Several state officials want to end Indiana University’s state funding, because of the university’s remaining connections to the Kinsey Institute.
The General Assembly cut all state funds for the Kinsey Institute after Rep. Lorissa Sweet (R-Huntington) proposed the amendment to the 2023 state budget. The Kinsey Institute’s work focuses on sexuality, gender and relationships.
Critics continue to press IU over its connections to the Institute. Comptroller Elise Nieshalla, Sweet, and Purple for Parents United Indiana were on a flier for a Jan. 15 event to "call on the Indiana Legislature to defund Indiana University for violating state law." Sweet did not respond to a request for comment.
Nieshalla later clarified that she is not calling for IU to be defunded but is focused on the university being transparent and complying with the state's “exhaustive” law on the Kinsey Institute.
“There are a number of areas where there is to be a complete separation,” Nieshalla said. “It goes to property. It goes to use of the website. It goes to wages, salaries, benefits. It goes to everything.”
Last year, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Nieshalla asked IU leaders for detailed financial information on the Kinsey Institute and whether the institute uses public funding.
Read more: ‘Enough is enough’: Local lawmakers support IU, Kinsey Institute amid defunding calls
IU has maintained the Kinsey Institute no longer receives state funding.
In letters to the two officials, IU said it has “worked diligently and transparently” to comply with the law. The university submitted financial plans to the State Board of Accounts last year and said that Kinsey Institute accounts are isolated from the rest of the university. IU plans to block unapproved funding for the institute.
Rokita and Nieshalla wrote back, asking for more information and detail. Nieshalla said IU’s efforts didn’t fulfill the law’s requirements.
The Kinsey Institute is located in Lindley Hall. According to the letters, the institute uses IU Foundation funds to pay IU for the space and for other services such as utilities and maintenance. The university doesn’t hold classes in the institute.
According to its 2023 annual report, the Kinsey Institute recorded a 77 percent increase in donors with about $4 million in gifts and pledges.
Nieshalla said she and Rokita found IU’s response and efforts to be lacking.
“The institute remains on the campus using state property, and that is specifically mentioned in the law that no property can be used any longer,” Nieshalla said.
It’s the legislature’s call whether or not to defund IU, Nieshalla said. She will be “glad to provide this information on the exchanges that we've had with IU to best inform their decision.”
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright .
