UW-Madison is failing its commitment to diversity, according to a panel of the University's senior administrators, faculty and students at the Plan 2008 Student Forum Friday.
When challenged by UW-Madison graduate and activist Tshaka Barrows to give either a passing or failing grade to the University's efforts, most members said fail\ without hesitation.
UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, who was part of the committee, did not fail the University's efforts, but gave them a ""C-"" instead.
""We're more diverse in this student body than the whole state of Wisconsin,"" Wiley said. ""Is that good enough? Absolutely not, because we're not a state school, we're a national school.""
Wiley said the University deserved such a low grade because minority students graduate at rates far lower than other students.
""Those differences are not attributable to ability or preparation or background or anything other than the difficulty of being a student of color on our campus,"" Wiley said.
Bernice Durand, a physics professor and the associate vice chancellor for diversity and climate, also gave a ""C-"" to the University, saying there is a crisis of insufficient diversity on campus.
According to Durand, by the time students currently enrolled at UW-Madison retire, the majority of citizens of the United States will not be white, and if current trends continue, the majority of people will not be sufficiently educated.
""We are not preparing our white students here to deal with that, and we're not preparing the children of this state or this nation who are students of color to get to the University,"" Durand said.
Members of the committee offered a variety of solutions to the problems of campus climate.
Jennifer Knox, a UW-Madison junior and chair of Associated Students of Madison's Finance Committee, said a system of penalties and incentives would make faculty and administrators stick more closely to goals set for diversity.
The Affairs Director for the United Council of UW Students, David Glisch-Sánchez, said that ethnic studies classes do not go far enough, and mandatory classes that confront prejudice are needed.
""There's no class where white students go and are challenged on their notions in a very real way to really start deconstructing some things,"" Glisch-Sánchez said.
Following the success of minority students who entered into academic programs where they receive personal attention from mentors and tutors, Wiley said that the expansion of such services could greatly improve campus climate.
""We need to have special mentoring for all students, irrespective of whether they're in a formal program or not,"" Wiley said.
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