Iowa Board of Regents Suspends DEI Policies in Higher Education
“comes in the wake of a recently introduced bill in the Iowa House of Representatives that aims to halt spending on DEI initiatives in higher education”
The tide really seems to be turning on DEI issues in higher ed.
The College Fix reports:
Iowa suspends new DEI policies in higher ed, launches probe into current ones
The Board of Regents overseeing Iowa’s public universities has paused implementation of any new diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the state’s three major public universities as officials launch a review of them.
The March 14 announcement comes in the wake of a recently introduced bill in the Iowa House of Representatives that aims to halt spending on DEI initiatives in higher education.
“Over the next few months, the Board of Regents will initiate a comprehensive study and review of all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and efforts at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa,” Board of Regents President Michael Richards stated in the announcement.
A working committee is expected to report its findings and develop recommendations, Richards said, adding that “I am directing Iowa’s three public universities to pause the implementation of any new DEI programs until the study is completed.”
A bill approved in early March by the House Education committee, House File 616, would prohibit higher education institutions from funding DEI offices or officials.
“For too long, the DEI bureaucracies at our institutions of higher education have been used to push a WOKE agenda on the faculty, staff and students,” Iowa state Rep. Taylor Collins told The College Fix in a March 8 email.
“Under the guise of diversity and inclusion, these programs work to indoctrinate students into their preferred political ideology. What’s worse is that they’re spending, literally, millions in taxpayer money to do it,” said Collins, a Republican.
In response to the Board of Regent’s recent announcement, Collins tweeted March 14: “While I appreciate the @IowaRegents acknowledging the issues with the DEI programs at Iowa’s regent universities, I will continue to push for legislation that dismantles these bureaucracies, and ensures this money is used for the true benefit of students.”
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