Wisconsin audit reveals lack of tracking on DEI spending

The University of Wisconsin system and several state agencies failed to specifically track spending on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Wisconsin’s Legislative Audit Bureau (WLAB) recently revealed.

The audits covered FY 2023-2024. As a result of this lack of tracking, WLAB, a state government agency, was forced to estimate what the institutions spent on these programs.

WLAB stated in its audit of University of Wisconsin institutions that it estimates the system spent $12.5 million on salaries for employees with job titles relating to DEI. Additionally, WLAB estimated the university spent $40.2 million “on offices with duties pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” However, WLAB clarified that not all of those funds were specifically dedicated to DEI.

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The university was already set to scale back its DEI efforts after it made a deal with Republican legislators in 2023 to limit DEI-related positions. When the deal was struck, the university had 123 full-time positions to DEI. Auditors found that the number had dropped to 110 by May 2024 and now sits at 60.

In January, the university removed its chief diversity officer, LaVar Charleston, due to a “significant lapse in judgment and fiscal responsibility,” Fox 6, a local affiliate, reported. While Charleston was removed from his DEI position, he remains a member of the university’s faculty.

In its audits of state agencies, WLAB found that 12 agencies spent about $2.2 million on salaries for 47 positions pertaining to DEI. WLAB also estimates 23 agencies spent approximately $705,300 on salary costs for “time spent attending diversity, equity, and inclusion training required by Executive Order 59 or DOA in 2023.”

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A challenge WLAB noted in its reports was that both the agencies and the university had overlapping costs, making it difficult to calculate exactly what was spent on DEI programs.

WLAB also found that agencies failed to consistently report to the Department of Administration (DOA) efforts to correct noncompliance. However, simultaneously, the DOA did not consistently require the agencies to take action on such issues. Additionally, WLAB found that “most agencies” did not submit to DOA all annual required progress reports pertaining to DEI from 2021 to 2023.

The audits were ordered by state Republicans who launched a comprehensive review of spending on equity programs in May 2024, according to The Associated Press. This follows comments made by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in late 2023 in which he vowed to end DEI initiatives. The move aligns with efforts by the Trump administration to get DEI out of all facets of American life, including higher education.