For all its advantages, the UW-Madison campus is not very diverse. The administration has made attempts to devise programs to attract students of different backgrounds and lifestyles to UW System campuses. The fact remains, however, that most students here are middle class white people.
One such office was the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, which was officially dissolved on Monday, almost four weeks to the day that Vice Chancellor Paul Barrows announced he would be taking a leave of absence.
The office was in charge of several programs whose goal was to increase diversity in the UW System. These programs included Plan 2008, a ten-year plan enacted in 1998 whose goal is to recruit, retain and create a favorable environment for students of color, as well as several other programs designed to improve the climate on campus.
The administration, led by UW-Madison Provost Peter Spear and UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, insists that no program formerly overseen by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs will suffer despite the dissolution of the office. They say that other administrative departments will take over these programs, and no services they provided will be lost.
The fact is, however, that the diversity programs are not working well. Enrollment and retention rates for students of color fall far short of the goals set in Plan 2008, and the climate for diversity at UW has not gotten markedly better. While the university has made attempts-often under the supervison of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs-to attract a more diverse student body, the results of these attempts have been marginal.
Dismantling the office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs gives the university an opportunity to reassess its attempts to diversify. The change in oversight for diversity programs here could result in a new effort to try and reach the goals laid out in Plan 2008. Even in the face of budget woes, the administration must not forget that a true commitment to diversity requires an effort to ensure affordability for low-income students and create a welcoming environment for students of color.
Coming to a campus whose students hail from many different backgrounds can greatly enhance the college experience, and a diverse UW System will mean more diversity among high-wage jobs in Wisconsin as well. The dismantling of the office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs could result in the administration redoubling its efforts to ensure a diverse campus, or in attempts to diversify the campus falling by the wayside. We sincerely hope it leads to the former.
