Every day their beloved superintendent turns out to be guilty of yet another category of crime. Today: Drug trafficking! Stay tuned!
He was arrested by ICE with the help of the Iowa State Patrol on Sept. 26. ICE said Roberts attempted to flee arrest and was found hiding in the brush. The vehicle he was driving was found with $3,000 in cash, a fixed blade knife and a loaded Glock 9mm pistol, which led to additional criminal charges of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
A real gift to Trump. All tied up with a ribbon.
Iowa will never live it down. They actually paid money to a firm to vet the guy!
October 4th, 2025 at 7:53PM
The fallout from people who should know better worrying more about the presidential election (which at the margin is something none of us as individuals can affect) than they do about the selectmen or the mayor or the school board (where a few people turning out has a lot of effect) strikes again.
The school board honcho in Des Moines who hired the guy is currently running for Joni Ernst’s Senate seat that will be open next year. Fun times.
October 5th, 2025 at 7:10AM
Stephen: Well, now we know her campaign slogan:
INSPIRING THE KIDS OF IOWA WITH IAN!
October 5th, 2025 at 7:51PM
NYT now running ambivalent, convoluted profile of the guy. Turns out the Des Moines district knew about the fake doctorate claim and just let it slide. The article keeps referring to him as “Dr. Roberts” though, noting that he has a “real” doctorate from someplace called Trident International University, which any sensible person would of course understand is about as real as his fake doctorate from Morgan State. Has the reporter considered looking up his definitely real and definitely not plagiarized dissertation?
Clearly, you’re right that the guy was charismatic and inspiring, because even the reporter seems to want to be taken in. In what world are Coppin State and St. John’s University and this “Trident International University” “brand-name universities,” as the reporter characterizes them? At least the first two are real and accredited, but beyond that… Not only is this story a gift to Trump on the mass deportation front, but it’s pretty clear that a big reason no one wanted to look into this guy’s story too much is that he had the right, shall we say, identities for the people in charge of hiring school administrators, and that overrode their concern for qualifications.
But he is poetic: “As I reflect on my time in Iowa, it is too abbreviated,” Dr. Roberts wrote.
Yeah, hmmmm.
October 5th, 2025 at 8:12PM
Just read the NYT piece. Thanks for pointing me to it.
I’m guessing that few people want these sorts of positions. I’m guessing they’re hard to fill. And yes, you’re probably right that identity politics had something to do with this farce as well.
And yes – has the NYT not heard of diploma mills? Trident?
October 5th, 2025 at 9:03PM
Superintendent of a major urban school district an undesirable position? I doubt it. It’s a political stepping stone for ambitious types – think Arne Duncan, Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee… Probably a tough job in the sense that you’re in the public spotlight and under political pressure, but that’s true of most high-responsibility public administrative roles. I personally wouldn’t want these jobs, but I don’t think America as a whole suffers from a shortage of political ambition.
October 5th, 2025 at 10:16PM
Well, this is from 2022:
https://hechingerreport.org/who-wants-to-lead-americas-school-districts-anyone-anyone-superintendent-search-is-just-beginning/
October 6th, 2025 at 7:29AM
Four out of five dentists surveyed recommend Trident for their patients who go to college. (Too old?)
Also, FWIW, Trident International University is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of the nation’s recognized accreditors. I’m not sure what that says about Trident, HLC, or the US system of higher education. HLC also accredits the Universities of Phoenix, Michigan, and Chicago, so they have, to say the least, a wide range of clients. In any event, Roberts’s doctorate is “real,” at least in the manner that the American higher ed bureaucracy determines these things.
October 6th, 2025 at 8:24AM
TAFKAU: The four out of five thing is NOT too old, if – like UD – you’re old.
Yeah, the accreditors are as scandalous as some of the schools.
October 6th, 2025 at 1:08PM
Hm, interesting. You seem to be correct – other sources corroborate that superintendency has become a more fraught position to fill since the pandemic, though it’s not clear if this is bc there are fewer candidates applying or more complicated and conflicting demands from districts (essentially, the job is more political than ever) that rule most would-be candidates out and leave more people like Dr. Ian in the pool. Maybe superintendency is just another casualty of the politicization of every public office – who needs skills and experiences when you can just do compelling public performance? From the White House to the schoolhouse.
October 6th, 2025 at 2:16PM
Out of curiosity, I pulled up his diss in Proquest. I invite you to guess on which page the plagiarism begins and how long it to took me to find the source he plagiarized from.
LOLLLL Trident University. We stand for the three pointiest prongs of knowledge: fraud, deceit, and plagiarism.
October 6th, 2025 at 3:14PM
Rita: LOL