{"id":140020,"date":"2024-01-08T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T05:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=140020"},"modified":"2024-01-08T00:16:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T05:16:18","slug":"dei-staffer-alleges-u-wisconsin-discriminated-against-her-for-being-white-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/dei-staffer-alleges-u-wisconsin-discriminated-against-her-for-being-white-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"DEI staffer alleges U. Wisconsin discriminated against her for being white: lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Great educators\u2019 being \u2018passed over\u2019 because of skin color, former DEI administrator says<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

University of Wisconsin leaders are accused of discriminating against a white DEI staffer in a new lawsuit as leading state lawmakers call for greater scrutiny of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.<\/p>\n

Rochelle Hoffman, a former assistant director of the Multicultural Student Services at the UW-Eau Claire campus, alleged administrators discriminated against her because she is white and later retaliated against her when she complained about harassment, according to the lawsuit<\/a>, filed Dec. 14.<\/p>\n

Hoffman, in a May email<\/a> to Wisconsin Sen. Patrick Testin, said the public university has become a \u201chostile environment,\u201d and there are \u201cblatant actions of racial discrimination against white folks\u201d like herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a regular basis there are great educators that are told they shouldn\u2019t occupy multicultural space, to check their white privilege, passed over for jobs for an outside candidate of color, and reminded they are \u2018inherently racist\u2019 because they are white,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Michael Knuth, director of communications for UW-Eau Claire, told The College Fix<\/em> via email the university \u201cwill not offer a statement or comment on the lawsuit in question\u201d because of the pending litigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cUW-Eau Claire does not discriminate based on race in any employment decisions,\u201d Knuth told The Fix<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Allegations like Hoffman\u2019s and other concerns about DEI efforts are prompting action from state lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, told<\/a> the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel<\/em> late last month that university DEI programs are \u201ccancerous.\u201d He said people should be chosen for roles \u201cbased on the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”<\/p>\n

The assemblyman\u2019s office did not respond to several requests for comment from The Fix<\/em> last week about university DEI programs and Hoffman\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

Vos told the\u00a0Sentinel<\/em>\u00a0he wants the government to conduct a comprehensive audit of diversity programs in state agencies and eventually \u201celiminate the DEI process\u201d in university hiring.<\/p>\n

MORE: University of Wisconsin regents cut DEI in exchange for $800 million<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hoffman alleges her employment experience \u201cdragged out over 10 months and irrevocably damaged [her] career.\u201d<\/p>\n

It began after her January 2022 appointment as interim director of the Office of Multicultural Student Services and later in her role as assistant director, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Hoffman\u2019s track record was impeccable, and she received reviews of \u201cexceeding expectations\u201d and \u201coutstanding\u201d during her six previous years working at the university, it stated. However, some students and staff complained.<\/p>\n

During an Open House forum in February 2022, several students made negative comments about Hoffman\u2019s race, including, \u201cDo you personally feel white staff can do as effective a job as a person of color, within a space for people of color?\u201d and \u201cWe don\u2019t want white people in the MSS office,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Students argued that \u201cfor a student to be well served, they needed to be assigned a coordinator of the same ethnic background,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n

Concurrently, the Student Senate passed a resolution condemning Hoffman\u2019s appointment, noting \u201cconcerns over placing white identifying individuals in positions of interim leadership for major EDI offices,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n

Hoffman said other employees made her job difficult, and an anonymous complaint was filed with the Office of Affirmative Action in June 2022 claiming her \u201cpresence made the complainant feel uncomfortable,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

On July 12, administrators who met with Hoffman admitted the work environment was \u201chostile\u201d for her, but, instead of working to fix the problem, told her \u201cshe had to move\u201d to another office, the lawsuit alleges.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Hoffman said she could not deal with the hostility anymore and felt forced to resign from her position as assistant director, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe University completely ignored federal law prohibiting race and\/or color from being a factor in employment decisions affecting an individual\u2019s compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment,\u201d the complaint alleges.<\/p>\n

In December, lawmakers negotiated a deal with the University of Wisconsin system that includes $800 million for infrastructure improvements and pay raises in exchange for voting to cut large chunks of DEI programming, The Fix<\/em> reported<\/a> in December.<\/p>\n

Mandatory DEI statements in admissions and hiring are being abolished under the deal, and a new conservative professorship at UW-Madison is being created, according to the terms of the agreement.<\/p>\n

MORE: Texas A&M faces lawsuit alleging discrimination against white, Asian males<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: University of Wisconsin Eau Claire\/Facebook<\/p>\n

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