The Board of Regents took action Thursday on the initial review of state university employees discussing the bypassing of anti-DEI policies.
The board discussed the issue in closed session before Board president Robert Cramer announced the recommendation is to dismiss one case and seek discipline in a second case. “I want to be clear, this review was not about personal viewpoints or differing opinions. This is about compliance with the law. The Board of Regents and its institutions will comply with the law, period. As these are personnel matters, we cannot and will not share any specifics,” Cramer said.
The Regents hired the Consovoy McCarthy law firm to investigate after undercover videos surface where employees said they were finding ways around the new state DEI law that requires public universities to close DEI offices and end spending on DEI staff positions. Cramer referred to the two cases as “employee A” and “employee B” in the recommendation that the Board approved and said he could not reveal other information because it is a personnel matter.
He says the next step is a broader phase two compliance audit by of all three universities. “To ensure compliance on Iowa Code 261-J and other applicable state and federal laws. That work has already begun and we look forward to hearing about the progress of that review as it moves forward,” Cramer said.
The Consavoy McCarthy law firm will also conduct the phase two audit.