A new era of Affirmative Action at UW-Madison
The business of equity
The business of equity
Wisconsin-Madison over other places where he would have had more resources to work with because he felt the ingredients are here to get something done.
“The University of Wisconsin has a wonderful reputation nationally and internationally with respect to their academic reputation and research acumen, but also
amongst those of us who make it our business to know and understand about diversity, inclusion and access equity issues,” Williams said. “We also know there is
a history there as well. It doesn’t mean that this institution is perfect. It doesn’t mean that we have gotten all the return on investment with the Madison Plan or
Plan 2008. But what it does mean is there are 20 plus years of real in-depth strategic focus around trying to do something and trying to be intentional and an
even longer legacy within the context of the city and the state of this being an environment and a place that has much more of an open bent to it than a lot of
other institutions of its preeminence.”
While Williams, heart has been in affirmative action and equity issues since he was a teenager, he has recognized that real change in institutions of
higher education require an organizational approach that is methodical and business like if he is going to help change the institution from the inside out. And
that means he may not always be highly visible or adversarial in getting the job done.
“I was talking to some folks and they were saying ‘Some people didn’t know where you stood with respect to activism,’” Williams said. “I said a couple of
things. I have a very deep understanding of activism. You can’t be attempting to engage this work now without having a deep understanding of where we’ve
been. And also, I have a keen understanding of the continuing importance of activist energy. But I understand that in this current role that I am in now is to
help lead and activate change, but my role is to not necessarily to be an activist in the traditional context. For example, if I am always railing against my
colleagues and railing against the chancellor or railing against the university, then I am going to be marginalized. I’m going to be ineffective. No one is going
to want to work with me. Then I would be doing a disservice to the work. I understand that in playing this role, I will be criticized. People will say ‘What is Dr.
Williams doing? He’s not doing enough. He’s just in his office.’ I understand that. It comes with the territory.”
Instead Williams will seek to understand the system and what’s gone down before — he has talked to hundreds of people already and has been holding
focus groups with different constituencies on campus — before he helps the institution move in the direction of diversity and inclusion.
Williams doesn’t want to get pigeon-holed and placed on the side to be placed on exhibition to show the university is doing something. He wants to be an
integral player and seen as a peer and a colleague who is working to steer the university onto solid footing to be an effective institution well into the 21st
century.
“I want folks to understand that I know as much or more than they probably ever will about student development, student learning, evaluation and
assessment, organizational change and diversity and inclusion,” Williams said. “That’s where I want to be because I want to be respected as a colleague, not
just as the diversity colleague, but also as a colleague who can add value in a lot of different ways and is committed to all students and in adding value for this
university in a lot of different ways. That is really important to me because in doing that, I can become more credible in my ability to interface with the diversity
issues.”
Williams is an admirer of the work of Beth Myerson out of Stanford who wrote “Tempered Radicals.” “I love that terminology,” Williams said. “It has become
kind of a framing for my work and a framing for the work of a lot of folks who work in organizational environments from the inside trying to change them. And it’s
that you are tempered because you work within the environment; you work within the system. But you are radical because every day, you are looking to push the
envelope to create change. You are looking to take steps. You are looking to make it a better place for others. You are looking to give up some of your
privilege. You’re looking to understand your privilege. You’re looking to build a bridge across boundaries. And so you are tempered because you are working
within the context of the system, but you are radical because you are trying to push the envelope of the possible.”
And Williams does intend to push that envelope. “I did an interview for The Chronicle of Higher Education yesterday,” Williams recalled. “I was asked
‘Should we have numerical, quantitative goals?’ I said ‘Number one, a lot of people misperceive a goal as a quota.’ In the current reality, there are no quotas.
Goals are goals. Just because one has a goal that we want to increase by 20 percent XYZ population doesn’t mean that it is a quota. What matters most is the
processes we use to get to the goal. Those processes are right at the line of what’s possible within the legal parameters in which we operate. It is very important
to understand where that line is and to have the courage to go to that line and push the envelope of the possible. It is important to know where that line is. Is it
three steps out or is it five steps out? And if it’s five steps out, then lets go 4.999 feet and stop right there. And let’s really maximize the potential that exists in
our systems to achieve the goal.”
While Williams readily admits that he is an African American, heterosexual male, he doesn’t feel that precludes him from working with all of the
constituency groups on campus. He understands that one size does not fit all. “You do what you can across the issues, understanding that you aren’t going to
address issues of race and ethnicity using the exact same techniques and ways you are going to engage the issue of gender, sexual orientation or ability,”
Williams said. “Each of those identity constituencies are situated in their own historical context. They are situated in an institutional context. There are things
that have been invested in the past that we have to work within. And my job is to help understand how to facilitate those things and get that stuff done.”
And while Williams does feel he has a special responsibility to work with constituency groups on campus, he also believes he has a role to play in the lives of
all students on campus. “My work is yes to be a positive force for change, to help evolve and change and improve the demographics, to get more folks into the
environment,” Williams said. “My role is also to really try to help to shape an institutional and environmental context that is inclusive, that is multicultural and
supportive of all groups that are here. But my job is also to help ensure we have the type of leadership programs, the types of course offerings, the types of
requirements, the types of extra opportunities that are going to prepare our young persons to go into this world across race and ethnic background. I think it is a
particularly relevant topic for us here at the University of Wisconsin given the hyper-segregated nature of the state and given the lack of diverse experiences
that many of our students have before they get here.”
While Williams exudes a very positive attitude about his work and the university, he also understands that there are also institutional constraints that he will
have to deal with. “We have some real constraints at the university with respect to some things, constraints in terms of our education system and constraints in
terms of diversifying our student bodies, constraints in terms of our economic reality, constraints in terms of the broader legislative context in which we operate
as a university, which is different than other institutions of our stature nationally,” Williams said. “And I understand those things, but I also believe we can get
more done and we can do an even better job than we have.”
While some of the important changes that Williams will work for will take time, he is also looking to have some rather quick successes as well. “One thing I
always talk about in terms of change it’s understanding where your low-hanging fruit and then where your mountains of challenge are,” Williams said. “It doesn’t
mean you don’t try to chop that mountain down because you do. But I like to start with the low-hanging fruit because I know that I can pick that low-hanging
fruit. And if a component of that low-hanging fruit is strengthening those student constituencies, it’s ensuring they have real solid student organizations they are
involved with and that they have advocacy here and there. Another component of that low-hanging fruit is that areas of the campus environment that are
charged as their mission or responsibility to be working directly with multicultural or multiethnic or gender or sexual orientation themed organizations, then you
have to be best in class.”
So expect Williams to be about the business of equity. You won’t find him out on Bascom Mall with a bullhorn urging the campus to change immediately
and leading the charge for whatever issue is “sexy” at the moment. While he will be visible on campus, Williams will be busy bringing people together and
developing a common vision of what the University of Wisconsin-Madison will look like in 20 years, a vision that includes all of the people of Wisconsin.
And so someday when you look up on campus and say to yourself ‘Hmm, that is kind of different. I like it,’ rest assured it just may be because Damon Williams
was taking care of the business of equity.
“The University of Wisconsin has a wonderful reputation nationally and internationally with respect to their academic reputation and research acumen, but also
amongst those of us who make it our business to know and understand about diversity, inclusion and access equity issues,” Williams said. “We also know there is
a history there as well. It doesn’t mean that this institution is perfect. It doesn’t mean that we have gotten all the return on investment with the Madison Plan or
Plan 2008. But what it does mean is there are 20 plus years of real in-depth strategic focus around trying to do something and trying to be intentional and an
even longer legacy within the context of the city and the state of this being an environment and a place that has much more of an open bent to it than a lot of
other institutions of its preeminence.”
While Williams, heart has been in affirmative action and equity issues since he was a teenager, he has recognized that real change in institutions of
higher education require an organizational approach that is methodical and business like if he is going to help change the institution from the inside out. And
that means he may not always be highly visible or adversarial in getting the job done.
“I was talking to some folks and they were saying ‘Some people didn’t know where you stood with respect to activism,’” Williams said. “I said a couple of
things. I have a very deep understanding of activism. You can’t be attempting to engage this work now without having a deep understanding of where we’ve
been. And also, I have a keen understanding of the continuing importance of activist energy. But I understand that in this current role that I am in now is to
help lead and activate change, but my role is to not necessarily to be an activist in the traditional context. For example, if I am always railing against my
colleagues and railing against the chancellor or railing against the university, then I am going to be marginalized. I’m going to be ineffective. No one is going
to want to work with me. Then I would be doing a disservice to the work. I understand that in playing this role, I will be criticized. People will say ‘What is Dr.
Williams doing? He’s not doing enough. He’s just in his office.’ I understand that. It comes with the territory.”
Instead Williams will seek to understand the system and what’s gone down before — he has talked to hundreds of people already and has been holding
focus groups with different constituencies on campus — before he helps the institution move in the direction of diversity and inclusion.
Williams doesn’t want to get pigeon-holed and placed on the side to be placed on exhibition to show the university is doing something. He wants to be an
integral player and seen as a peer and a colleague who is working to steer the university onto solid footing to be an effective institution well into the 21st
century.
“I want folks to understand that I know as much or more than they probably ever will about student development, student learning, evaluation and
assessment, organizational change and diversity and inclusion,” Williams said. “That’s where I want to be because I want to be respected as a colleague, not
just as the diversity colleague, but also as a colleague who can add value in a lot of different ways and is committed to all students and in adding value for this
university in a lot of different ways. That is really important to me because in doing that, I can become more credible in my ability to interface with the diversity
issues.”
Williams is an admirer of the work of Beth Myerson out of Stanford who wrote “Tempered Radicals.” “I love that terminology,” Williams said. “It has become
kind of a framing for my work and a framing for the work of a lot of folks who work in organizational environments from the inside trying to change them. And it’s
that you are tempered because you work within the environment; you work within the system. But you are radical because every day, you are looking to push the
envelope to create change. You are looking to take steps. You are looking to make it a better place for others. You are looking to give up some of your
privilege. You’re looking to understand your privilege. You’re looking to build a bridge across boundaries. And so you are tempered because you are working
within the context of the system, but you are radical because you are trying to push the envelope of the possible.”
And Williams does intend to push that envelope. “I did an interview for The Chronicle of Higher Education yesterday,” Williams recalled. “I was asked
‘Should we have numerical, quantitative goals?’ I said ‘Number one, a lot of people misperceive a goal as a quota.’ In the current reality, there are no quotas.
Goals are goals. Just because one has a goal that we want to increase by 20 percent XYZ population doesn’t mean that it is a quota. What matters most is the
processes we use to get to the goal. Those processes are right at the line of what’s possible within the legal parameters in which we operate. It is very important
to understand where that line is and to have the courage to go to that line and push the envelope of the possible. It is important to know where that line is. Is it
three steps out or is it five steps out? And if it’s five steps out, then lets go 4.999 feet and stop right there. And let’s really maximize the potential that exists in
our systems to achieve the goal.”
While Williams readily admits that he is an African American, heterosexual male, he doesn’t feel that precludes him from working with all of the
constituency groups on campus. He understands that one size does not fit all. “You do what you can across the issues, understanding that you aren’t going to
address issues of race and ethnicity using the exact same techniques and ways you are going to engage the issue of gender, sexual orientation or ability,”
Williams said. “Each of those identity constituencies are situated in their own historical context. They are situated in an institutional context. There are things
that have been invested in the past that we have to work within. And my job is to help understand how to facilitate those things and get that stuff done.”
And while Williams does feel he has a special responsibility to work with constituency groups on campus, he also believes he has a role to play in the lives of
all students on campus. “My work is yes to be a positive force for change, to help evolve and change and improve the demographics, to get more folks into the
environment,” Williams said. “My role is also to really try to help to shape an institutional and environmental context that is inclusive, that is multicultural and
supportive of all groups that are here. But my job is also to help ensure we have the type of leadership programs, the types of course offerings, the types of
requirements, the types of extra opportunities that are going to prepare our young persons to go into this world across race and ethnic background. I think it is a
particularly relevant topic for us here at the University of Wisconsin given the hyper-segregated nature of the state and given the lack of diverse experiences
that many of our students have before they get here.”
While Williams exudes a very positive attitude about his work and the university, he also understands that there are also institutional constraints that he will
have to deal with. “We have some real constraints at the university with respect to some things, constraints in terms of our education system and constraints in
terms of diversifying our student bodies, constraints in terms of our economic reality, constraints in terms of the broader legislative context in which we operate
as a university, which is different than other institutions of our stature nationally,” Williams said. “And I understand those things, but I also believe we can get
more done and we can do an even better job than we have.”
While some of the important changes that Williams will work for will take time, he is also looking to have some rather quick successes as well. “One thing I
always talk about in terms of change it’s understanding where your low-hanging fruit and then where your mountains of challenge are,” Williams said. “It doesn’t
mean you don’t try to chop that mountain down because you do. But I like to start with the low-hanging fruit because I know that I can pick that low-hanging
fruit. And if a component of that low-hanging fruit is strengthening those student constituencies, it’s ensuring they have real solid student organizations they are
involved with and that they have advocacy here and there. Another component of that low-hanging fruit is that areas of the campus environment that are
charged as their mission or responsibility to be working directly with multicultural or multiethnic or gender or sexual orientation themed organizations, then you
have to be best in class.”
So expect Williams to be about the business of equity. You won’t find him out on Bascom Mall with a bullhorn urging the campus to change immediately
and leading the charge for whatever issue is “sexy” at the moment. While he will be visible on campus, Williams will be busy bringing people together and
developing a common vision of what the University of Wisconsin-Madison will look like in 20 years, a vision that includes all of the people of Wisconsin.
And so someday when you look up on campus and say to yourself ‘Hmm, that is kind of different. I like it,’ rest assured it just may be because Damon Williams
was taking care of the business of equity.
| Dr. Damon Williams assumed his duties as vice provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison beginning August 1. |
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 2 of 2
When we meet in his office in Bascom Hall, Dr. Damon Williams, the new vice provost for diversity and climate at UW-
Madison, comes across as a personable and yet serious business administrator. While he started his position nearly two weeks
before, nothing hangs on the walls of his office. He’s been busy.
Williams has already been meeting with dozens of people on and off campus and has been busy planning retreats and
roundtables with many different constituency groups on campus in preparation for his debut, in a way, at the Plan 2008 Diversity
Forum on September 23. That’s when he will give a 25 minute presentation and roll out his strategic transition document that will
outline his agenda for the next year.
Williams is a very personable individual, but make no mistake about it, he is serious about the work of equity in higher
education. And it seems as if most of his adult life as been spent preparing for this moment. And he picked the University of
Part 2 of 2
When we meet in his office in Bascom Hall, Dr. Damon Williams, the new vice provost for diversity and climate at UW-
Madison, comes across as a personable and yet serious business administrator. While he started his position nearly two weeks
before, nothing hangs on the walls of his office. He’s been busy.
Williams has already been meeting with dozens of people on and off campus and has been busy planning retreats and
roundtables with many different constituency groups on campus in preparation for his debut, in a way, at the Plan 2008 Diversity
Forum on September 23. That’s when he will give a 25 minute presentation and roll out his strategic transition document that will
outline his agenda for the next year.
Williams is a very personable individual, but make no mistake about it, he is serious about the work of equity in higher
education. And it seems as if most of his adult life as been spent preparing for this moment. And he picked the University of