Shy of firing university employees who made inflammatory comments following the fatal shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk last week, Iowa’s Board of Regents on Wednesday directed its three public campuses to conduct immediate investigations into any employee accused of violating their social media policy.
Closing in on this week’s deadline for applications to lead Iowa State University as its 17th president, the Board of Regents this week will hear an update on the condition of that campus’ presidential residence — in which the president has to live — and it’s not good, according to board documents.
When the Board of Regents convenes in Cedar Falls this week, they’ll meet in closed session to discuss university employees who made inflammatory online posts following the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Shortly after U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks on Thursday called for the University of Iowa to name is new legislative-imposed Center for Intellectual Freedom after slain Republican-activist Charlie Kirk, Board of Regents President Sherry Bates issued a statement on Kirk’s shooting and the new civic centers on its campuses.
Preparing to receive longtime U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s complete collection of political papers spanning 67 years, the University of Northern Iowa is seeking Board of Regents approval to start planning for a new Chuck and Barbara Grassley Center.
The Board of Regents’ pared-down funding ask comes after lawmakers rejected its $30.3 million request last session and instead offered a $4 million bump, largely supporting legislative priorities and ignoring university appeals.
Celebrating its new seats, suites, and Teflon-coated fiberglass roof, the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome on Monday hosted a tour of its recent renovations aimed at appealing to the “next generation” of fans and athletes.
For weeks and months last fall, according to emails obtained by The Gazette through an open records request, University of Iowa administrators, staff, committee and community members discussed a range of Macbride Nature Recreation Area issues.
On the eve of a Board of Regents vote to change its academic freedom and class content policies to satisfy legislative concerns about “indoctrination,” the national Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression — or FIRE — reached out with a plea.
Despite an oppressive heat index nearing 110 degrees, with 73 percent humidity and almost no breeze, Tiger Hawk-clad freshmen and their families over the weekend unloaded truck beds and trunks crammed with duffel bags, laundry baskets, pillows, and microwaves in anticipation of the start of the fall semester.
Questioning the accuracy of numbers University of Iowa Health Care used to justify construction of a $2-plus billion inpatient tower on its main campus, along with the potential impact on traffic and the overall budget, Iowa regent David Barker in June told UIHC leadership he doesn’t believe an adequate case has been made for the new 842,000 square foot project to be built on its longstanding Iowa City site.
Given changes threatening higher education norms — and the University of Iowa’s “strong financial position today” — the campus on Thursday announced a new strategic initiative focused on increasing revenue and improving operational efficiency.
In a politically-charged higher education climate — including in Iowa, where students are just weeks from returning to campuses under fire for undercover videos attempting to expose gaps in compliance with DEI laws — the Board of Regents on Tuesday approved new policies aimed at avoiding “indoctrination.”
Instead of passing a new policy banning Iowa’s public universities from requiring students to take courses with “substantial” DEI or CRT content to satisfy any major, minor, or certificate, the Board of Regents — facing fierce backlash — has found an “alternative approach” aiming to avoid “indoctrination of one perspective.”
Although the University of Northern Iowa had wanted to offer in-state tuition to both new and returning students from Iowa’s six border states, only freshmen and new transfer students from those neighboring states will get the lower rates – given the limited available funding to support the initiative this year.
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