Appoint a student to the Iowa Board of Regents

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hasn’t appointed a student member of the Board of Regents governing state universities. That means governor is breaking a state law.

No, the governor is not going to regents’ jail. But The Gazette’s Vanessa Miller reported Reynolds’ failure is record-breaking.

The board has gone seven months without a student member. That means no student was at the table for five board meetings.

No one will say why the seat remains vacant. It’s the University of Northern Iowa’s turn in the rotation to provide a student fill the student seat. Instead, UNI must wait for the governor to come calling.

Iowa Gov. Bob Ray appointed the first student member in 1973. Amid massive protests and other actions against the Vietnam War, Ray believed including a student voice in campus decision making was important.

In 1988, a bill requiring a student regent to be one of the board’s nine members, became law.

Of course, that’s still very important. Especially at a time when some Republicans who run state government want to dramatically change universities for political purposes.

Decisions regarding campus free expression, curriculum and academic freedom for both students and faculty are likely to be considered during this year’s legislative session. GOP lawmakers appointed a new legislative committee that will launch an expansive review of the state’s universities.

While we don’t know exactly what lawmakers could cook up, we do know students will feel the impact of any changes. And the Board of Regents will be creating policies, orders and deadlines to comply with legislative requirements. There will be important discussions shaping those actions.

One member of a nine-member board may not be able to wield much power, but at this transformative moment in higher education, a student deserves to be at the table as the future is being decided. We urge the governor to make the appointment now.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com