Republican Robert Cramer, former chair of The Family Leader, named regents president

URBANDALE — Robert Cramer — past board chair of The Family Leader who once was denied senate confirmation to the Board of Regents — on Wednesday was elected president of that board, which governs Iowa’s public universities.

Succeeding outgoing board President Sherry Bates, who abruptly resigned this week not just from her leadership post but the board entirely, Cramer’s term officially began Wednesday to run through April 30, 2026.

“I'm a bridge builder, and this might be a good time for a bridge builder to bring all the interested parties who want to make our universities better together,” Cramer — who for decades has worked for his family’s bridge-construction company — said after being unanimously elected board president Wednesday.

Referencing headwinds facing higher education — including conservative political push back, a slide in public confidence, and a looming enrollment cliff — Cramer said, “I think we can flip the narrative on higher education.”

“And that is that, here in Iowa, a degree from one of our public universities is a great investment, and it's going to help these students going forward for the rest of their lives,” he said.

Also elected Wednesday to serve as Cramer’s president pro tem on the board is newly-appointed regent Kurt Tjaden, who’ll replace Greta Rouse — who’s stepping down from her pro tem post but remaining on the board through her term’s end in 2027.

Bates, in her resignation this week, said she wants to spend more time with her family.

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‘Political poison’

In ascending to head of the board Wednesday, Cramer was a long way from his rejected nomination 12 years ago, when former Gov. Terry Branstad in 2013 tried to make him a regent.

At that time, Iowa Democrats held a 26-24 Senate majority and — following a contentious floor debate — failed to deliver the required 34 votes needed to confirm Cramer.

Democratic Sen. Matt McCoy during that discussion said Cramer would bring “political poison” to the board and suggested his views amounted to “lightning-rod politics,” according to media reports.

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On Wednesday, following Cramer’s selection as president, Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, said she and her colleagues maintain the same concerns they had then.

“Senate Democrats overwhelmingly voted against Robert Cramer’s appointment to the State Board of Regents on two previous occasions, and there is no evidence that the issues with his prior nominations have improved,” she said. “This choice is reflective of the disappointing trajectory on which the board has found itself in recent years.

“The students, faculty, and administration at our regents universities deserve leadership that respects and values their diverse backgrounds and personal experiences, and, unfortunately, I don’t believe they will find those qualities in Robert Cramer.”

‘It comes through merit’

Fellow regents, in electing Cramer on Wednesday, celebrated his time on the board thus far. And Cramer in his comments laid out three goals as new board president.

First, he said, “I think our universities should be providing an affordable education with a good rate of return on that investment.”

That includes finding efficiencies across the campuses — cutting costs, maximizing resources, and eliminating waste.

His second goal focused on “academic excellence.”

“It comes through merit and through hard work and keeping that always in the forefront of trying to produce better and better students,” Cramer said.

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His third goal centered on making Iowa’s public universities “fair and balanced” places to learn and have vigorous debate.

“That's what a lot of our work has been this last year,” he said. “College is a great place to learn, to learn new things, to find out what you believe. But we just want a fair and balanced place where students can do that.”

If the board succeeds on those three points, Cramer said, “We’ll see our enrollments continue to grow, even though others are declining.”

That vision aligns with what Cramer vowed to bring to the board more than a decade ago — promising an attitude of tolerance and academic freedom, and arguing his conservative activism had been “blown out of proportion” in an effort to “smear” his reputation.

Following his rejection, Cramer in 2014 ran to represent Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House — but lost that bid in the primary to fellow Republican David Young.

Cramer — who grew up outside West Des Moines and graduated from Iowa State University in 1990 with a bachelor’s in construction engineering — served as co-president of his family’s Cramer and Associates Inc., until Jan. 1, 2022.

After stepping away from the bridge-building side of the business, Cramer began as vice president of land development — where he continues to serve and is board co-chair.

He also is on the Industry Advisory Council for the Construction Engineering Department at Iowa State University and the statewide STEM Advisory Board; Cramer previously served as president of the Associated General Contractors of Iowa in 2010, continuing to serve the AGC as liaison to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

He spent nine years on the Johnston Community School Board and on boards of nonprofits, like his church and Blessman International — a ministry in South Africa that feeds children in need. He served for years on the board and as chair of The Family Leader — a conservative Christian politically-active organization.

Over the last 25 years, Cramer has given more than $113,840 to Republican political candidates in Iowa — including nearly $50,000 to Gov. Kim Reynolds since 2017, when she was appointed the 43rd governor of Iowa.

Open seats

Cramer received his second nomination to the Board of Regents from Gov. Reynolds in March 2023, with his confirmed appointment beginning on May 1, 2023 and running through 2029.

Cramer and Tjaden begin their leadership tenure overseeing a board with two open seats — following Bates’ resignation and David Barker’s departure in October to serve as U.S. assistant secretary for postsecondary education under the Trump administration.

Reynolds is responsible for nominating new regents — all of whom must receive two-thirds Senate confirmation. Where Republicans in recent sessions held a super majority, allowing them to push through any gubernatorial nominee, Democrats since then have flipped two Senate seats — balancing the scales slightly in requiring at least some Democratic support for nominations.

Sen. Weiner told The Gazette she and her Senate colleagues will consider any nominee brought to them the same way — regardless of political party.

“Senate Democrats evaluate every nominee for the board with the same thorough due diligence necessary to ensure our regent universities are guided wisely and appropriately,” she said. “We look forward to continuing that thoughtful evaluation process for nominees to the board’s open positions.“

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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