‘Innovative collaboration’ will allow UNI ROTC to stay open as UI ‘extension unit’

CEDAR FALLS — After announcing earlier this summer plans to close its University of Northern Iowa-based ROTC unit, the U.S. Army has changed course — allowing UNI’s ROTC program to remain in Cedar Falls under a new structure.

Instead of serving as a host unit as it had for four decades, UNI going forward will be an extension unit of the University of Iowa’s ROTC program, according to updated guidance the Army communicated to UNI this week.

Host units, defined by the Army, are senior ROTC programs staffed with full-time ROTC personnel based on campuses where cadets attend training and classes. Extension units are linked to host institutions while still allowing cadets to take ROTC courses on their own campus.

Under the updated arrangement, UNI cadets will have the opportunity to complete all four years of their training on the UNI campus.

“The Army’s decision affirms the strength of UNI’s ROTC program and ensures that students can continue to pursue their education and military training right here in Cedar Falls,” UNI President Mark Nook said in a statement. “Many individuals, from our faculty and staff to the Iowa National Guard and Army, made it possible to find a path forward for our cadets.”

Initial news that UNI’s ROTC program would be inactivated by the start of the 2026-27 academic year came in June under a U.S. Army Cadet Command restructuring plan that inactivated the 1st Brigade headquarters at Fort Knox and inactivated, reclassified, or merged 85 ROTC sites — including 10 “host units,” like UNI’s.

The ROTC restructuring — driven by a U.S. Department of Defense “deferred resignation program” that cut the Army Cadet Command’s civilian workforce 12 percent — also closed ROTC extension units at Buena Vista University and the University of Dubuque, which had been affiliated with UNI’s host site.

“These adjustments will optimize resources, improve operational effectiveness, and maintain the Army’s commitment to recruiting, training and commissioning high-quality officers for the total Army,” according to a U.S. Army news release.

The Army this week did not publicly report any other updated or amended plans related to its closures, reclassifications, or mergers.

“We are proud of our long-standing partnership with the Army and of the generations of leaders who have come through this program,” Brenda Bass, dean of UNI’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, said in a statement. “UNI’s ROTC program is academically strong and has some of the best facilities in the region. We are grateful to Army ROTC Cadet Command and the Iowa National Guard for their innovative collaboration that will allow UNI’s proud ROTC legacy to continue.”

UNI during its upcoming homecoming week that begins Sept. 28 will celebrate its 40 years of ROTC on campus “with a special reunion.”

Buena Vista — which did not immediately provide any update on its program’s closure — in July told The Gazette it was disappointed about the Army’s decision to close its site after “15 productive years.”

“The decision was made without advance notice, creating challenges, particularly for students who planned to begin or continue ROTC at BVU this fall,” spokeswoman Megan Ogren said. “They were notified fewer than 60 days before the semester that they would be unable to do so at BVU.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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