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University of Wisconsin, Madison

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
702 W Johnson St #1101
Madison, Wisconsin 53715
Phone
(608) 263-2400
School Information
"Since its founding in 1848, this campus has been a catalyst for the extraordinary. As a public land-grant university and prolific research institution, our students, staff, and faculty members partake in a world-class education and solve real-world problems. We’ve changed the way the nation takes its vitamins and brought flamingos to Bascom Hill. We’ve inspired satirists and senators alike. We’ve fearlessly sifted and winnowed to find today’s truths. And with the Wisconsin Idea as our guiding principle, we’re not only changing the 936 acres we call home—Badgers are also creating a better future for Wisconsin, the nation, and the world." The university enrolls over 45,300 students, employs over 22,300 faculty and staff, and offers over programs across its 13 schools and colleges. (Source: https://www.wisc.edu/about/) (Source: https://www.wisc.edu/about/facts/)
General Information
UW Madison taken steps to change its training procedures. The university announced that it will mandate cultural awareness training, although the exact form of training is unclear. Additionally, the Medical School will be removing race as a part of its kidney function test. It is unclear whether "cultural awareness training" will contain elements of C.R.T. See developments below:

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • On June 29, 2023, UW's Chancellor issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action which reads: "The ruling will require some modifications to aspects of our current admissions practices; we will, of course, adapt our practices to comply with the law. At the same time, I want to reiterate that our commitment to the value of diversity within our community, including racial diversity, remains a bedrock value of the institution."
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • Mandatory Cultural Awareness Training.
  • The Department of Inclusion Education within Student Affairs provides "educational opportunities that support exploration and engagement in topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion." These opportunities include social justice education programs, workshops and trainings, and a social justice leadership retreat.
  • "Our Wisconsin" is an "inclusion education program created to raise awareness of the diversity within our student population" and is a "required online interactive module" for UW-Madison students.
  • The Campus Committee on Diversity Education and Training works to "expand faculty and staff learning around our shared values of diversity, equity, and inclusion." Faculty and staff "will explore inclusive communication, the influence of unconscious bias, and benefits of engaging diversity."
  • The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Education and Professional Development unit for UW–Madison faculty, staff, and graduate student employees will "work with campus stakeholders to offer diversity programming on issues such as recognizing and reducing implicit bias, preventing microaggressions, and engaging across difference."
  • The Division of University Relations at UW-Madison is "dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging" by "[g]rowing employee cultural competencies and providing employees with effective DEIB training opportunities."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • UW-Madison's School of Nursing states, "Awareness of diversity and promotion of inclusivity is central to our curricula, social and educational events, and resources and services."
  • The UW–Madison School of Nursing Anti-Racism Commitment states, "Social Justice and Health Equity concepts are required, and concepts are also embedded throughout the curriculum to be applicable to each course."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • According to UW-Madison's Diversity Inventory, "Each semester, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Wisconsin School of Business hosts a breakfast and onboarding/community session for new WSB employees" which includes "an overview of WSB’s DEI strategy, goals, and initiatives."
Program and Research Funding
  • The Mellon Foundation "awarded $5 million to fund an interdisciplinary, multi-year project to advance anti-racist practices and pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM)".
  • The Institute for Diversity Science at UW-Madison is a research institute where "researchers conduct basic, applied, and translational research on the causes of group-based discrimination and effective ways to eliminate them."
  • The Office of Strategic Diversity Planning and Research at UW-Madison is "responsible for research, evaluation and assessment actions; leading quality improvement activities; and supporting internal and external reviews relating to diversity, equity and inclusion across the UW–Madison campus."
  • On March 3, 2021, the Office of the Chancellor announced that the university "raised more than $20 million" which "represents our commitment to expand access, representation and inclusion at UW-Madison." The funding would also be used to "[i]nvest in research addressing injustices and advancing equity."
Re-Imagining Policing
  • The UW-Madison Police Department published its "Equity Dashboard" which is a "way of showing our commitment to equity in action as co-defined alongside members of our community." The department also states, "There are reasons why those we serve from marginalized communities experience fear, anxiety and anger when it comes to police" and provides examples to support this statement.
Resources
  • The University of Wisconsin's Gender and Women's Studies Library published a reading list focusing on "Whiteness".
  • The Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives is offering its "Hip Hop in the Heartland" seminar. The seminar description reads, "The one-of-a-kind program draws from educational pedagogies on socio-cultural theory, cultural relevancy, critical race theory, hip hop and social justice. Participants learn proven, hands-on techniques to develop lesson plans and strengthen their course study, as well as create a platform from which they will understand the scope of hip hop history, culture and politics."
  • The university is offering "African 405: The Problem of Whiteness," where the course description reads, "Critical Whiteness Studies aims to understand how whiteness is socially constructed and experienced in order to help dismantle white supremacy. Our class will break away from the standard US-centric frame, and consider how whiteness is constructed globally, with particular attention to paradigmatic cases like South Africa. Whereas disciplines such as Latino/a, African, and Asian American studies focus on race as experienced by non-whites, whiteness studies considers how race is experienced by white people."
  • The University’s Resources that Activate Change in Health Sciences (REACH) center offers a website with resources on anti-black violence, inequality in America, and racism for teaching.
  • In September and November of 2020, the University presented multiple talks with Ibram X. Kendi focusing on Kendi’s concept of antiracism and critical race theory.
  • UWM has several equity tools. One is a Health Equity Curricular Toolkit contributed by nearly 40 experts across North America, and another is the Toolkit for Teaching about Racism in the Context of Persistent Health and Healthcare Disparities contributed by national experts.
  • The UW-Madison Libraries collaborated with the Humanities Education for Anti-racism Literacy (HEAL) in the Sciences and Medicine project. This initiative "seeks to improve equitable access to higher education by drawing on humanities research to advance anti-racist practices and pedagogy in science, technology, mathematics and medicine (STEMM).” Additionally, the project aims to “build more accurate narratives about histories of racism in STEMM to better understand persistent underrepresentation and to develop educational tools for building a more equitable university and society."
  • UWM has an anti-racism resource page just for "white allies". Specifically, the materials are "intended to help white UW–Madison community members educate themselves about the systems of racial oppression that undergird American institutions and victimize people of color — particularly Black people — every day" and the school hopes the resources give white people some "new tools" as they "learn more about what it means to be white within these systems of oppression".
  • On December 8, 2023, Inside Higher Ed reported that after six months of funding negotiations, UW system leaders and the Republican-lead legislature had finally reached a deal which was eventually voted down by the UW Board of Regents. The board had "agreed to vote on a deal between system leaders and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos that would freeze and cap DEI hiring in exchange for funding held up by the Legislature." However, "the board rejected the proposal 9 to 8 leaving over $800 million on the table and the future of the system’s DEI offices in limbo." In response to the boards vote, Speaker Vos and Assembly republicans issued the following statement: "'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'."
  • UW-Madison's yearly Diversity Forum took place in November 2023 and was titled, "Bridging the Divide: Realizing Belonging While Engaging Difference." The 2024 forum will also take place in November and is titled, "Threads of Belonging: Navigating Differences and Building Community."
  • UW-Madison provides a complete and searchable "Diversity Inventory" that includes "diversity and inclusion programs, events, research, support services, and assessment on campus and in the Madison community."
  • According to UW-Madison's Diversity Inventory, "Each semester, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Wisconsin School of Business hosts 2-3 Lunch & Learn sessions" in order to "build awareness of topics related to inclusion."
Symbolic Actions
  • University will be removing a campus symbol (a rock) because it used to have a racist name.
  • Professors from the University of Wisconsin, Madison were interviewed on PBS Wisconsin’s “Here and Now” program about critical race theory and how it should be taught in schools.
  • UWM Department of Psychiatry has an anti-racism statement titled "Racism Is A Public Health Crisis. Racism Is Trauma. Together We Are Making Changes."
  • UW-Madison's Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History "seeks to expand and enrich UW-Madison’s historical narrative by centering the voices, experiences, and struggles of marginalized groups" and will "expose histories of exclusion and discrimination within the UW-Madison community and center the people who have resisted and continue to resist marginalization."
  • On March 2, 2023, UW-Madison hosted the "fifteenth cohort of Outstanding Women of Color Award" ceremony which "recognize[s] honorees whose advocacy, activism, and/or scholarship has positively transformed their organizations and/or community, and whose efforts advance equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging for people of color."
  • The School of Nursing hosts the "underrepresented student and alumni reception [which] is an annual event held in the fall for all nursing students and alumni who identify as racial/ethnic minorities" and is an "opportunity to engage students of color and multicultural alumni with networking and community building activities."
  • The UW–Madison School of Nursing Anti-Racism Commitment states, "As champions of healthcare, we must stand at the forefront of health initiatives that challenge institutionalized racism and align with our values of integrity, compassion, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to improving the healthcare and education systems."
Last updated August 7th, 2024
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