Within the past year, protesters at UW-Madison have struggled to achieve change. Actually providing the change they strive for on campus can prove to be a similarly frustrating pursuit for administrators.
The person whose job entails fighting for diversity and inclusion-related activities at the university is Patrick Sims, the chief diversity officer at UW-Madison.
In an article titled “What is a Chief Diversity Officer?” Damon Williams, a prominent researcher on the position, describes it as someone who always treats diversity as a top priority, “where others [in administration] work on issues of diversity as a matter of second or third priority.”
The equity and inclusion committee chair for Associated Students of Madison during the 2015-’16 academic year, Mariam Coker, said many students do not realize the dynamic between Sims and the rest of senior administration on issues of diversity.
“Something that students need to realize with Patrick Sims’ position is that he is the only person at the admin level dealing with these types of issues,” Coker said in an April 10 interview with The Daily Cardinal. “This work is impossible to get done with just one person.”
In addition to dealing with other members of the university administration, Sims also said he has to contend with the general public, who usually have “extreme positions,” when discussing diversity. He said the result is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.
“There are those who say, ‘The university is not doing enough [to help diversity], it’s crap.’ Then there are those who say, ‘The fact that [the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement exists] is crap and we’re a waste of taxpayer resources,’” Sims said in an April 11 interview with The Daily Cardinal. “I live in between both of those extremes, pulling on me very hard every day.”
Michael Thornton—professor of African-American Studies and director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service—said Sims often becomes a “lightning rod for all of the racial issues on campus,” even though his position has “relatively little resources, and especially little power.”
Thornton went on to say he was asked to apply for the position during a previous vacancy, but he declined, explaining that he has too little patience for the irritation that comes with being a chief diversity officer.
“I can only imagine the frustration they must feel when they really want to do something, but they have to get approval from their boss, who would often say, ‘We don’t have the resources for that,’ or ‘That’s too touchy of an issue,’” Thornton said.
To combat the lack of funding for diversity initiatives, Sims, who heads the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement, said he has spent an increasing amount of time fundraising.
“[Raising funds is] a new challenge that wasn’t even a part of the position description when I came on board, and now it’s taking up at least a third to 40 percent of my time,” Sims said.
Upper members of the administration have unintentionally created a difficult position for Sims, according to Thornton. Fundraising trips often take Sims away from campus, separating him from students who might otherwise reach out to him.
Sims attempted to reach students March 31 with a video responding to a threatening note slipped under a student’s door. The video is nearly nine minutes long, and it shows an angry and emotional Sims condemning “Jim Crow” racism on campus.
Following the video, which quickly spread through social media and gained more than 20,000 views on YouTube, Sims said he received “very little” response from students, even though he strongly encouraged them to speak with him.
Thornton said recent changes in the make-up of senior administration has also left Sims more isolated when fighting for diversity issues.
Following the departures of Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Darrell Bazzell and Director of Community Relations Everett Mitchell, who left in March and June of 2016, respectively, Sims is also the only African-American in senior administration.
Sims said this, combined with the fact that his position is dedicated to handling issues of diversity and inclusion, adds even more pressure to his job.
“And so there’s an expectation like, ‘Woah, someone is going to speak to the issues that are pertinent to our communities,’” Sims said. “It’s sort of like the ‘Obama Factor,’ like, ‘Yes, we have a black president, now all of these things are going to be taken care of.’ Not saying I’m like Obama, but I think some of those pressures are very much there.”
According to Executive Director of University Communications John Lucas, Damon Williams came before Sims as UW-Madison’s first chief diversity officer, and he began on Aug. 1, 2008. The position was created through Plan 2008, one of the university’s 10-year diversity plans, according to Sims.
Williams left the university Aug. 2, 2013, slightly longer than five years after he began in the position.
Then-Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Climate Bernice Durand preceded Williams as the lead administrator for diversity issues on campus.
She did not hold the chief diversity officer title, as the position was configured differently during her tenure as associate vice chancellor—then-Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Paul Barrows also had a “substantial responsibility for the diversity portfolio of activities,” according to Lucas.
She officially began in that role in the spring of 2003 and after a 37-year career on campus, Durand retired from the university in June 2007, filling the lead administrative position for diversity issues for less than five years.
According to Thornton, the lengths of Durand’s and William’s terms are consistent with the national average for chief diversity officers, which he said is about five years.
Sims
“I’d be surprised if [Sims] is around here for another four or five years,” Thornton said. “In that position, you get worn down real quick.”
