Iowa Board of Regents President Sherry Bates directed the state’s three public universities to strip their websites of mentions of diversity, equity, and inclusion in an effort to comply with state and federal mandates during the regents’ February meeting in Urbandale Thursday.
Bates also directed universities to “do a lot more” to comply with “the spirit of the laws and executive orders, not just the words on the paper.”
Bates comments come as Iowa lawmakers eye major reforms to the state’s higher education system and nearly a year after Iowa Republican lawmakers codified regents’ directives barring DEI practices not required for accreditation.
“The higher education landscape is changing at the state and federal levels,” Bates said Thursday. “One of the things that the board does is to assist the institution to ensure they change as well. We must stay ahead of the curve and not play catch up.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end DEI initiatives in the federal government on his first day in office. The executive order cancels contracts related to DEI initiatives and freezes spending on DEI.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sent a letter to the Board of Regents and the state’s three public universities telling them to complete a review and identify contracts with the federal government related to DEI by March 6.
To comply with a state law banning DEI practices in regent universities, Bates ordered Iowa’s regent universities remove all websites containing references to DEI for further review and republishing if deemed necessary in coordination with the Board of Regents staff.
“There has been work done on the university web pages, but a simple search shows there’s a lot more work to do,” Bates said. “For some, it may look like nothing has been changed. This is not the case, but the changes must be made.”
As the regents work to comply with current federal and state directives, Iowa lawmakers are eyeing wide ranging reforms to higher education this legislative session.
“This board recognizes the changes that are happening and are working to ensure changes are being made at the universities,” Bates said. “The board is working efficiently and systematically to make sure all the changes that need to be made are made.”