The University of Wisconsin announced Wednesday the School of Social Work is being awarded for creatively diversifying its student population — an accomplishment the school hopes to expand to the rest of campus.
Madison’s Young Women’s Christian Association conducted a survey to measure the progress Madison has made in diversifying its population. With over 42 organizations participating, the school’s Recruitment and Retention of Students of Color Committee was the clear winner, according to Colleen Butler, YWCA’s racial justice and community outreach manager.
The survey reflects diversity in the UW System and the city of Madison, Butler said. Measures to increase minorities on campus have been shown through various UW outreach programs, though she said these programs are not enough.
“We think of ourselves as liberal and progressive, but that’s where we also hold ourselves back,” Butler said. “Madison suffers from being afraid to talk about race because they’re concerned they’ll be perceived as racist. This actually makes it more uncomfortable for people of color.”
To address the issue, RRSCC utilized a grant from the National Science Foundation to increase recruitment and retention of students of color.
The committee attended campuswide fairs and workshops and formed a calling board in which UW students can talk to prospective students of color about life on campus from a minority perspective.
“This campus is not very diverse, and it’s important for students of color to know their opportunities before they get here,” said Tracy Shroepfer, RRSCC chair. “We pay for our current students to take the incoming students out to State Street for a night, show them around and have dinner. The spring luncheon is the next day, where students can get together and ask our professors any questions.”
The School of Social Work also formed an organization called “Students Helping to Achieve Diversity and Equality” to help connect students of white and minority backgrounds, Shroepfer said. The group meets once every two weeks and discusses ways to understand each other by talking about cultural diversity.
“[SHADE] members break up into 10 different rooms and each is assigned a question to consider,” Shroepfer said. “For example, one could be about the political correctness of talking about race.”
According to Butler, these strategies will not only expand the diversity of the school, but also the community.
According to Shroepfer, Madison has a Latino community of about 40,000 from 15 different countries and 11 rural Native American tribes. One of her main goals is to diversify the students of social work to accommodate an increasingly diverse Madison population, she said.
“The best thing is for strong networks to be made not just on the university campus, but in professional areas for people of color who have stayed in the community,” Butler said. “We need to create an atmosphere that people feel welcome in, so they’ll want to stay here after graduation.”
According to Shroepfer, RRSCC is also compiling a manual based on the needs some minority students expressed but were unable to find in Madison. The manual will contain resources to find ethnic food restaurants, hairstylists and alternative real estate agents and will be published online.
