The University of Wisconsin has not renewed funding for the Student Success Institute and the program will end, University officials confirmed Wednesday. Its founder and director, Dr. Hazel Symonette announced an early retirement in an email to peers and colleagues.
After 49 years at the university, Symonette reassured her peers that although she will officially retire on May 31, she “will be ReWirin’ & Refirin’.”
“Dr. Symonette’s position was not permanently funded – its funding was subject to renewal each year,” said UW spokesperson Meredith McGlone in an email to Madison365. “About a year ago, as the campus was responding to significant state budget cuts, this position was not renewed.”
“We celebrate the excellent work done by the Student Success Institute during its time on campus and we also believe that the new initiatives will have an even broader impact. It’s important that our efforts in this area continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of our student body,” McGlone said.
McGlone noted that, despite these recent drawbacks, Chancellor Blank has shown a commitment to recent diversity initiatives such as the university’s pilot Our Wisconsin programming, which is scheduled to serve all incoming students next academic school year.
The Student Success Institute was created by Symonette shortly after working very closely with UW’s Multicultural Student Center. As director, Symonette primary focus is “creating and sustaining authentically inclusive & responsive teaching, learning, living and working environments that are conducive to success for all.” The institute is described as a “cross-campus/cross-role innovation and improvement incubator.” This allows staff, faculty and administration to work together to explore better options for achieving inclusivity and success, according to the program’s website.
“This initiative is my life journey’s most challenging and turbulent innovation and yet the most profoundly fulfilling given its transformative potential in the service of diversity, equity, inclusive excellence and social justice,” Symonette explains in her professional profile.
Symonette’s service at UW-Madison was celebrated by a program hosted in Gordon Commons Dining Hall’s Symphony room on Wednesday. Symonette sat on stage in front a modest crowd, while a slideshow behind her highlighted her previous accolades and achievements. Attendees lined up to speak about their experiences with Symonette and her work on campus.
This piece was produced by a student reporter in the Madison365 Academy. To learn more and support our educational programs, visit Madison365.org/academy.
