Republicans to cut University of Wisconsin budget in ongoing fight over diversity and inclusion

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican state lawmakers were poised Tuesday to cut funding for University of Wisconsin campuses as the GOP-controlled Legislature and school officials continue to clash over efforts to promote diversity and inclusion.

The vote comes just days after Republicans refused to fund the university’s top building project priority — a new engineering facility on the flagship Madison campus.

Tensions between Republicans who control the Legislature and the state’s university system are nothing new. But the fight this year centers on issues of free speech and UW’s work to advance diversity and racial equity.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the state’s top Republican, said ahead of a meeting of the budget-writing committee on Tuesday that he wants it to cut all funding the university system would use for diversity initiatives. He estimated the cuts would total $32 million.

“I hope we have the ability to eliminate that spending. The university should have already chosen to redirect it to something that is more productive and more broadly supported,” Vos told The Associated Press.