The superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools did not obtain a doctoral degree from a Maryland university, as he has claimed for many years.
Ian Andre Roberts, who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, Sept. 26 and faces deportation, 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.
A spokesperson for the school, who did not provide their name, wrote in an email that Roberts pursued a doctorate in urban educational leadership.
Roberts has claimed several times that he "completed" the doctoral degree program at Morgan State, including in a 2009 self-published book, "Prisoners or Presidents: The Simple Things That Change Everything; When Principals Lead Like Lives Depend on It."
Des Moines Public Schools used similar language in a November 2024 article on its website about Roberts' induction into the Coppin State University athletics hall of fame.
"Roberts excelled academically and... completed education...
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