Rural Iowa Leans on Higher Education

Rep. Taylor Collins (R-Mediapolis) is the poster child for the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion movement in Iowa. I previously described his work as “the spiritual struggle against the sin of liberalism,” but it’s not really that. It is an old friend, resentment rural Iowans hold against city-dwellers, in this case educators employed by the regent institutions in Iowa.

Here are posts from Rep. Collins’ Facebook page that set the stage:

Thank you Representative Collins! Iowans want well educated students not radical ideologies shoved down the throats of our students!

Time to put an end to the communists running the universities in the state of Iowa.

Nothing will change in the Universities until the Iowa legislature either ends tenure for professor’s in Iowa or somehow fires the administrators who hire and fire.

If you went anywhere in Iowa and asked what people liked about the University of Iowa they would likely say either the Hawkeye athletic program or the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. People from all over the state attend Iowa sporting events or get treated at the University Hospitals. One can argue the value of sportsball programs, yet it is hard to deny the acclaim Caitlin Clark received in the women’s basketball program. If a person has a complicated medical diagnosis, it is good to know treatment is as close as Iowa City. These impressions are not wrong.

If you asked the same people what they don’t like about the university, they might say the unabashed liberalism in Iowa City. The resentment is targeted at people who work for the state government and hold what are, by comparison, cushy, well-paid jobs with substantial benefits, with some employees belonging to a labor union.

You can’t argue much with people’s opinions, even if they are not based in the same reality as you and I. In her book The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker, author Katherine J Cramer lays out these attitudes that pit rural versus urban folk in a way that resonates with Iowa and other rural states I visited.

In my Jan. 7 post I wrote, “The University of Iowa already announced closure of some offending programs, including the gender studies and American Studies programs in advance of the new DEI law going into effect in July. They discuss the possibility of forming a new umbrella school for these and other programs, although that seems uncertain as I write.”

The response from Rep. Collins to forming a new school is now known. It is hell to the no!

Sen. Lynn Evans, (R-Aurelia), and Rep. Taylor Collins (R-Mediapolis), sent a letter to the Board of Regents on Jan. 8 saying the UI’s proposal to form a School of Social and Cultural Analysis should be rejected, as it brings together “ideologically driven programs,” rather than doing away with them, according to Iowa Capitol Dispatch.

“Iowans expect our institutions of higher education to be focused on providing for the workforce needs of the state, not programs that are focused on peddling ideological agendas,” the letter stated.

Iowa Board of Regents spokesperson Josh Lehman told Iowa Capitol Dispatch in an email that the board did receive the letter and “appreciate(s) them sharing their opinions with the Board.” Lehman may as well have thrown a barrel of gasoline on that fire.

The new House Committee on Higher Education met last week. Below are the members, seven Republicans and four Democrats, several of them heavy hitters in the legislature.

This committee’s work is expected to be widely reported by Iowa media. I’ll be adding my two cents as well as the session continues.