The University of Iowa is under fire for allegedly continuing to push Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in direct violation of both state and federal restrictions. A newly surfaced video exposes a high-level administrator admitting the university is actively hiding DEI-related efforts under different names and search-proof language.
The video features Cory Lockwood, Senior Associate Director of the Iowa Union Memorial, openly admitting the school is burying DEI-related content from public visibility. “It won’t show up on any Google search,” Lockwood says in the footage. He further notes that faculty job descriptions have been sanitized of obvious DEI language—but terms like “community” are used as subtle indicators of ongoing ideological programming.
These revelations mirror a similar controversy at Belmont University in Tennessee, where officials were also accused of rebranding DEI efforts to skirt legal prohibitions. But now, the situation in Iowa is escalating to a full-scale legal investigation.
Governor Kim Reynolds, a strong supporter of the 2024 Iowa law banning DEI practices in public institutions, swiftly responded to the revelations. “I’m appalled by the remarks made in this video,” Reynolds said in a public statement. She emphasized that the defiance directly contradicts not only Iowa law but also a federal executive order signed by President Trump on January 22, 2025, which prohibited implementation of DEI policies at public universities nationwide.
“I already issued a letter to the Board of Regents back in January reminding university representatives to comply—not just with state law, but also with federal directives,” Reynolds said. “This case is now being referred to Attorney General Brenna Bird for further review.”
Attorney General Bird confirmed her office had received the governor’s complaint and launched an investigation. “Regent universities must comply with our state laws, including the Iowa Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Act—Iowa Code Chapter 261J,” Bird said. She also cited Iowa Code Chapter 19 and the Trump executive order as binding authorities in the probe.
Perhaps the most damning part of Lockwood’s recorded comments is his admission that exposure could put the university’s funding at risk. “If discovered,” he warns, “the school’s funding is in jeopardy.”
This isn’t just a case of academic mischief—it’s a direct act of resistance against elected state and federal leadership. Conservatives have long warned that DEI ideologues wouldn’t go down without a fight. This case seems to confirm that prediction. Even after clear legal prohibitions, administrators are allegedly engineering ways to keep DEI dogma alive by going underground.
For Governor Reynolds and Attorney General Bird, this case could become a landmark test in the battle against institutional wokeness in public education. And if the University of Iowa is found to be in violation, more dominoes may fall as scrutiny intensifies nationwide.