Rejected DEI funding deal could be reconsidered at special Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting Tuesday

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents could be positioning itself to reverse a surprise decision made over the weekend.

On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the board will meet in a special session and is expected to discuss the rejection of an $800 million funding deal.

It's the latest twist in a saga that has been months in the making.

On Friday, Dec. 8, the universities announced a deal with state Republicans: $800 million in funding to cover pay raises and a new engineering building, but the universities must "reimagine" Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.

In announcing the deal Friday, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said, "Neither side, at the end of the day, has typically said this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. That is just reality."

The acknowledgment was the deal reached with state Republican leaders was not perfect, but good enough to secure the funding.

Jennifer Mnookin, chancellor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, also said Friday, "This absolutely is not getting rid of DEI. But it is a commitment to reimagine parts of it."

But the next day, several regents objected.

In a meeting, Regent Angela Adams said, "It is short-sighted to accept such an indecent proposal."

And Regent Jennifer Staton said, "I don't want anyone feeling uncomfortable because it is my home, and I will fight for my home."

Both voted against the deal, and the rest of the board was uncharacteristically split.

Regent President Karen Walsh told other regents before the vote, "I'm really at a loss to provide guidance to you all," adding, "There will be consequences either way."

The final tally was nine against the deal, eight for.

Even some of the regents that voted for the deal expressed unease with changing the DEI programs.

But they acknowledged the money was the key, like Regent Kyle Weatherly, who said, "The crude reality is that any minute we delay the release of compensation package is a minute that we lose more faculty and staff."

After the vote, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos issued a statement that said: "It's a shame they've denied employees their raises and the almost $1 billion investment that would have been made across the UW system, all so they could continue their ideological campaign to force students to believe only one viewpoint is acceptable on campus."

And Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu wrote: "The Board of Regents should reconsider their vote; stop prioritizing woke liberal ideology over student achievement, and make the right decision on behalf of the university system and the state."

And another vote could happen, because UW-Milwaukee Professor Emeritus Mordecai Lee said regents "certainly got emails from professors and from UW employees."

Lee does not earn a salary and would not be impacted by the pay raises. He said, "These fights are natural in a university system."

And he said those that voted no are likely to face pressure. Lee said they could be thinking, "'I don't want to be the no vote; I don't want to be the person who denies them their pay raise.' I think that tomorrow the regents are going to fold."

If the vote changes, Lee says Robin Vos will have scored another political victory, despite the board's initial vote. "Now it appears that his refusal to reopen negotiations really played out."

Any of the regents who voted against the compromise can make a motion to reconsider, triggering another vote.

Tuesday's special meeting starts at 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning. It will be a closed-session meeting.