UNI faculty union accuses regents of violating their own free speech policy

CEDAR FALLS — Accusing the Board of Regents of violating its own “Freedom of Expression” policy, the University of Northern Iowa’s United Faculty union this week slammed a proposed policy change that would bar DEI and CRT course requirements across Iowa’s public university system.

“The proposed DEI and CRT requirement explicitly violates the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, as it endorses viewpoint discrimination and makes a governmental body — the Iowa Board of Regents — the authority on deciding what kinds of speech topics are appropriate for the classroom,” UNI communications professor and United Faculty President Christopher R. Martin said in a statement.

“Ironically, the (board’s) proposed policy violates the Iowa Board of Regents’ own Freedom of Expression Policy.”

Going before the board for a first and final reading next week, the proposal states:

“A student shall not be required to take a course that has substantial content that conveys DEI or CRT to satisfy the requirements of a major, minor, or certificate unless the board has approved it as an exception.”

The proposed policy offers the following definitions for DEI and CRT:

Based on those definitions, majors, minors, and certificates across the campuses that could be affected include — among others — the University of Iowa’s “gender, women’s, and sexuality studies” major or its “African American Studies” program.

At Iowa State University, the new policy could affect a wide range of liberal arts degrees, including its “Women’s and Gender Studies” major.

And University of Northern Iowa majors, minors, and certificates that could be affected include its “Sexuality, Women, and Gender Studies” minor and “Women’s and Gender Studies” master’s degree.

“The content rules disrupt appropriate and relevant academic speech in major, minor and certificate programs, including those in nursing, public health, education, social work, sociology, media studies, women's & gender studies, political science, criminology, English literature, philosophy and world religions, and number of other disciplines,” Martin said. “For example, it would be impossible to talk about the contemporary relevance of the 14th Amendment, current health system disparities based on gender and race, or the inequities in the incarceration system without substantially engaging in topics for which the (regents) would be the government censor.”

Diversity courses have been renamed, reframed

All three universities for years have had diversity-related general education core areas and requirements for bachelor degrees — although they’ve renamed and reframed them following recent DEI-related criticism from regents and Republican lawmakers.

“During the fall 2024 semester, two general education requirement areas will be renamed,” the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reported last year. “‘Diversity and Inclusion’ is being renamed ‘Understanding Cultural Perspectives,’ and ‘Values and Culture’ is being renamed ‘Values and Society’.”

Iowa State last year likewise renamed its U.S. Diversity course requirement to U.S. Cultures and Communities.

And several proposed bills in the last session moved toward legislating what can and can’t be taught in the university classrooms — with one bill, which did not pass, requiring the campuses’ general education courses “do not distort significant historical events or include any curriculum or other material that teaches identity politics or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States of America or the State of Iowa.”

The Legislature did pass a measure establishing a “Center for Intellectual Freedom” at the University of Iowa — mirroring civics education centers that both UNI and Iowa State have established in recent months.

“The (regents) freedom of expression policy states, ‘The universities must strive to ensure the fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free expression allowed under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States’ and that, ‘It is not the proper role of the regent universities to shield individuals from speech protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which may include ideas and opinions the individual finds unwelcome, disagreeable, or even offensive’,” Martin said, noting in a news release that public comment during next week’s board meeting is scheduled after the board considers the new DEI and CRT policy.

“United Faculty, the faculty union at the University of Northern Iowa, strongly opposes a proposed Iowa Board of Regents policy that will censor university faculty and bend Iowa’s public universities and their curricula to an agenda that undermines critical inquiry, free speech, and student choice,” according to the United Faculty release.

UNI’s United Faculty union was established in 1976 and today represents more than 500 faculty members — operating as the chief negotiating agent for UNI’s faculty.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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