UW–Eau Claire to pay $265K to former DEI employee who says she was demoted for being white
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has settled for $265,000 with a former employee who says the school discriminated against her because she is white.
The July 30 agreement between the two parties stipulates that the board denies 'liability or any wrongdoing' and intends 'merely to avoid litigation.'
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has settled for $265,000 with a former employee who says the school discriminated against her because she is white.
The July 30 agreement between the two parties stipulates that the board denies “liability or any wrongdoing” and intends “merely to avoid litigation.”
Rochelle Hoffman, a former Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) employee at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, filed the lawsuit in December 2023, claiming that the school demoted her based on race.
Hoffman’s lawsuit asserted that university faculty and students pressured her to resign from her position because they “didn’t want a white woman in charge.”
The university’s Office of Affirmative Action also suggested that she could suffer “career damage” if she didn’t act accordingly, according to the lawsuit.
Later, the school removed Hoffman from her position and her courses, and said that it “does not discriminate based on race in any employment decisions.”
“When you have this kind of reaction, as you had at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, that’s going overboard,” Mike Fox recently told Wisconsin Public Radio. “That’s defeating the purpose of helping people who have been underserved, etc.”
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“Despite facing unlawful discrimination in that DEI role as a white woman, I remain steadfast in my belief that high-quality, accessible education — grounded in data and responsive to a changing workforce — is essential for all learners,” Hoffman said in a statement following the settlement, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
“I believe deeply in leading and teaching with integrity and in choosing the harder right over the easier wrong,” she continued. “My commitment to student-centered learning and academic excellence remains as strong as ever.”
Colleges and universities have faced increasing scrutiny over race-based practices in the past year.
The Pacific Legal Foundation sued the University of California, San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital in February for excluding applicants from a high school program because of race.
In June, the Michigan Law Review was sued for allegedly discriminating against white men.
Similarly, the America First Policy Institute accused Cornell University of rejecting job applicants based on race and sex, and filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education on June 26.
Campus Reform contacted the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
