Articles Tagged: University of Iowa

Pulitzer Prize-winning Iowa author Marilynne Robinson reacted to the use of her name last week by a researcher and writer for the conservative National Association of Scholars, who urged Iowa lawmakers to solve a “civic literacy crisis,” and pointed to Robinson as an Iowan who embodies “the civics education and civic literacy of times past.”

The University of Iowa graduate student union is seeking a 25 percent increase in wages over the next two years, leaving the union’s president and members dissatisfied at the Iowa Board of Regents bargaining team’s offer of annual 3 percent increases.

Despite a court order blocking an attempted freeze on all federal grants, loans, and other forms of financial aid, researchers across Iowa’s public universities are being impacted by President Donald Trump’s executive orders — including those eliminating “radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.”

Elizabeth Willis, since arriving on the University of Iowa campus a decade ago, has come to epitomize the iconic and esteemed Iowa Writers’ Workshop in which she teaches and the wealth of writers among whom she continues to create.

Shortly after an analyst from a high-profile conservative policy group two weeks ago presented lawmakers with evidence that more than 20 programs across Iowa’s public universities have a negative “return on investment,” a member of the Board of Regents contacted her with questions.

Warning Iowa is suffering from a “crisis in civics literacy,” a representative from the National Association of Scholars on Wednesday urged lawmakers to reform public university general education requirements, establish autonomous civics schools on its university campuses, and ensure education accrediting bodies can’t block Iowa’s reform laws.

A year after lawmakers passed sweeping legislation banning diversity, equity, and inclusion spending across Iowa’s public universities, legislators are taking aim at DEI-related curricular requirements — and the Board of Regents is in support.

Hoping to shield Iowa’s public universities from potential backlash to policy changes enacted by lawmakers, Republicans pushed forward a bill that would allow them to sue private entities that review the quality of colleges.

The proposed bill would ban Iowa’s regents institutions from having general education curriculum that teaches “identity politics” or claims systemic racism, sexism, oppression or privilege are inherent in U.S. and Iowa institutions.

In responding to a House proposal that would require the University of Iowa to establish a new “School of Intellectual Freedom,” a UI lobbyist on Tuesday announced campus plans to create a new “Center for Civic Dialogue and Leadership.”

Iowa poet also wrote letters to children from Peter Pan, toured war-torn Europe

Iowa’s new House Higher Education Committee has introduced a spate of study bills directed at Iowa’s public, private and community colleges and universities -- including several going further to limit diversity, equity and inclusion on the campuses and others imposing new mandates around what can and should be taught.

Also, the Iowa Senate is advancing new legislation that would require the teaching of fetal development in health and human growth classes

A representative from the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research urged Iowa lawmakers Wednesday to get more involved in higher education -- including by changing Iowa Code to give the Legislature power to eliminate or add departments on its public university campuses.

All three of Iowa’s public universities “have ceased participating” in a nationwide initiative to diversify corporate America by increasing the diversity of business school faculty after a Republican lawmaker and head of the House higher education committee brought the issue to the Board of Regents.