With Plan 2008 coming to a close, University of Wisconsin officials are looking forward to a new diversity initiative that will streamline the past 30 years of such programs.

Vicki Washington, assistant vice president of Diversity Affairs, said at the system level, UW will continue looking toward the concept of “inclusive excellence” by closing the achievement gaps that exist in areas of the state, such as Milwaukee.

Inclusive excellence has not always been seen as an important part of campus missions, dating back to UW’s diversity plan from 1988 to 1998, Design for Diversity.

“When we reflect on the midpoint review and assessments even from Design for Diversity, one of the elements of concern that’s been consistent over the years is the fact that diversity efforts have not been viewed as being central to the academic mission,” Washington said.

A main reason for this, Washington said, is because the workload is not spread around enough — something she hopes is changed as a part of a new diversity initiative.

“Too often the work to accomplish the goals rested on the shoulders of one or two officers on campus, and those officers unfortunately were not in the position to affect all of the areas,” Washington said.

Another large part of the plan will be improving not only numbers, but also the level of involvement of students of color.

Washington said this includes determining if a comparatively small percentage of students of color are taking advantages of campus resources, such as leadership opportunities, honors programs and study abroad programs.

UW will also look to see if students of color are preparing and applying for admission to graduate schools at appropriate rates.

Additionally, UW will continue to assess curriculums to see if they provide a diverse view of the world, Washington said.

To determine what exactly needs to be a part of the new diversity plan, Vice Provost of Diversity and Climate Damon Williams said UW will be doing a series of self-studies and external reviews.

A final report on Plan 2008 will be released early in 2009, Washington said. From there, Williams said he will develop a campus diversity report to be released next fall.

Plan 2008 was the third of a series of three 10-year diversity initiatives.

Williams, who began his job in August, said he is personally a bigger supporter of five-year horizons since they are more manageable. However, the final decision on the length and details of the plan will be left up to the UW System.

Williams said he doesn’t know exactly what a totally new direction would look like, or if one even exists.

“My anticipation is that it’s going to be tweaking the strategy and not whole-heartedly going to a new one,” Williams said.

However, Williams said the strategies in general are difficult to achieve, given the challenges that exist economically and socially throughout the state.

“They’re challenges that are steeped in what’s going on at the K-12 level, they’re challenges that are steeped in what’s going on in really, really challenging economic times in the city of Milwaukee, and even more broadly, throughout the state of Wisconsin,” Williams said.

The state of Wisconsin is currently facing a shortfall of $5.4 billion, and UW, like many state-sponsored institutions, will likely be forced to make cuts.

Just over $14 million was spent on diversity initiatives at UW-Madison alone in the 2006-07 school year.

UW Vice Chancellor Darrell Bazzell said though the coming weeks and months will test the university’s budget, diversity will remain a key component of it.

“What we want to do is protect our core mission, and the strategic priorities that have been set by the campus, and it’s no question that diversity is one of those priorities,” Bazzell said.

Washington said progress has been made, though she described it as “modest” and “uneven” among the various UW campuses.

“The campuses are not proceeding at the same pace,” Washington said. “UW-Madison, for example, has some of the higher retention rates than other campuses.”

Former UW Chancellor John Wiley, who was provost during Plan 2008’s inception in 1998, said achieving diversity is crucial to a student’s learning experience in a modern world.

Wiley added since Wisconsin and the Midwest in general have a higher percentage of whites than the rest of the country, diversity progress cannot move as quickly at UW as at other large universities.

“The thing that I’m most disappointed about is that while we are making good, steady process, it is slow,” Wiley said. “I’m an impatient person, and I wish that we could be further along today than we are.”

Williams said a “tremendous amount of intentionality and effort” went into the implementation of Plan 2008, though he conceded it did not achieve its goals to the intended extent.

“I think each student understands that sometimes you bust your tail, you do everything humanly possibly — you feel like you’ve done everything humanly possible — and you still don’t get an A,” Williams said.

Washington said UW will have a more concrete idea of the new diversity initiative when the final report on Plan 2008 comes out next year.

— Signe Brewster contributed to this report.