Last week, Bluestem had looked at former Speaker of the Minnesota House--and then Vice-Chair of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents--Steve Sviggum's painfully embarrassing question about the "diverse" community at the Morris campus in two posts: Digest: 2 friends' letters prompt U of M Regent Sviggum to ask if Morris campus is "too diverse" and U of MN Regent Steve Sviggum apologizes for questions about diversity at Morris campus.
Now he's stepping down from the leadership position and will resign at the end of his term in 2023.
For the Forum News Service, Hunter Dunteman reports in UMN regent resigns as vice chair after backlash from 'diversity' comments:
Steve Sviggum has resigned from his position as vice chair of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents nearly two weeks after asking if high diversity levels at the university system's Morris campus could be a contributing factor to declining enrollment levels.
In a short letter dated Tuesday, Oct. 25, Sviggum submitted his resignation to UMN Chair of the Board of Regents Kendall Powell, adding that it's been an honor to serve as vice chairman. . . .
The resignation stems from comments Sviggum made following a presentation to the Board of Regents from Morris campus Chancellor Janet Ericksen on Oct. 13. During a question-and-answer period, Sviggum opened a line of questioning to Ericksen regarding the campus' downward trend in student enrollment.
After Ericksen acknowledged that the campus would fall short of a 2025 enrollment goal, Sviggum asked Ericksen if it was possible the campus was "too diverse" — a question he said stemmed from two letters he received from prospective students who wouldn't be comfortable attending the campus.
A sense of quiet briefly fell over the room as Sviggum continued to explain the basis of his question before Ericksen said she has no indication that diversity levels on the campus had any impact on declining enrollment.
According to fall 2021 enrollment data provided by the University of Minnesota, 56% of the Morris campus' 1,286 students are white, while 37.6% of students are Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American. . . .
Though many members of the public have called for Sviggum to be removed from the Board of Regents entirely, [Regent Mike] Kenyanya clarified that the power of appointment to the board lies in the hands of the state legislature, and not with other members of the board.
That's unfortunate. We'd like to see him go after reading MinnPost managing editor Harry Colbert's commentary Isolation and feelings of being ‘unwanted’ confront students of color at ‘too diverse’ University of Minnesota Morris and Maya Rao's In Morris, regent's comments on diversity at the University of Minnesota sting students, faculty at the Star Tribune.
Sviggum isn't fit to have power over these academic communities.
Image: Sviggum's letter announcing his resignation as Vice Chair of the University of Minnesota at Morris. Via a tweet by MN Reformer's Max Nesterak.
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