University of Iowa rebrands DEI office following passage of new state law

The University of Iowa announced on May 30 that it has replaced its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office in accordance with a state law passed last month and with the recommendations of the Iowa Board of Regents last year.

Governor Kim Reynolds signed S.F. 2435 in May, a bill that bans any public college or university from having an office or department dedicated to DEI. One criterion for distinguishing DEI offices, per the bill, is “[a]ny effort to promote or promulgate trainings, programming, or activities designed or implemented with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”

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The new legislation is similar to directives from the Iowa Board of Regents, the body that oversees Iowa’s public universities. The Board voted to significantly reduce DEI efforts in November.

The directives ordered that schools eliminate any DEI positions not needed for accreditation or compliance with state or federal law.

In response to the directives, the university announced a “DEI Forward Task Force” in December to discuss how to implement them. On May 30, the Office of Strategic Communication said that the university had created the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity, replacing the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

According to a university press release, the new division is designed to “ensure the university’s compliance with state and federal law and diversity-related accreditation criteria.” Additionally, the office “will help students, faculty, and staff build cultural competency skills needed to understand and respect the values, attitudes, norms, and beliefs that differ across cultures.”

The division’s new administrators have been reassigned from previous roles at the school. According to the university, Tiffini Stevenson Earl, the former director of equity investigations and ADA compliance, will now oversee the Office of Civil Rights Compliance.

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Various Republican states have moved to ban DEI offices and initiatives over the past year and a half, a trend notably promoted by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Other states such as Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah have also made similar efforts within the past year.

Campus Reform has contacted the University of Iowa, the Iowa Board of Regents, and Gov. Reynolds’s office for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.