Frederica Freyberg:

Wisconsin Republican Legislative leaders have reached an agreement with the UW over releasing budget-approved pay raises, $32 million in cuts over DEI programs and funding of a new engineering building at UW-Madison. A note, PBS Wisconsin is part of UW-Madison. The deal includes enacting the 4% salary increases for 35,000 UW staff. The release of 32 million state dollars held back over diversity programs, and funding for a new UW-Madison engineering building. In return, the university agrees to a freeze in the number of DEI positions, with a third of those jobs to focus on academic success and the creation of an endowed chair position to focus on conservative political thought.

Jay Rothman:

Today’s agreement reflects what we believe to be in the best interests of the Universities of Wisconsin and all Wisconsinites to find a path forward on the issue the speaker has raised in a way that enables all of our universities to better serve students and the public under the current circumstances.