Branstad: New regent will be named in “not-too-distant future”

DES MOINES — Gov. Terry Branstad said Friday he expects to fill the vacancy on the state Board of Regents created by Nicole Carroll's resignation in 'the not-too-distant future' but he did not feel the decision had to be made before the panel decides next month whether to freeze or raise tuition for resident students at Iowa's three state universities.

'I don't want to rush the decision,' Branstad told reporters, noting that Carroll had just tendered her resignation one day earlier effect immediately — citing her family's recent move out of Iowa.

Branstad said he felt Carroll 'did a great job' in a post he appointed her to in 2011 to oversee operations at the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University, along with the Iowa School for the Deaf and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School.

'We just got the resignation so we're now going to be looking to see what kind of interest there is,' Branstad said.

Branstad noted that regent positions usually are highly sought after.

'so I expect they're be a lot of people that will be interested in that position and we're going to be reaching out and looking at who would make a good regent,' he said.

The governor said Carroll's replacement would be a woman to meet gender-balance requirements. He also expected the new regent should be someone who resides on Iowa's west side to maintain geographic balance and his staff said the appointment likely with be an independent or a Democrat to meet another requirement that the board be balanced by political party affiliation.

'I don't have anybody in mind at this point,' Branstad said. 'I'm pleased with the regents and the direction that they're going. I want to make sure that the new regent also will be somebody who will be a team player and work with the other members of the board.'

The regents are slated to discuss tuition rates at the three state universities in December. A proposed 1.75 percent tuition increase was tabled at the board's October meeting when three board members spoke in favor of freezing tuition for resident undergraduate students for a third straight year.

The governor, who won re-election to an unprecedented sixth term in the Nov. 4 election, said he did not feel he needed to name someone to complete Carroll's current term that expires in 2017 before the board holds its December meeting where the tuition proposal will be addressed.

'My feeling is the regents will make that decision,' Branstad said. 'There are already eight members of the Board of Regents so I don't think one position is going to make a difference on that. So most importantly I want to find the right person. We're taking applications. We're going to look for who we think would be the best person and we're going to fill that position in the not-too-distant future.'