Improving diversity on campus has been an ongoing priority for the University of Wisconsin for many years. Since their inception, initiatives to increase the number of minority students and faculty have been expanding.

Leading the efforts to increase diversity is a system-wide 10-year program called Plan 2008. One of the largest programs to come out of Plan 2008 for the Madison campus is the Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence.

PEOPLE is designed to build a pipeline between UW and disadvantaged or minority students of public middle and high schools.

PEOPLE has three main goals, said Paul Barrows, vice chancellor of student affairs. The first is to address the high-school-dropout-rate problem, which in some areas is around 40 to 45 percent. The program also aims to prepare students for college and to get a fair amount of college-bound students to attend Madison.

Barrows said the program, which began in 1999 with only Milwaukee high-school and middle-school students, has since expanded to five other Wisconsin communities and presently enrolls about 850 students.

Students who complete the program and meet UW admission requirements receive a full scholarship for up to five years.

Bernice Durand, associate vice chancellor, said in an e-mail Plan 2008 is the second 10-year plan the UW System has undertaken. The first began in 1988 after there were racial incidents on Langdon Street.

“The driving force was the same then as it is today,” Durand said. “To prepare our students the best we can to think critically and to thrive in their own world.”

Durand said that paying attention to diversity is not just a UW imperative, but also an American imperative.

“Diversity has been demonstrated by research to lead to educational benefits such as better critical analysis, cognitive development, ideas and innovation,” she said.

Several other efforts are also unfolding on campus as a part of Plan 2008. They include training programs designed to help bring together students, faculty and staff to address diversity issues. There are also specific efforts to diversify the teaching faculty and increase student discourse.
Youssef Sawan, UW senior and editor of the Madison Observer, agrees with the campus efforts. But the university is not in the best state and has a lot to work on, he said.

“[UW] needs to update class structures as well as events, such as homecoming and Wisconsin Welcome, so that they aren’t only aimed toward traditional [white] students, but students of other [ethnic backgrounds] too,” Sawan said.

One of the main driving forces behind programs like Plan 2008 is the strong support they receive from central UW officials.

Gary Sandefur, the new dean for the College of Letters and Science, has a long history of positive involvement with issues of diversity and climate, which was one of the many reasons he was hired in mid-August, said UW Chancellor John Wiley in a press release.

“I know [Sandefur] will be a very good dean,” Durand said. “He has a life-long commitment to diversity.”

Durand said diversity on campus is improving at a typical rate but is still slow.

“Nearly everyone’s involvement can improve,” she said.