David Barker, in resigning, urges regents to sign Trump’s higher ed compact

IOWA CITY — After six years on Iowa’s nine-member Board of Regents and with another six-year term just starting, David Barker on Monday officially resigned — with the understanding he’ll be sworn in Wednesday as U.S. assistant secretary for postsecondary education.

In a letter submitted to Gov. Kim Reynolds, Barker said he’s resigning “at the request of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest” but looks forward to working with Reynolds in his new role.

Barker — one of five Republicans on the nine-member board that also includes three independents and one Democrat — at times led the charge to increase intellectual diversity on Iowa’s campuses and curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion programming in compliance with state laws banning DEI-related spending and activities.

In his resignation letter, Barker referenced that work and a new “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that President Donald Trump has asked colleges and universities sign to receive federal funding and other benefits.

“It is important to ensure that our faculty is intellectually and philosophically diverse,” Barker wrote in his letter. “Our students deserve to learn about multiple points of view on critical issues so they can make informed decisions on matters of public concern.”

The regents also are responsible for ensuring Iowa’s public universities prepare students to enter the workforce with skills and knowledge needed in a changing economy, according to Barker.

“These goals are expressed in President Trump’s executive orders and in the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, which I have been urging the Board of Regents to join since it was announced,” he wrote of the national agenda he’ll now be charged with enacting.

Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, chair of the Committee on Education, and Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, chair of the Committee on Higher Education, last week wrote the board asking it to become the first university in the nation to sign the compact.

“Iowa has a chance to be a leader in higher education reform by having our universities be the first to sign,” according to the lawmakers’ letter. “We hope the board recognizes the importance of this moment, and will do the right thing for Iowa taxpayers and students by signing on to the compact as soon as possible.”

Regents mum

The Trump administration Oct. 1 asked just nine universities to sign the compact seeking commitment on things like admissions equality, capped international enrollment, frozen tuition, and “institutional neutrality” in exchange for preferential treatment.

While awaiting a response from those institutions by Monday, Oct. 20 — Trump on Oct. 12 invited any campus to sign on, although none has yet. As for the nine targeted in the initial offer, seven have declined: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Dartmouth College, and the universities of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Arizona, and Southern California.

Vanderbilt University expressed reservations but did offer feedback by Oct. 20, according to national media reports — although the campus did not officially reject or agree to the compact.

The University of Texas at Austin remained silent, as of Tuesday.

In a letter justifying his campus’ decision not to sign, University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella said his team “received further clarification during a recent call with federal government representatives that they were seeking constructive dialogue rather than a definitive written response.”

“A number of the proposed federal recommendations deserve thoughtful consideration as our national higher education system could benefit from reforms that have been much too slow to develop. In fact, many of the proposed ideas are already in place at the U of A,” Garimella wrote. “At the same time, principles like academic freedom, merit-based research funding, and institutional independence are foundational and must be preserved.”

Despite pressure from the two lawmakers and Barker, Iowa’s Board of Regents hasn’t commented on the compact or the compulsion to sign.

Gov. Kim Reynolds will appoint a new regent to replace Barker and fill out his term through 2031 — pending senate confirmation. Although the regents didn’t provide a timeline for that appointment, the board is in the midst of a search for a new Iowa State University president, which regents long have touted as their top job as a board.

The board is scheduled to interview finalists the second week in November and announce a new ISU president that same day.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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