Lang
12/24/24
New anti- diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) laws in Iowa have led to the University of Iowa shuttering its departments of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies and American Studies.
The UI College of Liberal Arts is also considering dropping its American Studies and Social Justice majors. It would then create a new “School of Social and Cultural Analysis” including a major with the same name. According to a message issued by school officials last week and obtained by the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the new school would combine multiple departments and programs, inducing those dealing with African American, Latino, Jewish and Native American Studies.
The proposed changes must be approved by the Board of Regents, who will likely vote on the proposals in February. The new school would begin operations on July 1st. That’s the same date set by the Iowa legislature earlier this year to begin enforcement of new state laws that will restrict DEI efforts at Iowa’s public universities. The law prohibits spending state money on DEI initiatives unless they are necessary for the schools to comply with federal standards and/or keep their accreditation.
Neither UI officials nor the Regents have indicated how much making the necessary upcoming changes to the affected departments and majors will cost.