The University of Iowa is set to close two departments and eliminate its social justice major as part of an effort to streamline and restructure some of its humanities offerings.
Administrators plan to close the American Studies and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies departments and eliminate its social justice major, which combined “have fewer than 60 students,” according to a news release.
In its place — and pending Board of Regents approval in February — the university will create a School of Social and Cultural Analysis, slated to launch for the 2025-26 school year.
The new school comes after Iowa lawmakers passed a law prohibiting public universities from spending money on DEI offices and personnel. It was signed into law in May — however the legislation does not restrict curricula.
“But the Iowa House Republicans — who help decide state appropriations for the public universities — recently established a new higher education committee for the legislative session beginning in January that will conduct a comprehensive review of Iowa’s higher ed system, curriculum and spending,” the Gazette reported.
The university’s news release, in explaining its restructuring, stated: “The existing programs have limited faculty and overlapping curricula, causing challenges for faculty in sustaining teaching capacity. The new curricula will not only streamline operations but offer clarity and flexibility in students’ educational pathways.”
“Right now, these programs are administered by multiple department chairs and multiple directors,” stated Dean Roland Racevskis. “Under this proposed plan, the school would have a single leadership team dedicated to overseeing the operations of the programs. This new structure would provide better coordination of curriculum across these related programs, easier pathways for degree completion, and support for interdisciplinary research opportunities.”
The move also comes after the Iowa Board of Regents in 2023 abolished all “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives at public universities. Since then, public universities in Iowa have been ratcheting back DEI programming.
As The College Fix previously reported, Iowa’s public universities earlier this year cut about $1.3 million in DEI positions, and the presidents of the state’s three biggest universities rolled out DEI office closures as well.
MORE: University of Iowa offers virtual simulation role-playing DEI trainings
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