Iowa’s public universities provide the latest proof that it will take long and diligent work to remove from higher education the discriminatory ideologies often referred to as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI).
In 2024, Iowa’s policymakers passed a law prohibiting DEI bureaucracies at their public universities. In 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order prohibiting DEI in the federal government—and including recipients of federal money. Yet this summer undercover videos surfaced of Iowa university employees discussing how they would evade the law. The transcript displays blatant contempt for the law:
'We’re essentially finding ways to operate around it.'
'That was our solution,' she said. 'We were like, ‘oh, OK, we can’t use that word. OK, ‘civic engagement.’ I think that’s a lot of what we’re doing.'
In the video, she said while references to DEI have been removed from university websites, she still personally uses the term DEI.
'We are still doing DEI work,' she said. 'We’re still working with our students. I have yet to be told, like, ‘Drea, you can’t say DEI,’ and I’m still gonna say it. I don’t know if it’s just the play on the website of like, ‘oh, OK, yeah, we took off the words,’ but we’re still doing what we do here, but we’re still doing what we need to do, what we know we have to do for students.'
We commend the Iowa policymakers who are doing admirable follow-up work to ensure enforcement of the law. U.S. Congressman Randy Feenstra and state Representative Taylor Collins have sent a letter to the Iowa Board of Regents to ensure that university employees who continue to impose DEI discrimination are removed from their jobs.
It is not enough for the individuals responsible for breaking the law, and the trust of Iowans, to receive a slap on the wrist. In fact, currently many of these employees are on paid administrative leave, enjoying a taxpayer funded vacation. That is why today, we are calling for any individuals who have been, or are found in the future, responsible for violating Iowa Code Section 261J, and President Trump’s Executive Order on DEI, to be terminated immediately. Clear and decisive action from each of you is the only way we can ensure that DEI is DOA in the State of Iowa.
We commend the Iowa policymakers who are working to make sure that Iowa’s Board of Regents and university presidents enforce the law—and we note that policymakers will have to continue to maintain vigilance over universities for a generation and more. The entire higher education establishment clearly has no wish to enforce the laws prohibiting DEI. Only constant oversight by the public and elected representatives will work to remove DEI policies and programs from their camouflaged hiding places.
Some legislative tools might make their jobs easier. The Civics Alliance’s model College Finances Act includes provisions mandating detailed budget transparency at college and establishing a line-item veto for university expenditures. Iowa policymakers might also consider ensuring enforceability of restrictions on DEI and Critical Race Theory by:
- establishing set and significant financial penalties for violating these laws;
- making personnel of universities who violate these laws individually liable to these penalties;
- requiring certification by Board members and university presidents that the universities are following these laws, such that they may be prosecuted for perjury if they certify falsely;
- granting the state attorney general the right to bring action against universities and their representatives for violating these laws; and
- authorizing private rights of action by individuals against universities and their representatives for violating these laws.
But in the last analysis, university presidents and members of the Board of Regents ought to be acting with alacrity to remove all DEI policies from Iowa universities and investigating every bureaucratic nook and cranny for disguised DEI activities. Iowa’s public and policymakers deserve to have officials who will do their jobs. We strongly urge Iowa policymakers to appoint only Board members and university presidents who will set about, enthusiastically and efficiently, at removing DEI policies and their sabotaging champions from their bureaucracies. As a necessary preliminary, we even more strongly urge Iowa policymakers to remove Board members and university presidents who shrink from this task.
Removing the illegal and immoral discrimination of DEI will require continual oversight of our colleges and universities by the public and policymakers for a generation and more. That task will be significantly eased, however, if policymakers appoint dedicated reformers to administer our public universities—and remove the fainthearted and the time-servers from positions of responsibility. We urge policymakers to begin this necessary task forthwith.
Photo by deagreez on Adobe Stock
