Iowa Republicans Question Public Colleges on Diversity Agenda Expenditures

Republicans in Iowa’s State House questioned the presidents of three public universities on their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expenditures, the Des Moines Register reported.

The presidents of Iowa State, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa spoke with Iowa’s House Education Appropriations subcommittee as to present initiatives for next year and to request a budget increase. 

The debate comes two weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to cut diversity funding at public universities. https://t.co/hp5U3uP78J

— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) February 14, 2023

Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis asked the three how much the top administrators of their institutions’ diversity, equity, and inclusion were paid before estimating that approximately $750,000 was spent across the three universities.

Collins stated, “I just have a hard time when I see a $32 million request and I find $750,000 for four people.” 

Meanwhile, the president of Iowa State University Wendy Wintersteen noted that “we are seeing an increasingly diverse population at each of our institutions.”

Rep. Carter Nordman, R-Adel stated, “We are interested in looking at every aspect of taxpayer dollars being spent at our regent universities. Everything,” including “What they spend on programs, DEI, other administrative costs. We are interested not only in how much we appropriate, but how those appropriated dollars are being spent at our regents.”

Several other Republican leaders in different states have requested to know how much money has been spent on DEI initiatives in an effort to increase transparency. In South Carolina, for example, legislators are requesting information on “all spending on programs, trainings, and activities targeted toward people based on their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.” The institutions have been instructed to provide the information by Thursday, February 23rd. 

Meanwhile in Oklahoma, State Superintendent Ryan Walters demanded to know how much money was being spent on DEI programs at public colleges in the state. The requests revealed that public universities in Oklahoma are set to spend over $10 million on DEI initiatives in the current fiscal year, of which $3.7 million came from the state. 

A similar request was made in Florida, where it was revealed that public universities in the state spent a whopping $28 million on DEI and Critical Race Theory initiatives, including $15 million of taxpayer funds. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion programming has become increasingly common throughout both academia and the wider corporate world, with MSNBC reporting that the “DEI market” was worth an astonishing $9.5 billion in 2022 and is set to increase to $15.4 billion by the year 2026.

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.