DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district, who was detained last week by immigration agents, falsely claimed a doctoral degree when applying for the job two years ago but was hired even after the school board learned about the misrepresentation.
Ian Roberts, who immigration authorities say was living and working in the U.S. illegally and who resigned this week as Des Moines’ superintendent of schools, claimed in his 2023 application that he received a doctorate in urban educational leadership from Morgan State University in 2007, according to documents The Associated Press obtained through a public records request.
Although Roberts was enrolled in that doctorate program from 2002 to 2007, the school’s public relations office confirmed in an email that he didn’t receive that degree. It declined to say which degree requirements he hadn’t met.
The Des Moines school board learned before hiring Roberts that he hadn’t received the degree, but it still chose him to lead the district, which serves about 30,000 students.
“As part of the background check process that was done at the time, it indicated that he did not complete -- he began but did not complete a degree from Morgan State,” district spokesman Phil Roeder told the AP. He and the board declined to comment further about how the information was handled at the time.
Roberts, who is challenging the order to deport him to his native Guyana, remained jailed Wednesday in Sioux City, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines. When asked to comment on Roberts’ false application claim, his attorney, Alfredo Parrish, said he was looking into the matter and would discuss it with his client.
In his application materials, Roberts also wrote that he had a doctorate in educational leadership from “Trident American University” obtained in 2021. Roeder said the board’s background check confirmed that Roberts did receive that degree from that online school, though it is called Trident University International. A school official declined to comment.
Experts say Roberts’ false claim should have raised red flags
The false claim on Roberts’ resume might not have been legally disqualifying, but it may have raised concerns about his integrity, education administration experts said.
“That’s a pretty big discrepancy,” said Sadika Jubo, managing partner of the School Liability Expert Group. “I think red flags would go up for the district. ... If they are making misrepresentations on their CV, is this a person of moral character? They are going to be in charge of the district, money, funds, people’s lives. Is this someone that we want to hire?”
The job profile in the web archive of JG Consulting, a firm the district hired to assist in its 2023 superintendent search, said applicants must have a master’s degree and at least 30 hours of graduate work in administration. Roberts appears to have met those requirements.
Roberts, who ran in the Olympics for Guyana, had two decades of experience working as an educator and education professional across the country. His biography on the Des Moines school district’s website touted a doctorate in urban educational leadership from Trident, misidentifying the degree, with no mention of Morgan State.
Roberts’s employment as a superintendent at Millcreek Township School District in Erie, Pennsylvania; a network superintendent at St. Louis Public Schools; and a principal and teacher at Baltimore City Public Schools was confirmed by each school district.
Despite his experience, the controversy surrounding his academic qualifications and legal status has raised questions about how the Des Moines school district manages its hiring processes.
