Michael Brase News Today

To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. It was the reply-all no one wanted, and it came on a Friday in October just after lunch, when the students at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry were in clinical rotations with patients or had checked out for the weekend. The inciting email was sent by the college dean, David Johnsen, addressing the September 22, 2020, executive order from then president Donald Trump that banned diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ...

House File 744 prohibits faculty and staff from violating students First Amendment rights and employees to be disciplined, including possible termination, if violations do occur. The bill provides similar protections against free speech violations in Iowas K-12 schools as well. On top of that, Iowas Regent universities (University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Iowa) would be required to conduct annual free speech training for students and faculty. The bill also requi...

Disgruntled Republican lawmakers — who last month pummeled the University of Iowa College of Dentistry with questions about its treatment of a conservative student — leveled more questions and criticism Tuesday at UI officials. “I believe you have a systemic problem that needs to be addressed,” Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, told UI Dental College Dean David Johnsen, Provost Kevin Kregel and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Executive Officer Liz Tovar at a government oversight committee hea...

House and Senate lawmakers advanced bills to ban tenure at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.

by Rep. Dustin Hite It was another busy week at the Statehouse. I started on Monday by taking the gavel and sitting in the Speaker’s chair for the opening of Monday’s session. The rest of the week was filled with committees and subcommittees and is now ending with a blizzard. On Tuesday evening, the Iowa House passed House File 228, a bill which removes the ability of school districts to deny requests for open enrollment due to voluntary diversity plans adopted by the school districts. ...

Trump’s controversial diversity training order is dead – or is it? Colleges are still feeling its effects. Chris Quintana, USA TODAY Replay Video UP NEXT An overturned executive order from President Trump focused on banning some forms of diversity training is still sparking debate on college campuses.  Many universities scrambled to comply with the controversial order last year, which would have prevented the federal government and its contractors from offering diversi...

University of Iowa dean apologizes to conservative student after stifling freedom of speech Share on Facebook Karen TownsendPosted at 11:31 am on February 6, 2021 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The dean of the UI College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics at the University of Iowa issued an apology to a conservative dental student this week. The kerfuffle happened back in October over an executive order signed by President Trump in September to end some diversity and inclusion training on fede...

Leaders from all three of Iowas public universities Tuesday apologized to lawmakers for egregious incidents on their respective campuses that suppressed First Amendment rights and quelled free speech - largely affecting conservative students - and they all committed to enacting change and taking corrective action.

By Vanessa Miller, Special to the Globe Gazette Leaders from all three of Iowa’s public universities on Tuesday apologized to lawmakers for “egregious” incidents on their campuses that suppressed First Amendment rights and quelled free speech — largely affecting conservative students — and committed to taking corrective action. “Since October, we’ve been reviewing what happened, how the process worked and didn’t work, and we’re working to...

Unsafe just because they disagree: University of Iowa dean apologizes for infringing on rights of conservatives on campus The Iowa House of Representatives had launched an investigation after the universitys College of Dentistry spoke out against a Trump administration executive order last fall and threatened a student with a disciplinary hearing after he spoke out in defense of the Trump administrations actions. Des Moines Register Officials with the University of Iowas College of Dentistry ha...