Illegal Alien Superintendent Lied About PhD, Loses License, Earns District a DOJ Investigation Into DEI
The school touted its "race-and-color-based teacher recruitment goals."
This article originally appeared on ZeroHedge and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Tyler Durden
Ian Roberts, the Iowa superintendent who was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement last Friday after fleeing from a traffic stop and ditching his district-issued vehicle (in which a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a hunting knife was recovered) - completely lied about his bona fides.
He’s also lost his superintendent’s license, while the DOJ launched an investigation hours after ICE detained him. The 54-year-old native of Guyana entered the United States on a student visa in 1999, overstayed, lied on a form claiming he was eligible to work when he was hired in 2023, and now faces deportation.
According to the Des Moines Register, Roberts never obtained a doctoral degree from Maryland university - something which would have been easy to verify during the vetting process. Roberts has “long stated that he received a doctoral degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore. But a university spokesperson told the Des Moines Register on Monday that Roberts did not obtain a degree from the school, despite attending Morgan State from the fall of 2002 through the spring of 2007.”
He attempted to obtain a doctorate in urban educational leadership. Despite his failure, Roberts has claimed on multiple occasions to have “completed” the degree at Morgan State, including in a 2009 self-published book.
A November 2024 article published on the Des Moines Public School website claimed “Roberts excelled academically and... completed education programs at Coppin, St. John’s, Morgan State, Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and an MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.”
#ad: Your diet isn’t perfect—and that’s okay.
Global Healing’s Organic Multivitamin is here to help you fill the gaps with over 30 essential vitamins and minerals your body needs to feel its best.
There are no coatings, no fillers—just clean, high-quality nutrients your body can actually use. It’s a simple, effective way to support your daily health and give your body the care it deserves.
Experience the difference you can actually feel. Use code VFOX at checkout for 10% off your order.
DISCLOSURE: This is an affiliate link. I may earn a commission if you make a purchase here, at no additional cost to you.
Meanwhile, the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked Roberts’ superintendent’s license on Sept. 29.
What’s more, the Justice Department opened an investigation into the school district hours after Roberts was detained. According to the Washington Examiner, the DOJ wrote to interim superintendent Matthew Smith informing him of the investigation into the district’s alleged DEI programs.
“Our investigation is based on information that DMPS may be engaged in employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants, and training program participants based on race, color, and national origin in violation of Title VII,“ wrote Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.
DOJ says that Des Moines Public Schools set diversity quotas and pushed DEI in the school system.
“Diversity enriches the climate and strengthens the effectiveness of our schools… We believe it is in the best interests of our school district to develop an employee culture reflective of the greater society,” Dhillon quoted the school as stating - further citing the school’s 2021 Affirmative Action Plan, which included “race-and-color-based teacher recruitment goals.”
Copyright 2025 ZeroHedge
