Dear CLAS Colleagues,
I'm writing to pass along the following important message from Dr. Liz Tovar, executive officer for DEI, and Peter Matthes, senior advisor to the president. This statement, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about the topic, is on the website of the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We in CLAS leadership support Dr. Tovar's message, and we urge our colleagues throughout the college to take advantage of the excellent workshops and other DEI-related programs that are available on our campus.
The division's website also includes other information related to free speech on the University of Iowa campus. I encourage you to familiarize yourselves with the materials available there, including a guide to resources curated by UI Libraries.
Best,
Sara
Sara Sanders, PhD, MSW
Professor
Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, CLAS
Statement on HF 802 Divisive Topics Legislation
The Iowa General Assembly is considering House File (HF) 802 which, if it becomes law, would prohibit divisive topics from mandatory employee training. We know there have been many questions from students, faculty, and staff regarding how this could impact our training and the ability to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion topics in our classrooms. So, we wanted to provide information about how the proposed legislation would impact DEI training at the University of Iowa.
Passage of HF 802 will not stop or pause training on our campus.
One concern we have heard is about the future of the UI’s implicit bias training. Our implicit bias training would not be considered a divisive concept because it does not “teach, advocate, act upon or promote" that an individual is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive due to their race or sex.
Another concern expressed is how would HF 802 impact the classroom. If passed, HF 802 would have zero impact within the classroom as academic instruction is specifically exempted from the legislation.
Finally, we know there have been concerns regarding our voluntary training - these trainings will continue and will not be paused.
Over the last three years, we have held over 500 training sessions and workshops positively impacting nearly 15,000 students, faculty, and staff. The popular and successful UI BUILD program voluntarily educates approximately 1,000 individuals a year. All of our DEI programs, training, and workshops will continue to be available to UI students, faculty, and staff.
If you have questions, please reach out to the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion so we can help ensure the training content used by our colleges and departments meets these standards. I encourage you, your college, or your department to email our diversity resources group to schedule a time to review your training.
In our classrooms, conversations on divisive topics can and will continue because freedom of speech is protected within our constitution. These training tools and ongoing conversations are necessary to help us expand our community, collaborate, and treat each other with respect.
If you have additional questions, please visit our webpage on this topic or reach out to us as we move forward.
Dr. Liz Tovar
Executive Officer and Associate Vice President
Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
elizabeth-tovar@uiowa.edu
Peter Matthes
Vice President for External Relations and Senior Advisor to the President
peter-matthes@uiowa.edu
