Hundreds of University of Wisconsin-Madison campus community members signed an open letter of concern to Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin over the removal of Warren Scherer (per/pers) as director of the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center.
Scherer served as director of the GSCC from January 2018 to October 2024, when Associate Vice Chancellor Fernie Rodriguez reassigned Scherer.
Scherer’s reassignment, which occurred during LGBTQ History Month, hit the student community hard, the letter said. The letter describes a sense of belonging and acceptance that Scherer brought to the GSCC, saying, “Students sought Warren out for deep mentorship and guidance.”
The letter outlines a lack of confidence in Rodriguez and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lori Reesor’s support of LGBTQ+ and QTBIPOC students.
“Warren’s sudden removal, without even an opportunity to say goodbye, exemplifies the Student Affairs administration’s disregard for the well-being of marginalized people, particularly QTBIPOC students and employees,” the letter said.
Reesor reaffirmed Rodriguez’s decision-making in a statement to The Daily Cardinal and expressed commitment to maintaining an inclusive campus environment for LGBTQ+ students. Reesor declined to comment on specific personnel matters, citing confidentiality.
Associated Students of Madison Equity and Inclusion Chair Camren Livermore told the Cardinal Scherer is an important role model for the student community.
“Warren was a mentor for a lot of students, provided a lot of advocacy and guidance and, in my personal opinion, was just absolutely amazing at what per did,” Livermore said.
Livermore signed the letter in an attempt to raise awareness of the situation and demand more transparency from university student affairs leadership.
“I think the letter was absolutely crucial in showing administration and student affairs that this is not something that we're going to let slide,” Livermore said. “It's our way of saying that this is important and we have concerns.”
The letter said Scherer’s reassignment could affect the future of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at UW-Madison, referencing the December 2023 legislative decision to cap funding for university DEI positions. Livermore worries that the university will be unable to fill the position permanently.
“The GSCC is at an extreme disadvantage to be able to continue functioning in the capacity that it has been for the past several years,” Livermore said. “It's very concerning to us as student leaders, as a student community in general, that our student affairs leadership is not actually taking into consideration what is best for students.”
The letter labels Scherer’s dismissal as “part of a system of anti-queer and racist decision-making perpetuated by Vice Chancellor Reesor that must be immediately addressed and stopped by UW leadership.”
A similar situation occurred in 2023 with the reassignment of Gabe Javier, former UW-Madison associate vice chancellor for identity and inclusion, according to the letter.
Livermore said Reesor and Rodriguez did not provide any reasoning to the campus community for the decision to dismiss Scherer.
“We do know that Warren did not break any policy or do anything wrong, so it's very unclear at this point why the reassignment occurred,” Livermore said.
Livermore said they hope for more support for the GSCC in the absence of Scherer.
“As an ASM leader, I have been in communication with them,” Livermore said. “I want to create this space of sort of mutual aid, where we can learn how to support the GSCC during this time.”
Ella Gorodetzky is the news manager of The Daily Cardinal.
