Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate Patrick Sims introduced plans for a campuswide institutional statement regarding diversity at the Associated Students of Madison Student Council meeting Wednesday.
Sims said while his office has partnered with other diversity organizations on campus to begin initiatives for assessing diversity at UW-Madison, such as a campuswide climate survey and the Diversity Inventory Project, they lacked a way to “galvanize” their efforts.
This institutional statement would ideally stem from a conversation between all university members including those in shared governance groups and administrative positions, Sims explained, and would be a way for students and faculty to hold themselves accountable for a welcoming and inclusive campus.
“I’m hoping that by having this collective conversation and getting the appropriate shared governance bodies involved in the crafting of the statement, that there would be a sense of ownership and therefore a way to ensure that statement has … substance to hold us accountable,” Sims said.
Sims acknowledged many schools and colleges at UW-Madison have individual statements regarding diversity, but this centralized statement would compile these resources and practices to create a more “robust” infrastructure and a wide space for dialogue on diversity.
Equity & Inclusion Committee Chair Mariam Coker said many words appearing in past diversity initiatives were passive, such as “support” and “improve,” and asked whether there would be more concrete actions taken.
Sims said the language in diversity initiatives like the Diversity Framework was intended to be more “prescriptive,” and it developed from conversations between small groups of people. He explained in order to be successful, the conversation needs to opened to more players.
Shared Governance Committee Chair Jessica Franco-Morales questioned the next steps the statement will take after its creation, which is tentatively set for the end of this academic year, according to Sims.
The statement would be woven into the university’s “institutional legacy,” Sims said.
“The same way we talk about sifting and winnowing, the same way we talk about the Wisconsin Idea, my hope is we’ll be able to have similar vocabulary and language to talk about an institutional commitment to diversity,” Sims said.
