Iowa universities form DEI study groups following regent guidance

IOWA CITY — A month after Iowa’s Board of Regents — following uncharacteristic debate — approved a list of diversity, equity, and inclusion recommendations, like restructuring DEI offices and cutting unnecessary positions, its public universities have started to “review and re-imagine” their campus DEI efforts.

That, for all three, has meant launching DEI groups charged with helping their administrations comply with the recommendations.

“We view this as an opportunity to align the remarkable work done on our campus and to ensure we maintain the compliance and accreditation standards that support the success of our students, faculty and staff,” University of Iowa Associate Vice President of DEI Liz Tovar and Vice President for External Relations Peter Matthes wrote in a campus message Nov. 16 — the day regents approved the recommendations, despite pushback from the board’s sole Democrat, Nancy Dunkel of Dyersville.

“Diversity and inclusion are important to the campus, and our role is critical in preparing our students to become global society and economic leaders,” according to the UI message, referencing previously voiced concerns that DEI cuts could affect accreditation and federal grants, among other things.

The Iowa university DEI study groups announced this week that colleges and universities nationally are facing an array of DEI-related reckonings and road blocks — like in Texas, which earlier this year banned DEI initiatives, and in Florida, which recently barred DEI spending on public college and university campuses.

“What happened to our peer groups that each of our universities use for comparisons on many levels?” Dunkel asked during the November debate on the board recommendations in which she criticized her colleagues for using Texas and Florida as guides, even though none of the peer schools assigned to each of Iowa’s public universities are in those states.

Current DEI costs

Days after the board approved its DEI recommendations, Iowa’s Legislative Services Agency issued an update on the universities’ DEI-related staffing, spending and impacted funding — acknowledging the Legislature in its last session directed the regents to review its DEI programming and practices as part of its appropriations bill.

The LSA report showed 142 total DEI positions across the campuses — with 61 at the UI, 56 at Iowa State, and 25 at UNI. That amounts to total compensation nearing $13.3 million, with the UI paying its DEI staffers $6.1 million total; ISU paying $5.2 million; and UNI paying $1.9 million.

Addressing the concern that federal funding and grants come with DEI requirements, the agency reported — among other points — that the UI gets $101 million from 152 grants and $35 million for clinical trials with DEI requirements. ISU in the 2022 budget year received $207 million in federal funding and $20 million in subcontractor federal funds with DEI requirements.

Study groups formed

In a campus update Thursday, the UI Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion identified a task force of 20 charged with making “recommendations that will enhance the effectiveness of the university’s services and programs and evaluate central DEI efforts to ensure alignment with compliance, accreditation and grant requirements.”

“The group will also evaluate the structure of diversity and inclusion programming across campus, consider the skill sets students and employees need to lead on campus, review job responsibilities and titles, and establish measurable goals and outcomes,” according to the update.

The UI group — including representatives from human resources, UI Health Care, staff, faculty, undergraduate and graduate student governments, the general counsel’s office, and DEI-specific programming like in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — will develop a plan by March 15.

Should UI President Barbara Wilson and Provost Kevin Kregel approve the plan, it will go to the regents in April — as will plans from ISU and UNI.

Iowa State on Thursday also unveiled its “focus group” of 14 tasked with helping ISU President Wendy Wintersteen and her senior leadership team of five draft a plan to comply with the DEI recommendations by April.

UNI has created two groups to tackle portions of the DEI-mandate list, while also working with the board office to respond to some of the recommendations.

“Ensuring that we continue to support every member of the UNI community to achieve their academic, professional and personal life goals, (UNI) has launched a DEI Advisory Task Force to review the recommendations of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Study Group, which were adopted by the Board of Regents,” according to a UNI campus message.

10 regent recommendations

The 10 regent recommendations are:

1. Restructure central DEI offices to eliminate functions that aren’t necessary for accreditation compliance. The recommendation also requires DEI support services be “broadly available to all students and employees.”

2. Review all DEI positions to determine whether their DEI-specific job duties are necessary for accreditation compliance. Any position found not necessary for those purposes is to be changed or cut.

3. Assess services offered through diversity or multicultural offices "to ensure they are available to all students.“ The recommendation also mandates updating promotional and informational materials and websites clarifying the mission of the offices is to ”support success broadly.“

4. Take steps to assure no employee, student, applicant or visitor must submit a DEI statement or be evaluated based on participation in DEI initiatives, unless required for accreditation, and that no employee, student, applicant or campus visitor is compelled to “disclose their pronouns.”

5. Develop a board policy barring consideration of race and other protected class characteristics in admissions.

6. Review DEI-related general education categories and update category names to accurately reflect the options students can choose from to satisfy general-education requirements.

7. Standardize annual employee guidance about the “separation of personal political advocacy from university business and employment activities.”

8. Explore potential recruitment strategies for “advancing diversity of intellectual and philosophical perspective in faculty and staff applicant pools.”

9. Develop a proposal, including cost, to establish a widespread initiative that includes opportunities for education and research on free speech and civic education.

10. Annually issue a reminder to the universities on website messages and other university communications.

UNI indicated the board office is developing recommendations to numbers 5, 7 and 10.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com