Mohs seeks end to use of race in admissions

UW System Regent Frederic E. Mohs of Madison wants to ban the use of racial preferences in the admissions process at Wisconsin’s public universities, especially UW–Madison.

Mohs, speaking at the Dec. 8 regents meeting, distributed a 15-page plan for eliminating affirmative action in admissions. He instead wants to enlarge the pool of qualified applicants through increased scholarships and aggressive recruiting.

“At the University of Wisconsin–Madison and its professional schools, and to a lesser degree, other campuses, targeted racial minorities specifically, students who are black, Hispanic, have an ancestor from Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos and American Indians are treated differently than other students,” Mohs says.

Mohs adds that most Wisconsin citizens agree with him, according to a question he paid to include in the Wisconsin Trends Poll, which surveyed 600 state residents Oct. 10-23. The poll found that 84.2 percent of respondents opposed “the use of race and ethnic preferences in determining who should be admitted to the University of Wisconsin.” Only 10.3 percent of respondents favored its use.

Chancellor David Ward, Provost John Wiley, who takes over as chancellor Jan. 1, and campus admissions officials stress that race is just one of many factors taken into account when decisions are made to admit students. They say that as a top national public university, UW–Madison must continually strive for greater diversity.

In response to Mohs’ presentation, Regent President Jay Smith of Middleton emphasized that passage of the UW System’s 2001-03 budget request must be the board’s No. 1 priority this academic year.