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The Iowa Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday opened an investigation into the University of Iowa after an official there was video recorded saying she and others at the school continue to advance diversity, equity and inclusion despite policies and a state law prohibiting it.
A 2024 state law prohibits public funding for DEI programs. The Iowa Board of Regents in November 2023 also directed universities to abolish all “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives at public universities.
But an undercover video obtained by Fox News shows Drea Tinoco, assistant director for Leadership and Student Organization Development at the University of Iowa, saying “we’re essentially finding ways to operate around [the bans], so that was our solution.”
“We were like, ‘Oh, okay, we can’t use that word? Okay – ‘civic engagement.’ I think that’s a lot of what we’re doing, it’s like, ‘Oh, okay, we’re not allowed to use this word. Oh, okay. We’re just going to do this,'” Tinoco said.
“…We are still doing DEI work,” she also said. “We’re still working with our students. I have yet to be told, like, ‘Drea, you can’t say DEI,’ and I’m still gonna say it. I don’t know if it’s just the play on the website of like, ‘oh, OK, yeah, we took off the words,’ but we’re still doing what we do here, but we’re still doing what we need to do, what we know we have to do for students.”
The nearly four-minute, heavily edited video shows Tinoco speaking to an unknown male. It is unclear when exactly the video was filmed, who she thought she was speaking to, or whether she knew she was being recorded. The Fox News article does not state how it obtained the video.
Fox News reported that Tinoco discussed “loophole[s]” at the university to advance DEI, such as through student groups protected by freedom of association rights.
Reaction to it from university and state leaders has been swift and severe.
“I’m appalled by the remarks made in this video by a University of Iowa employee who blatantly admits to defying DEI restrictions I signed into law on May 9, 2024,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement.
“I already issued a letter to the Board of Regents on January 23, 2025, reminding university representatives to comply, not only with state law, but an executive order signed by President Trump ending implementation of DEI policies at public institutions,” she said.
Reynolds filed a formal complaint with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who responded by opening an investigation, CBS 2 Iowa reported.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that at Wednesday’s Board of Regents meeting, members praised the attorney general’s probe into the incident.
“President Barbara Wilson assured the board the university is taking the video and allegations connected to it seriously. The UI has already launched an investigation into the matter, she said, and has reached out to board staff and the attorney general’s office for coordination,” the Dispatch reported.
MORE: Iowa regents delay vote on DEI, CRT ban after pushback
IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: A University of Iowa official discusses DEI with an unknown male / Fox News screenshot
