Iowa regent Barker’s U.S. assistant secretary service on hold due to shutdown

IOWA CITY — Conservative Iowa regent David Barker on Tuesday was confirmed to his presidential appointment as assistant secretary for postsecondary education — although Barker said he can’t be sworn in until the “Schumer shutdown” ends.

In the meantime, Barker told The Gazette he’ll continue his service on the Iowa Board of Regents — including at next month’s meeting to pick a new Iowa State University president, should the government shutdown persist that long.

“But as soon as the shutdown ends, then I'll be sworn in and can take office,” Barker said Wednesday from Washington, D.C., where he’ll relocate for the new job — abdicating his spot on the nine-member Board of Regents he’s served since 2019.

Once Barker officially steps down, Gov. Kim Reynolds will appoint a replacement to serve out his six-year regents term through 2031 — having just been reappointed to a second stint this year. That person will serve in an interim capacity until he or she can be confirmed by the Senate.

“On behalf of the Board of Regents, I want to congratulate Regent David Barker on his confirmation to be assistant secretary for postsecondary education for the United States Department of Education,” Board of Regents President Sherry Bates said in a statement Wednesday.

“David will bring great expertise to this new role, as he has a deep dedication and passion for higher education. We are grateful for his service on the board and to the state of Iowa these past six years, and wish him well as he begins this next chapter.”

‘His goals for higher education’

Barker — who earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago and was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before moving back to Iowa City, where he’s a partner in his family real estate company — was nominated by President Donald Trump in May to serve as assistant secretary of postsecondary education.

He landed on the president’s radar for his work on both the Board of Regents and in Republican politics — including as a donor, delegate to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016, and a member of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Iowa.

In his new national post, Barker will “work to improve outcomes and accountability in postsecondary education, including by helping to lead reforms to accreditation, improving federal student aid programs, and ensuring its grant programs are invested in agency priorities,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.

He’ll work out of the U.S. Department of Education building in Washington D.C. under Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent, who — according to the department — is “responsible for implementing President Trump’s mission to restore the greatness of American higher education and ensure that our taxpayer-supported colleges, universities, vocational schools, and other postsecondary programs are genuinely helping high school graduates and working adults launch and grow their careers.”

Kent and Barker will work to implement Trump’s higher education-related executive orders and legislation — including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s efforts to lower the cost of higher education, simplify student loan repayment, expand workforce training, and “hold institutions accountable for degrees that do not provide a return on investment.“

“I think the president has been very clear about his goals for higher education, and my job will be to implement those priorities,” Barker told The Gazette, pointing specifically to the White House’s recent “compact for academic excellence in higher education.”

That compact invited nine universities to sign on to receive preferential access to “multiple positive benefits,” as well as “substantial and meaningful federal grants” and invites to White House events and discussions with administrative officials, according to national media outlets.

It represents the administration’s priorities related to equality in admissions, civil discourse, hiring, free speech, and gender issues — among many other things.

“Universities that rely on foreign students to fund their institutions risk, among other things, potentially reducing spots available to deserving American students, and if not properly vetted, saturating the campus with noxious values such as antisemitism and other anti-American values, creating serious national security risks,” according to one section of the 10-page compact. “Therefore, no more than 15 percent of a university’s undergraduate student population shall be participants in the Student Visa Exchange Program, and no more than 5 percent shall be from any one country.”

The compact initially went to Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas, University of Arizona, Brown University and University of Virginia.

“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits,” according to the compact.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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