Wisconsin audits find university, state agencies failed to track DEI spending

Republican-ordered audits released Friday found that Wisconsin state agencies and the Universities of Wisconsin have failed to track the millions of dollars they spent on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, making it difficult to fully assess the initiatives.

The reports come amid a push by President Donald Trump to end federal government support for DEI programs. There have been similar efforts in Wisconsin by Republicans who control the Legislature. The reports’ findings are likely to further increase pressure from Republicans to do away with anything related to DEI.

DEI practices at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in particular have come under close scrutiny.

In January, the system’s flagship campus fired its chief diversity officer for what university officials said were poor financial decisions he had made, including approving substantial raises and authorizing what they deemed to be excessive spending on travel.

The school is one of 50 universities across the country that Trump said are under investigation for alleged racial discrimination related to DEI programs. UW-Madison also is one of 60 schools that federal education officials are investigating because of accusations that they failed to protect Jewish students during campus protests last year over the war in Gaza.

Audits estimate that millions of dollars went to DEI activities.

The audits found that neither UW nor the 15 state agencies that were reviewed specifically tracked how much money they spent on DEI efforts during the 2023-24 fiscal year, which ended June 30.

Auditors estimated, though, that the UW system spent about $40 million on offices with duties connected to DEI.

UW-Madison spent the most on DEI in fiscal year 2023-24 with a total of about $21.8 million, followed by UW-Eau Claire at $3.6 million, according to the audit.

UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas said the responsible stewardship of taxpayer funding while pursuing this and all other goals is a key value of the university.

“We are committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and accountability, recognizing that there are areas in which we can improve,” Lucas said in a statement.

The system spent about $12.5 million on salaries for positions with job duties related to DEI and another $8 million working on DEI-related activities. A dozen state agencies spent about $2.2 million on salaries for jobs related to DEI.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration didn’t consistently require agencies to ensure DEI plans were developed and implemented correctly, the audit found. Also, agencies didn’t consistently document when they corrected noncompliance, the report said.

The Evers administration cautioned against drawing conclusions about the actual costs related to DEI as outlined in the audit.

Many of the costs were related to implementing programs required by law, were human resources best practices, or were tied to worker retention and recruitment efforts, said Kathy Blumenfeld, who heads the state’s Department of Administration.

GOP pushes to eliminate DEI programs

Legislative Republicans have been pushing for years to end DEI programs and last year ordered the review by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau.

Senator Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee said the results show the “extent to which DEI grifters profiteer off Wisconsin taxpayers.”

“This report shows that taxpayers spent millions of dollars on DEI with very little to show for it,” Wimberger said. “Thanks to these findings, we can now more clearly identify wasteful and abusive spending by our agencies, and end it for good.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has pledged to end diversity efforts in state government, saying such initiatives are “cancerous” and he wants a society that is “truly colorblind.”

Under a deal reached with Republicans in 2023, the UW system froze diversity hires, re-labeled about 40 diversity positions as “student success” positions and dropped an affirmative action hiring program at UW-Madison. In exchange, the Legislature paid for staff raises and construction projects.

Auditors found that when the deal took effect, the system had at least 123 full-time positions that provided DEI services, had job titles that included the terms “diversity, equity and inclusion” or were senior leadership positions focused on DEI.

The number of positions had dropped to 110 by May 2024.

UW system President Jay Rothman called the audit numbers “old and cold,” saying that for more than a year, the Universities of Wisconsin began taking action to reduce DEI positions and reorient them to focus on individual student success for all.

“That process is ongoing, and yesterday’s numbers do not reflect today’s realities,” Rothman said. “As of March 2025, using the positions subject to the legislative agreement, we have exceeded the terms, with 64 existing positions across all 13 universities. We would be disappointed if legislative leadership targeted these 64 DEI positions and the $4.4 million in state funding that provides important services for students.”