DEI Roll Back: University of Iowa Announces Plans to Close Stand Alone Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies Department
After years of backlash from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs run amock on college campuses, within government, and in corporate America, at least some programs are slowly being rolled back.
Last week, the University of Iowa announced a major change.
In a press release on December 17, 2024, the university announced plans to close its Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies department.
Instead of being a stand-alone department, it will be combined with other areas of focus to form a new major in Social and Cultural Analysis.
“Under the proposed plan, the college would close the departments of American Studies and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, as well as the current majors in American Studies and in Social Justice, which have fewer than 60 students combined, and create a new major in Social and Cultural Analysis.”
The decision comes on the heels of Iowa’s State Board of Regents’ 2023 approval of multiple recommendations to scale back DEI initiatives in the state.
A group made up of three Iowa Board of Regent members recommended 10 changes and a total restructuring of Iowa’s public universities’ DEI programs.
In April, state legislators passed the Department of Education’s budget, which banned DEI programs and positions in public institutions.
Although the Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies department will be “closed,” its envelopment into a larger major suggests that, while the institution is complying with new laws in the state, the damaging DEI agenda will likely simply be hiding in plain sight.
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