Ex-DEI leader at University of Wisconsin - Madison showed ‘significant lapse’ in finances, spent $18,000 on massage therapy
The official also handed out generous raises to workers without providing good reasons.
The news comes amid President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI campaign.
An ex-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) official at the University of Wisconsin–Madison showed serious irresponsibility regarding spending, a new school report showed.
The individual in question is Lavar Charleston, a former chief diversity officer at the school who lost his position in January but is still a faculty member, FOX 6 reported.
A new report conducted by the university accused Charleston of a “significant lapse in judgment and fiscal responsibility,” finding that the former DEI official gave most workers under his supervision raises of up to 23 percent for no good reason, FOX 6 wrote.
Charleston’s spending spree included $18,000 to purchase massage therapy for students, FOX 6 reported.
Critics have pointed out that DEI programs often end up costing universities and taxpayers millions of dollars with no real benefits.
In October, for example, the University of Michigan garnered negative attention after a New York Times article detailed how the school spent almost $250 million on DEI programs over several years, though these initiatives have proven to be counterproductive despite the large sums spent on them.
Despite such criticisms, proponents of DEI defend its role in academia, such as a group of law professors who recently published a memo in which they refer to DEI as “mission critical.”
The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s report comes amid President Donald Trump’s administration’s nationwide anti-DEI campaign, cutting funding for DEI and banning the ideology from the federal government.
In response to the administration’s efforts, several schools, such as the Universities of Southern California, Northwestern, Alaska, and Cincinnati have curbed their DEI initiatives or eliminated DEI webpages.
In at least one case, one school, East Carolina University, has decided to stop forcing students to take certain DEI classes in order to earn their diplomas.
Campus Reform has reached out to the University of Wisconsin–Madison for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
