More than 20 apply for Iowa Board of Regent vacancies

IOWA CITY - Bruce Rastetter's announcement Friday that he won't seek another term as president of the Board of Regents guarantees at least one new face on the nine-member panel this spring.

Rastetter's six-year term is set to expire April 30, as are the terms of board President Pro Tem Katie Mulholland and Sherry Bates, who in December 2014 was appointed to replace Nicole Carroll after she resigned and moved to Texas.

The Iowa Senate confirmed Bates to serve out the remainder of Carroll's term, which runs through April. Both Bates and Mulholland have filed paperwork seeking reappointment.

Mike Richards - who was appointed to the board last May to replace Mary Andringa after she resigned - also must receive Senate confirmation this spring.

Ben Hammes, a spokesman for the governor's office, said Gov. Terry Branstad must submit regent appointments to lawmakers by March 1. The Senate then will have 45 days to act on them - with the next term on the Board of Regents beginning May 1.

To date, 23 people have applied for appointment to the Board of Regents - including Mulholland and Bates, according to documents from the governor's office. That group includes a senior associate registrar at the University of Iowa, a program director at the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, the executive vice president of Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, and the manager of the Boone Municipal Airport.

Van Meter City Administrator Jacob Anderson also has applied, as has Timothy Fitzgibbon, who lists his current employer as National Council on Higher Education Resources in Washington, D.C. - although he indicates he lives locally.

Michael Hammer, who lists his job as librarian with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, also has applied.

The applicants' current residencies were omitted from documents provided to The Gazette from the governor's office, but Iowa Code states that eight of the board's nine members must be 'selected from the state at large.” The ninth applicant is a student representing one of the campuses.

The applicants cite an array of reasons for wanting to serve:

Fitzgibbon, an Iowa State University graduate, said he wants to give back to the state.

'My job is nationally based, and serving on an Iowa board or commission would allow me to contribute and volunteer at a local level,” he wrote in his application.

Anderson, of Van Meter, wrote his skills equip him to 'work on delivering good government in the State of Iowa.”

Daniel Clute, executive vice president with Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, noted in his application this 'unprecedented period in higher education.”

'I have a strong belief in the vital importance of these schools to the future of our state and its citizens,” he wrote.

Dale Farnham, Boone Municipal Airport manager, seemed to - like Rastetter - have an agricultural slant, noting in his application he wants to 'make an impact on the direction of Iowa's agricultural industry.”

'Having spent most of my life and professional career involved in agriculture, I have developed a great deal of respect and admiration for Iowa farmers and agribusiness people,” he wrote.

The applicants vary by political party, and some lawmakers said they'd like to see more balance in the future.

State law requires the board have no more than five members of one political party, and right now the scale is tipped strongly Republican - with five from the conservative cohort, three independents, and just one Democrat - Mulholland.

As a registered and politically-active Republican, Rastetter's departure will provide an opportunity for more balance, some lawmakers said.

'We very definitely need more adherence to the requirement in state law that the board have party balance,” said Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames. 'The spirit of that law has been violated in my view, rather egregiously.”

Quirmbach said he'd like to see someone with strong education credentials, adding, 'I don't think an appointment to the board should be a reward to a political donor.”

Both Rastetter and Richards have been big political donors to Gov. Terry Branstad.

'Both for substantive and appearance reasons, I would hope that we could go in a little different direction in the future,” Quirmbach said.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, put it more plainly.

'Gov. Branstad should do something novel and appoint a real Democrat to the board,” he said.

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com