Indiana Attorney General launches probe into Indiana University sex research center
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita launched a probe into the Indiana University sex research center in late July.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita launched a probe into the Indiana University sex research center in late July.
Rokita launched the investigation into Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction after suspicions arose of illegal use of state funding, which a 2023 law barred this research center from doing.
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University, established in 1947, refers to itself as the “trusted source for scientific knowledge and research on critical issues in sexuality, gender, and reproduction”. This research center is named after its founder, the father of gender ideology and a “sexologist”, Alfred C. Kinsey.
Indiana Governor Holcomb signed the “Prohibition on State Funding of the Kinsey Institute” law, which became effective July of 2023. This law ensures that any use of state funding and taxpayer dollars towards this research center would be illegal.
However, Attorney General Rokita has grown suspicious of the Institute’s compliance with this law. In the recent letter, Rokita writes “Despite this law being in effect since July 1, 2023, we cannot find evidence of any serious efforts by university leadership to comply with the law or to provide assurances of compliance”.
The letter continues by detailing the promises made by both the Kinsey Institute and Indiana University, which Rokita notes have not been fulfilled within the past year.
“On November 10, 2023, the IU Board of Trustees tabled a vote regarding the separation of the Kinsey Institute from the University by creating a separate non-profit entity. On March 1, 2024, the Board affirmatively declined to separate the Kinsey Institute by creating a non-profit entity separate from the University. Instead, the Board endorsed your proposal to present a plan to the State Board of Accounts to use accounting methods to ensure compliance with the law. However, two quarterly meetings have passed since this proposal, and no accounting plan has been implemented. Upon meeting in June, again, the Board did not even consider the plan.”
Rokita closes out the letter, directed at the Indiana University Board of Trustees, demanding that the University and the Kinsey Institute prove that “Hoosiers’ hard-earned tax dollars are not used to fund the Institute”.
Indiana State Comptroller Elise Nieshalla joins Rokita in requesting confirmation that no tax dollars have been used through a detailed list of all funding sources for the Institute. In the case that the Institute has not followed the 2023 law, Rokita demands an accounting plan detailing how the Institute will ensure compliance moving forward.
Campus Reform has contacted Indiana University, the Kinsey Institute, and the Indiana Attorney General’s office for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
