by Republicans in the Iowa State House polled the presidents of three public universities on their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) spending. Des Moines Register reported.
The Presidents of the State of Iowa, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa spoke to the House of Iowa Education Subcommittee to present initiatives for next year and to propose 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 their diversity, equity and inclusion institutions’ top administrators were paid, before estimating that approximately $750,000 was spent across the three universities.
Collins explained, “I just have a hard time when I see a $32 million request and I find $750,000 for four people.”
Meanwhile, Iowa State University President 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 examining every aspect of taxpayer money being spent at our Regent Universities. Everything”, including “What they spend on programs, DEI, other administrative costs. We are not only interested in how much we appropriate, but also how these appropriated dollars are spent by our rulers.”
Several other Republican leaders in various states have asked how much money has been spent on DEI initiatives to increase transparency. In South Carolina, for example, the legislature requires Information on “all spending on programs, training, and activities aimed at people based on their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.” Institutions have been instructed to provide the information by Thursday 23 February.
Meanwhile in Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters required knowing how much money was spent on DEI programs at public colleges in the state. The inquiries revealed that public universities in Oklahoma are closed spend over $10 million for 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 there are public universities in the state issued a whopping $28 million for DEI and Critical Race Theory initiatives, including $15 million in taxpayers’ money.
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs have become increasingly common with MSNBC, both in academia and across the corporate world reporting that the “DEI market” was worth a staggering $9.5 billion in 2022 and will grow to $15.4 billion by 2026.
Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach you below [email protected].
