness to new suggestions. It should consider these suggestions carefully. These suggestions should be on the table when next year the Board of Regents begins its review of Plan 2008. Any new diversity plan must break with the past if it is to achieve the long-run goals of fairness and equality we all seek to promote.
Note: The Badger Herald, Daily Cardinal, and Wisconsin State Journal items cited here can be viewed on their respective webpages.