University of Wisconsin-Madison
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

In addition to the University's Statement of Non-discrimination (https://compliance.wisc.edu/eo-complaint/), below is the institutional statement on diversity (https://diversity.wisc.edu/):

"Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW–Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background — people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world."

When a report of bias is submitted to the Dean of Students Office (https://doso.students.wisc.edu/bias-or-hate-reporting/), the Bias Response Coordinator will acknowledge receipt of report and offer to meet with the reporter to discuss next steps and connect them to resources.

Responses to incidents of bias or hate will vary depending on the severity of the event. Responses range from referrals to appropriate offices on campus to restorative conversations between the targeted individual and the respondent.

When the student code of conduct is violated, the Office of Conduct and Community Standards begins their own investigation and determines possible sanctions. When criminal activity occurs, UWPD or Madison Police Department are notified and pursue their own investigation and respond accordingly. When cases involve faculty or staff as respondents, Human Resources and the Office of Compliance work on addressing the incident or concern.

In addition to the Bias Response Coordinator, the Bias Response Advisory Board advises on the process of responding to incidents of bias or hate and also supports the Coordinator in their role as a student advocate.

Bias incident reporting is conducted every Spring, Summer, and Fall term to catalog all reported incidences and their resolutions. Each report includes summary details on past bias incidents. For example, in the Spring 2018 report, 66% of known (non-anonymous reporters) were undergraduate students. The most common response to reported incidences begins with a support meeting where the reporter is provided a comfortable time and space to share what happened and get connected with the appropriate resources on campus.

Students:
- PEOPLE (https://peopleprogram.wisc.edu/): UW-Madison’s Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence, also known as PEOPLE, started in 1999 with 66 high school students from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. PEOPLE has grown to over 1300 students in the pipeline ranging from 8th graders to college seniors. This program has two separate units — one for precollege high school students and one for college scholars. Together, the program's vision is to be the premier college access program for student success. PEOPLE is the UW’s most successful venture in creating such opportunities and improving campus diversity.
- Posse (https://posseprogram.wisc.edu/): Posse identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse extends to these students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, diverse teams, or Posses, of 10 students. Posse partner colleges and universities award Posse Scholars four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships.

Faculty:
- Faculty Diversity Initiative (https://facstaff.provost.wisc.edu/faculty-diversity-initiative/): The Faculty Diversity Initiative is designed to encourage department chairs and their deans to work together to strengthen faculty diversity broadly and with particular attention to historically underrepresented minorities. Campus has committed to investing significant new resources across the life cycle of faculty hiring, from the recruitment process to the initial hire and throughout the career.
- Target of Opportunity (TOP) Program (https://facstaff.provost.wisc.edu/faculty-diversity-initiative/#top-targets-of-opportunity-support): A target of opportunity is defined as a prospective faculty member who will greatly enhance the quality and diversity of an academic department. The UW-Madison’s statement on diversity recognizes diversity broadly including diversity of identity, culture, background, experience, status, ability and opinion. The TOP Program is designed to specifically support the recruitment of outstanding faculty members among historically underrepresented groups, with a particular emphasis on race, ethnicity and gender (in disciplines where women are underrepresented).

Students:
- Multicultural Graduate Network (https://grad.wisc.edu/diversity/multicultural-graduate-network/): The Multicultural Graduate Network is a resource for social networking, learning and professional development. Housed within the Graduate School, they focus on the needs of graduate students of color, and also serve as an inclusive network for all graduate students.
- Graduate Research Scholars Communities (https://grad.wisc.edu/funding/graduate-research-scholars/): Graduate Research Scholar Communities are organized by the schools and colleges within UW–Madison to support underrepresented students.
- Legal Education Opportunities Program (https://law.wisc.edu/leo/): LEO’s stated purpose is to recruit and retain students of color and those from other traditionally disadvantaged groups, but its objective is more far-reaching. The program provides an informal academic and social support network for law students while they are in school, and beyond.
- Student Groups: There are many registered student organizations on campus that provide peer support for underrepresented groups. A few notable organizations include:
* Wunk Sheek (https://win.wisc.edu/organization/wunksheek): An organization that serves students of indigenous identity and members of the UW-Madison community interested in indigenous issues, culture, and history.
* Asian American Student Union (https://win.wisc.edu/organization/aasu): A Pan-Asian organization that aims to unite the Asian American community by holding educational workshops and social events to endorse solidarity, networking and community among students.
* Wisconsin Association of Black Men (https://win.wisc.edu/organization/wisconsinassociationofblackmen): An organization that aims to develop young men by hosting and participating in events with their allies that promote social justice and progress on campus and in the community at large.

Staff:
- Building Inclusion @UW (https://www.talent.wisc.edu/home/Hide-A-Tab/BuildingInclusion@UW/tabid/558/Default.aspx): Building Inclusion @UW aims to create awareness, provide training and development, and deepen the capacity for all employees to feel valued as contributing members of a team, work group, and the campus community. Through consultation, training, and organizational development opportunities, Building Inclusion @UW aspires to provide resources, strategies, and best practices that encourage and support all employees in creating more healthy, inclusive, and engaging work environments across campus.
- Cultural and Linguistic Services (https://www.talent.wisc.edu/home/Hide-A-Tab/CulturalLinguisticServicesHome/tabid/124/Default.aspx): Cultural Linguistic Services' mission is to enhance communication, cultural understanding and learning in multilingual work environments.

Faculty:
- Faculty Success Program (FSP, https://diversity.wisc.edu/faculty-and-staff-diversity-inclusion-resources/): A faculty member has served as Head Coach for this program, since 2013. She selects & trains the 58 certified FSP coaches to mentor diverse faculty and postdoctoral fellows to success in academic careers (Prof. Mindi Thompson, Dept. of Counseling Psychology).