To the Editor:

I read, with interest, your editorial, “Wise’s decision not-so-wise? We disagree,” (in the Jan. 23–29 issue).

Amid all your arguments, I question your assessment of Wise “as an Asian American woman, to bring a perspective involving social justice, diversity, corporate responsibility, and sustainability.”

As an Asian American woman, I have worked in these arenas for most of my life and not once have I heard Wise’s name dropped as someone involved in these issues.

In fact, one of her latest moves as the University of Washington Provost was to disproportionately cut 50 percent of the UW Women’s Center budget, which, in effect, would have closed the center down.

UW Women’s Center provided the research for the anti-human trafficking legislation I sponsored and passed by the Washington State Legislature, making Washington state the first state in the nation to criminalize human trafficking.

I, personally, was so concerned that the loss of the center would have meant the lost of human rights for women around the world that I went to testify against the budget cuts. There were many others there who felt the same way.

That was an “aha!” moment for me regarding Provost Wise!

— Velma Veloria, former Washington State Representative