Republican lawmakers voted to cut the University of Wisconsin (UW) System’s budget by $32 million on Thursday despite a projected record-high $7 billion state budget surplus, leaving the university nearly half a billion dollars short of what it requested. The cut comes in reaction to Republican anger over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs on the system’s 13 universities. Republican leaders have said the $32 million is what they estimated would be spent on those programs over the next two years.
