Regent Carroll resigns following family move

IOWA CITY - Regent Nicole C. Carroll on Thursday announced she's resigning from the board, effective immediately, after her family recently moved out of state.

Carroll made the announcement and issued a statement after The Gazette earlier in the day questioned the Board of Regents Office about Carroll's residency.

'Given my family's recent move out of state, I wish to make this announcement ahead of the next Board meeting,” Carroll said in the news release. 'I want to thank everyone for the wonderful opportunity to serve on the Board of Regents. This is a highly dedicated Board and all of its members work tirelessly for Iowa and its public universities.”

Board President Bruce Rastetter said in a statement, 'We appreciate Regent Carroll's leadership and service on the Board of Regents. We wish Nicole and her husband the very best in their future endeavors.”

According to property records for Carroll County, where Carroll and her husband built a house in the 1980s, the couple sold their property in May. Property and tax records for Nueces County in Texas, home to Corpus Christi, show the couple bought a house there in September.

A spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad's Office told The Gazette on Thursday that the office was made aware 'some time” ago that Carroll's husband, John Carroll, 'had accepted a job out of state and that Regent Carroll's family would eventually move as part of the career change.”

But, according to spokesman Jimmy Centers, the governor's office also was told that Nicole Carroll was not moving immediately.

'My understanding is that she has been living in this state with family as her husband moved to Texas,” Centers said.

Iowa Code states that eight of the board's nine members must be 'selected from the state at large.” The law states that regents can be removed from the board for 'any cause which would render the member ineligible for appointment or incapable or unfit to discharge the duties of office.”

Carroll, 60, is an Iowa native and an attorney, holding a Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University and a law degree from University of Iowa. Branstad appointed her to the Board of Regents - along with now President Bruce Rastetter and President Pro-tem Katie Mulholland - in 2011. Her six-year term was set to expire April 30, 2017.

The Board of Regents was created in 1909 to oversee University of Iowa, Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa, along with the Iowa School for the Deaf and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School.

Regents serve staggered six-year terms, and Iowa Code mandates that no more than five members be of the same political party.

Centers said the governor will appoint someone to fill the remainder of her term. Because the state board is required to be balanced by gender and party affiliation, Carroll's replacement would have to be a female registered either as an Independent or Democrat.

'The governor also is mindful of geographic location,” Centers said.

Anyone appointed by the governor to the board would be subject to Senate confirmation when the Legislature convenes in January.

Neither the board office nor Carroll answered questions from The Gazette about when, exactly, she moved to Texas. Even if Carroll was living outside Iowa during recent board meetings, it's unclear whether she would have violated her appointment by continuing to serve on the board.

Regent Bob Downer said the board has not had any close decisions of late that hinged on one vote - or, specifically, on Carroll's vote. And, Downer said, Carroll has brought a lot to the board during her tenure.

'I think she's been effective and has been good to work with,” Downer said. 'So I am sorry, from that standpoint, that this has occurred.”