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Iowa Board of Regents backs attorney general review after report on DEI compliance; special meeting set
Summary
Board president and university leaders said they will cooperate with the attorney general’s review after a report alleging faculty and staff violations of state and federal rules on diversity, equity and inclusion. The board will hold a special meeting in August to continue work on a replacement policy.
Regent Bates, president of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, opened the meeting by saying the board will support the attorney general's review after a news report alleging faculty and staff had not followed state and federal law related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“Following the law is not optional, nor is working around the law,” Regent Bates said. “Any attempt to skirt the law needs to be dealt with swiftly.”
Bates said the board will not take up the proposed DEI-related policy at this meeting because “discussions on how to best implement the ideas that were brought forward are still ongoing.” She said the board has heard from people on “both sides of this specific issue” and that a more comprehensive approach is needed. Bates said she had asked the board office to schedule a special meeting in August to address the new policy proposal.
President Wilson, president of the University of Iowa, told the board the university had launched “an immediate and comprehensive investigation” in response to the report referenced by the board and had coordinated with the board office and the attorney general’s office. “If at any point we find the policies or laws have been violated, we will take the necessary corrective actions without hesitation,” President Wilson said.
Regent Barker and others also commented later in the meeting about continuing concerns over DEI compliance; Regent Barker read from an earlier letter to Attorney General Brenna Bird and urged more direct board action where compliance issues are identified. Barker said the board’s earlier direction that universities handle compliance locally had left gaps the board may need to address.
No formal enforcement action was recorded at the meeting; the recorded step was the board president’s direction that the board office arrange a special August meeting to consider the policy proposal further and the board’s public support for the attorney general review. The board did not adopt a new DEI policy at this session.
The matter remains under review, and the board said it will consider a revised policy after additional work and consultation.
