MADISON – University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced July 9 that the university’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Education Achievement will close.
A majority of the programs, leaders and advisors housed under the division will be relocated to the Division for Teaching and Learning. Some will move into the Office of Human Resources or Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research.
“Diversity of all kinds, including diversity of viewpoint and diversity of identity and background, remains a core value of our university,” Mnookin said in a statement. “We must create the conditions here, including through programs and support services, that allow all of our students, faculty and staff to flourish and to reach their full potential.”
Additionally, Mnookin said UW-Madison would continue to support student cohort and support programs that were a part of the division and that scholarships awarded to current and incoming students through the programs would not be affected by this change.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, applauded the decision, and said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he is “glad to see the UW System finally getting rid of this awful waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“We need less indoctrination and more effort to provide students with usable skills and knowledge to help them get a good paying job,” Vos said.
Vos, along with other Republican lawmakers in the state, renewed their push to abandon DEI initiatives after a state audit found that University of Wisconsin System campuses failed to track millions of dollars spent on DEI.
The audits, ordered by the Republican-controlled Legislature, estimated that despite the lack of precise tracking, the UW System spent about $40 million on DEI-related offices and activities.
Released in April, the audit came during intense scrutiny of DEI by Republicans at both the state and federal levels.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed to eliminate federal support for DEI initiatives and has targeted what it describes as racially discriminatory policies.
Trump cited UW-Madison among 50 universities under federal investigation for alleged racial bias tied to DEI programming.
DEI has remained a flash point in Wisconsin politics. Vos has described DEI efforts as “cancerous” and has vowed to eliminate DEI initiatives and programs from state government.
In 2023, Republican lawmakers struck a deal with the UW System to freeze diversity hires, reclassify about a third of DEI roles as “student success” positions and drop an affirmative action hiring initiative. In exchange, lawmakers approved funding for staff raises and construction projects.
At the time of the agreement, the system had 123 full-time DEI-related positions. By May 2024, that number dropped to 110 and stood at 64 in March 2025.
Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com.
This story was updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to close DEI division, move programming elsewhere
Reporting by Anna Kleiber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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