University of Iowa dropping DEI-associated ‘living learning communities,’ councils

IOWA CITY — In the wake of sweeping anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion legislation and Board of Regents mandates that have cut millions, closed offices, eliminated positions, and curtailed programming and training across Iowa’s public universities, the University of Iowa has confirmed it is dropping three DEI-related “living learning communities” in its residence halls.

The university in 2013 became the first of its kind to require all residence hall students to join a living learning community — or “LLC” — which house students with peers who share similar interests or majors in hopes of forming deeper community connections that aid in retention and engagement efforts.

The university downgraded its LLC mandate to optional in 2018 — when it offered more than 20 different community options students could join, from “BizHawks” for business-minded students to several centered on academic endeavors like engineering, writing, and the arts to less academic and more identity-based communities.

It’s those identity-based LLCs that are on the chopping block — with administrators confirming for The Gazette that three no longer will be offered beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. The dropped LLCs are:

• “All In,” which aims to “explore and celebrate LGBTQ+ culture and identity,” according to the UI website, by connecting its members with campus resources and organizations to “understand, explore, and contextualize the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals.”

• “Unidos,” which means “united” in Spanish and explores the “cultures and experiences of Latinx students and partners with campus resources and organizations to help create a strong foundation for Latinx-identifying students in their first-year and beyond.”

• “Young, Gifted, and Black,” through which students are “challenged to understand the various experiences among the African/Black diaspora, encouraged to learn and develop critical thinking skills outside the classroom, relate your passions to your academics, and better Iowa’s Black Community through campus involvement.”

When asked for more information about the decision to cut the LLCs, UI officials said they had nothing more to add at this time.

Diversity councils unrecognized

In addition to Iowa Code Chapter 261J — enacted last year to prohibit Iowa’s public universities from establishing, maintaining or funding a DEI office or DEI officers not required by law or accreditation standards — lawmakers this year have proposed a spate of new legislation addressing DEI themes in the classroom.

One, for example, would bar the universities from requiring students or faculty to take or integrate into their courses any DEI or critical race theory material. Other proposed legislation aims to bolster ideological diversity — like through the creation of a new School of Intellectual Freedom or new general education requirements involving American and Western heritage.

In response to continued pressure from both lawmakers and the Board of Regents to comply with DEI mandates — and given President Donald Trump’s executive order erasing DEI from the federal government — the universities have rewritten strategic plans, reassigned employees, reframed scholarships, and reorganized campus councils and committees.

As of Feb. 17, the university ceased recognition of all diversity councils — including its African American Council, Latinx Council, Native American Council, Pan Asian Council, LGTBQ+ Council, Veterans and Military Council, and Councils on Disability Awareness, and on the Status of Women.

“To become compliant with Iowa Code Chapter 261J, existing diversity councils will transition to informal groups,” according to Jan. 31 guidance from Liz Tovar, executive officer and associate vice president of the UI Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity — formerly its Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Tovar in the guidance defined an informal group as one that “operates independently and is not officially recognized represented by, or overseen by the university.”

“The informal group is responsible for managing its own funding, branding, promotion, and marketing resources, including maintaining a website, without utilizing university resources, email addresses, or digital platforms.”

Although a UI link to diversity councils now directs website users to a broader list of UI committees — like those for its libraries, recreational services, parking and transportation, and Hancher Auditorium — just months ago the link listed not just the diversity councils but seven diversity committees, along with DEI units across the university’s 12 colleges and seven units or departments.

While its current list of committees still includes a committee on diversity, a message atop that group’s web page reports it is “inactive as of February 2025 due to developing legislative and regulatory guidance.”

Student orgs stay

The university does still have student organizations associated with DEI-related identities, topics, and themes — as is allowed by the new law — including the Pride Alliance Center, which collaborated with the soon-to-be defunct “All In” LLC.

“This community was founded by LGBTQ+ students with the intent of creating LGBTQ+ friendly housing options for students,” according to the LLC page, noting students in that community were required to take an academic course connected to the LLC — in which they were pre-enrolled.

Students in the Young, Gifted, and Black and the Unidos communities also were required to take an academic course connected to their respective communities. And both, like All In, collaborated with student groups on campus — including the Afro-American Culture Center and the Latino Native American Cultural Center, both of which are listed as active student organizations.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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