University of Iowa

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offers a DEI certificate with the Building University of Iowa Leadership for Diversity (BUILD) program to UI faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students.

The Center for Inclusive Academic Excellence (CIAE) at UI provides "Pre-college student development" and "Assistance with facilitating the enrollment process." The Center's programs "support historically marginalized, first-generation students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds..."

After the House File 802, banning the teachings of Critical Race Theory and bias training, was signed into law by the governor of Iowa on June 8, 2021, UI released a statement announcing plans to continue DEI training and teachings in the classroom including courses on Critical Race Theory.

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offers a number of training programs to the UI community including a workshop on Exploring White Identity for Effective Allyship which is geared for white people to “learn and discuss the inherent privileges that come with being White.”

Through UI's Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Center for Teaching, the "Social Justice Reading Group" aims to "promote equity and inclusion by providing UI instructors with the foundational theoretical and pedagogical frameworks and inclusive practices for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom." The "Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education" will be utilized as the "primary reference text" during the training sessions.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides implicit bias trainings and resources for search committees and "beginners."

As part of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education requirements, all students are required to complete a minimum of 3 semester hours of Diversity and Inclusion coursework.

The College of Education is actively engaging in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism initiatives which aim to “increase the incorporation of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our teaching approaches and curricula.”

As part of the Anti-Racism Initiative, the Anti-Racism Collaborative functions to “examine how racism operates within the functional aspects of the College (such as curriculum and teaching, admissions and recruitment, policy and practices)” and as a guiding assumption believes that racism is an enduring problem.

As of the summer of 2022, the College of Liberal Arts introduced its "Diversity and Inclusion" requirement and state that "All students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who wish to earn an undergraduate degree—Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), or Bachelor of Music (B.M.)—must complete the requirements of the GE CLAS Core."

UI's "Resources and Reporting Problems" webpage outlines the process for reporting incidents of bias or discrimination and states "If you see something, please say something" and "If you have experienced incidents of bias or discrimination, please reach out for support."

The College of Education will host an online workshop entitled, "Impacts of Racism on PK-12 Classrooms".

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosted an "Anti-Racist Writing Workshop" to create "more inclusive writing programs".

The arts departments will be hosting a new series of virtual events called "Art and the Pursuit of Social Justice", which will discuss the intersection between social justice and art.

The University of Iowa Libraries provide a number of Anti-Racism resources with books, videos, podcasts and readings on anti-racism, microaggressions, implicit bias, and white privilege as well as a specific category of “Resources for Anti-Racist Allies.”

On October 20, 2021, the university’s College of Public Health hosted a webinar on “Bringing Critical Race Theory into Public Health: an Example in Cancer Care Delivery Research.”

On June 20, 2021, The Daily Iowan (UI News) published an article titled "A nuanced exploration of Critical Race Theory" which states that "Like the previous threat —Sharia Law— Republicans seemingly have little to no understanding about critical race theory, or its critique of American society: legal structures within the U.S  marginalize Black Americans and other historically oppressed groups."

On September 30, 2021, UI held a webinar event titled "What Is Critical Race Theory?: Perspectives from Business, Law, & Sociology" which featured speakers who would "share concrete examples from higher education, business, and the local community as they consider how Critical Race Theory can illuminate the past and open pathways to a more equitable future."

On February 18, 2021, the office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hosted a virtual event titled "The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: A panel discussion on creating more inclusive writing programs." The introduction to the event states, "Writing course curricula neglect the impact of writers of color; writing classrooms have centered and celebrated works that haven’t addressed the realities, histories, or cultures of communities of color and other minoritized and marginalized peoples."

The College of Dentistry emailed the entire department condemning Trump’s CRT executive order, which caused a controversy, as a student spoke out against the email.

On May 11, 2022, the Center for Inclusive Academic Excellence at the university’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will be hosting its annual graduation celebration to honor the inclusive academic excellence of its graduating students.