Wisconsin Union Inclusion Study

Brian Schermer (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee)

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is home to two important student union facilities: the historic Memorial Union and adjacent Union Terrace, and Union South. In response to ongoing campus discussions about UW-Madison's cultural climate and sense of inclusion, Wisconsin Union sought to better understand the extent to which students of color and others from historically underrepresented and disadvantaged groups feel a sense of connection to and belonging with these places. The study team consisted of architects, student affairs administrators, and higher education researchers. The methods included a review of University and Union documents, two days of on-site interviews and focus groups with students and administrators, and an on online "campus capital" mapping survey to measure the significance that students attribute to Wisconsin Union facilities and other important places on campus. To guide data collection, analysis and interpretation, the team adopted Strange and Banning’s (2015) ecological perspective and "Hierarchy of Environmental Design" model because of its unique appreciation for both the importance of physical space and its grounding in higher education research and student affairs practice. The model includes three sequential hierarchies: Safety and Inclusion, Involvement, and Community. Most White students report strong affinity for and feelings of safety and inclusion, involvement, and community in Wisconsin Union facilities. This affinity, however, is less prevalent among students of color; students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender; students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; and students with disabilities. UW-Madison's strong normative campus culture may be doing as much to create belonging, community, tradition, attachment, affinity, and inclusion for some students as it does exclusion for others. Recommendation from these findings included both operational and policy suggestions. Wisconsin Union's initiation of the study and implementation of its recommendations reflects its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and community on the UW-Madison campus.