“Inclusive excellence” has quietly replaced “diversity” and “Plan 2008” as the guiding star in UW-Madison’s four-decade long effort to increase minority representation and success.

Why adopt a new name for its diversity program? The reason is clear. Something had to be done to divert attention from the failed Plan 2008 which the UW System Board of Regents promised back in 1998 would make the UW System a national leader in achieving diversity.

The big question now is this: Can “inclusive excellence” succeed in accomplishing its ambitious goals? Answering this question first requires understanding what “inclusive excellence” means.

The most concise description appears in a Board of Regents document [go to UW System, “Inclusive Excellence FAQ: Short Version”]. It characterizes “inclusive excellence” as a new approach that will foster “greater diversity, equity, inclusion and accountability.” It says this approach rests on the premise that UW System institutions, including UW-Madison, “need to intentionally integrate their diversity efforts into the core aspects of their institutions — such as academic priorities, leadership, quality improvement initiatives, decision-making, day-to-day operations and organizational cultures — in order to maximize their success.”

It is further described as a “change-oriented planning process that encourages us to continue our diversification efforts albeit with a greater intentionality and attentiveness to how they serve the needs of our students.”

What do we make of this salad of words called “inclusive excellence?” The concept remains baffling because of its vague abstractness. Even UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin in addressing the Diversity Forum last fall experienced difficulty explaining what “inclusive excellence” means. If she can’t explain it to a large Union Theater audience, how can UW students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public, grasp its meaning?

How will the success of the “inclusive excellence” approach be assessed? The UW System document mentions nine criteria. The most tangible of these criteria include proportional representation of underrepresented faculty, students and staff, improved retention and graduation rates, a more welcoming campus climate, and greater multicultural competence in graduating seniors. Sound familiar? They are right out of Plan 2008.

Among the several other criteria is this one. Success will be achieved in UW institutions by way of a “thorough institutionalization of equity and diversity where they are embraced as core values and used to inform campus decision-making, educational practices and policy-making.” How will anyone determine whether this goal is achieved?

Why should anyone expect that “inclusive excellence” will be any more successful than prior plans in realizing the goals of diversity? Just because the regents and UW System supported and then adopted this new program does not guarantee its success. Nor did the official enthusiastic support for Plan 2008 guarantee its success when adopted more than a decade ago.

What about implementing this nebulous concept? The UW System document says this new approach can work if “institutions work diligently and steadily to incorporate their diversity work into the larger instructional culture” so they “become integrated into the larger fabric of the institution.” Wasn’t this the intent of Plan 2008?

Is there any knowledge whether this approach has proven itself at other institutions? Where else has it been implemented? How successful has it been in achieving the nine criteria that would mark its success? Until more information is available about whether it ” works,” we should remain skeptical about its ability to “fix” diversity problems here.

Even more startling is the document’s assurance “implementation should not require any additional resources of either the financial or human kind?” How likely is it that “excellence and diversity … will simply become integrated into the larger fabric of the institution” without incurring any additional costs?

“Inclusive excellence” is yet another articulation of a flawed approach. It ignores the core issue — a failure to overcome at an early age the cognitive and motivational limitations that plague so many minority students well before they reach college age.

Couched in florid language, “inclusive excellence” represents one more effort to gloss over past failures. It is time for actions to speak louder than words.

W. Lee Hansen is a professor emeritus of economics at UW-Madison.