{ "banners": { "tv" : [ {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYuMn%2bAFYFwp%2bq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/2-28-25-wtiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1740718800000", "endingDate" : "1740891540000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYuMn%2bAFYFwp%2bq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-2-25-wtiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1740891600000", "endingDate" : "1741237140000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYuMn%2bAFYFwp%2bq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-6-25-wtiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741237200000", "endingDate" : "1741409940000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYuMn%2bAFYFwp%2bq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-8-25-wtiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741410000000", "endingDate" : "1741496340000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYuMn%2bAFYFwp%2bq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-9-25-wtiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741496400000", "endingDate" : "1741751940000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYuMn%2bAFYFwp%2bq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-15-25-wtiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741752000000", "endingDate" : "1742011140000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYuMn%2bAFYFwp%2bq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-15-25-wtiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1742011200000", "endingDate" : "1742097540000"} ], "radio" : [ {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flgkr2wNtsqwhq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-19-24-wfiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1734584400000", "endingDate" : "1734757140000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flgkr2wNtsqwhq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-21-24-wfiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1734757200000", "endingDate" : "1734843540000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flgkr2wNtsqwhq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-19-24-wfiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1734843600000", "endingDate" : "1735448340000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flgkr2wNtsqwhq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-29-24-wfiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1735448400000", "endingDate" : "1735534740000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDBNR&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flgkr2wNtsqwhq1gzMC6uhq5nDjkJobrCdg%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-30-24-wfiu-bnr-new.jpg", "startingDate" : "1735534800000", "endingDate" : "1735621140000"} , {"url" : "https://give.myiu.org/iu-bloomington/I320003967.html", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-31-24-wfiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1735621200000", "endingDate" : "1735707540000"} , {"url" : "https://give.myiu.org/iu-bloomington/I320003967.html", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/1-1-25-wfiu-bnr.jpg", "startingDate" : "1735707600000", "endingDate" : "1735793940000"} ] }}

{ "lightboxes": { "tv" : [ {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYtDgsQprWuZNm3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/2-28-25-wtiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1740718800000", "endingDate" : "1740891540000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYtDgsQprWuZNm3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-2-25-wtiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1740891600000", "endingDate" : "1741237140000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYtDgsQprWuZNm3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-6-25-wtiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741237200000", "endingDate" : "1741409940000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYtDgsQprWuZNm3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-8-25-wtiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741410000000", "endingDate" : "1741496340000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYtDgsQprWuZNm3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-9-25-wtiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741496400000", "endingDate" : "1741751940000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYtDgsQprWuZNm3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-12-25-wtiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1741752000000", "endingDate" : "1742011140000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WTIUMCLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=2T6mTyo6yYtDgsQprWuZNm3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/3-15-25-wtiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1742011200000", "endingDate" : "1742097540000"} ], "radio" : [ {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flizvLEFSbjC6m3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-19-24-wfiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1734584400000", "endingDate" : "1734757140000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flizvLEFSbjC6m3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-21-24-wfiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1734757200000", "endingDate" : "1734843540000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flizvLEFSbjC6m3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-19-24-wfiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1734843600000", "endingDate" : "1735448340000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flizvLEFSbjC6m3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-29-24-wfiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1735448400000", "endingDate" : "1735534740000"} , {"url" : "https://indianapublicmedia.secureallegiance.com/wtiu/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=WFIUFDLB&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=tAXekcDG%2flizvLEFSbjC6m3L5BYddGq6PVAl6UEf65g%3d", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-30-24-wfiu-lightbox-new.jpg", "startingDate" : "1735534800000", "endingDate" : "1735621140000"} , {"url" : "https://give.myiu.org/iu-bloomington/I320003967.html", "img" : "https://indianapublicmedia.org/images/banner-images/12-31-24-wfiu-lightbox.jpg", "startingDate" : "1735621200000", "endingDate" : "1735707540000"} ] }}

Sen. Cruz flags 'woke' research grants across Indiana, but recipients question methodology

By Sophie Kaelble

Posted March 7, 2025

Ted Cruz speaking at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference

Cruz’s study searched for keywords related to diversity, equity and inclusion in more than 30,000 federal grants. (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, used certain keywords to create a database last month of 3,500 federal grants from the National Science Foundation that he pejoratively described as "woke."

WFIU/WTIU News analyzed the 94 grants worth a combined $42 million awarded to educational institutions in Indiana — and the keywords that landed them on Sen. Ted Cruz’s list.

IU chemistry professor Jared Lewis was awarded $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to research how machine learning could accelerate development of new drugs. The grant was added to Cruz’s database because the description used the words "diversify" and "underrepresented."

Lewis says those words relate to one of the foundation’s original goals — including researchers from underrepresented groups. But the keywords weren’t related to the research topic itself.

“The obvious implication is that the focus of the grant was in that area, but obviously it's not,” Lewis said. “When you look on the list of the things that he pulled out, it's pretty clear that the vast majority are not.”

Twenty-nine grants in the database, worth more than $15 million combined, were awarded to IU researchers. Cruz’s study searched for keywords related to diversity, equity and inclusion in more than 30,000 federal grants awarded between Jan. 20, 2021, and April 4, 2024.

The hundreds of keywords included common words, such as "woman" and "equality." In a press release, Cruz asked for “significant scrutiny” of awards listed in the database. Lewis said it’s one thing to change a policy moving forward, but he dislikes the attempt to change rules for existing grants.

“To sort of just change it after you've already submitted it, I think most normal people outside of academia would recognize that's a problem,” he said.

Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.