With the elimination of the DEI offices following decisions made in Wyoming, a new temporary position has been created at UW in order to help facilitate the transition.
Within the context of his new position as Vice Provost of Access and Engagement, Brandon McElroy will serve as 50% professor and 50% administrator as he helps manage the transition UW is undergoing. McElroy is a geology professor on campus who both researches and advises grad students.
When asked about the responsibilities of his position, McElroy noted, “Basically there are a number of things that the Board of Trustees acted on in their main meeting and I am responsible for managing that. I will be providing some leadership which is to say I will be going out to campus and trying to learn about some of the programs that were self-identified as being connected to DEI and making sure theft can continue to support students staff and faculty in the important ways that they were doing: and to help find ways to make policy that can continue to support a wide range of programs.
This position will help over 100 programs including groups like first generation, the Shepherd Symposium, and non-traditional students.
McElroy went on to comment on the future of DEI at UW, saying, “Part of what needs to happen is that we need to identify what that future looks like, the reason my position is temporary is because year from now we expect to have developed and designed a new position that will support similar activities on campus but in a way that is not based on identity or preferences for identity based groups.” He added that, “A whole bunch of things that the DEI office did that had to do with compliance to state and federal law and agencies. Because those were in the DEI office and the state has specifically said that office needs to close, we need to figure out what needs to be in a singular location to make sure we are doing all of those things that are required of us and the university.”
McElroy’s position, which will exist in its current state for about a year, is connected to a wide range of programs. On the future of the position he expanded, “In title my job sounds similar to what was going on in the DEI office, I am here largely to help manage the transition. There will likely be a position that is similar to the one I have now whose job is to support the needs of support programs.”
When asked what challenges he foresees in terms of the DEI transition, McElroy stated, “The first big challenge for me is actually helping people to identify what programs are ok to continue just as they have been. A lot of our programs aren’t based on preference but because they have been around for so long and they sound like they would be part of DEI, people think they are connected to DEI and the closing of those offices would affect them. Many of these programs are not based on identity preferences. Now that the idea of DEI has to go away we have to identify those programs that are important support services that were never part of DEI and make sure they continue.” The secondary challenge McElroy identified was, “The very human aspect in supporting people and letting them know that the university does care about them and want to support them. If you are a person on campus whose program or support service was altered or eliminated you feel that very clearly. Working through that and finding other ways to provide services to those who need them is definitely a challenge.”
As McElroy finished off the interview, he wanted to make sure readers know, “ that if they have any concerns or if they have identified any problems on campus that they should reach out to me.” He expanded, “Especially problems that are connected to absence of services that they had previously had available to them. The university wants to know if there are students that are going to be affected in a way that will prevent students from succeeding. We want them to succeed so we will seek out and find those resources that will help them
So if there are any needs or problems reach out to me at aa-accessengagement@windows.uwyo.edu.”
Ultimately the transition away from DEI into the new offices and programs being formed and adjusted at UW will be a process that remains ongoing for multiple years. But, McElroy and those working with him hope to make it as smooth of a shift as possible.
