Assembly Speaker Robin Vos stated on Monday that Republicans are steadfast in their stance and will not make any alterations to the compromise plan rejected by the Universities of Wisconsin Regents on Saturday, according to a Wisconsin State Journal report. The proposal involved scaling back diversity initiatives in exchange for staff salary increases and funding for a new engineering building and other infrastructure improvements.
Vos, a Republican from Rochester, asserted that the negotiation was conducted in good faith, and there will be no modifications to the terms of the deal.
In response, the Board of Regents announced its intention to convene a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning. The meeting’s agenda includes discussions on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ lawsuit against the Legislature concerning the withholding of pay raises for UW system employees. Additionally, the Regents plan to deliberate and negotiate funding proposals and matters requiring a closed session, although the specific scope of the meeting was not immediately clear.
The Regents had voted 9–8 against the compromised agreement on Saturday. The proposal aimed to provide UW–Madison with a new engineering building, implement pay raises for UW system employees, and restore $32 million in funding that Republicans had withheld from the UW system’s budget the previous summer. A key aspect of the deal involved the system reducing its number of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employees, primarily by reclassifying around 43 roles as “student success” positions.
The rejection by the Regents followed impassioned pleas not to concede to Republican demands on DEI. Some regents expressed concerns that approving the deal might establish a precedent, implying that the UW system would have to compromise its core values or advocate for promised funding in state budgets to gain approval for building projects.
