Three of nine regents report possible conflicts

Three of Iowa's nine regents have disclosed possible conflicts of interest, according to updated documents, including two of four regents new to the board.

Mary Vermeer Andringa, who began her six-year term in May, reported her role as shareholder, chief executive officer and chairwoman of the board for Vermeer Corp., which 'for many years has had mutually beneficial relationships with the state universities,” according to board documents.

Pella-based Vermeer manufactures construction and industrial equipment.

Sherry Bates, appointed in December to complete the unexpired term of former regent Nicole Carroll, reported her son, Andrew Bates, is a project manager for the Weitz Co., a national construction business founded in Des Moines that has worked with Iowa State University on several projects.

Board President Bruce Rastetter - who serves as chief executive officer of Summit Group, which includes Summit Farms LLC - was the third regent to report potential conflicts this year. In addition to those he previously has reported, including his company's involvement with the Alternate Energy Revolving Loan Program administered through ISU and participation in a 'rubber mat trial” with ISU extension services, Rastetter said Summit Farms is planning to invest in PigGene Sustainable Solutions LLC.

According to the regent documents, PigGene aims to 'develop pigs to facilitate improved agricultural production efficiency through the utilization of alternative feedstuffs.”

'PigGene Sustainable Solutions LLC is currently not engaged in any activities that involve ISU, but in the future may contract for services from ISU that will be compensated and disclosed as required,” Rastetter wrote on his disclosure forms.

Every member of Iowa's Board of Regents, according to board policy, must disclose annually any interests that might create an 'actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest.” Management plans should be developed for disclosed conflicts, according to the policy, although it goes on to say that disclosure alone might be sufficient in some cases.

Questions related to potential conflicts on the Board of Regents should be referred to the state's Office of the Attorney General, according to the policy.

Geoff Greenwood, communications director for the attorney general, said no questions related to Board of Regents conflicts are pending with the office. The last regent-related conflict it reviewed involved John Forsythe, who served as president of the board in 2004 until he resigned in 2005 amid questions around his role as chief executive of Wellmark Inc., the state's largest private health insurance company that conducted millions of dollars in business with the state universities.

Rastetter previously has defended his company's potential conflicts with ISU and noted in his most recent filing that Summit Group participates in a Strategic Business Consulting Program administered by the Business Solutions Center at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.

Summit Group also donates funds to the UI Foundation to create four scholarships annually at the UI business college, according to his recent filing. And Summit Ag Investors participates in a Career Academy Field Studies Program sponsored by the UI business college's Finance Career Academy.

Andringa did not respond to questions from The Gazette about her potential conflicts, but she outlined them in her filing. She said Vermeer Corp. 'contracts with students and faculty members to perform research and development projects to support Vermeer's business and products.”

Vermeer also has employees who serve on committees, advisory councils and other organizations at the universities, according to the filing, and it sponsors the Vermeer International Leadership Program at ISU.

Vermeer rents space from the Iowa State Center for Industrial Research and Service, and it plans to lease space from that entity in a new facility slated for construction this year.

Regarding Bates's potential conflict involving her son and the Weitz Co., ISU documents show the company is involved in at least two current projects at Iowa State. Weitz is among the contractors involved in a $53 million renovation to Jack Trice Stadium that will upgrade the south end zone seating, south end zone concourse, south video board and sound system, and premium seating.

The project was awarded last summer and is scheduled for completion in August. Weitz also is among the contractors working on ISU's Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Building, which will complete its Biorenewables Complex. That nearly $74 million project is slated for completion at the end of this month.

Bates also did not respond to The Gazette's questions about the possible conflict.

All other members of the board reported no potential conflicts, including the other two new members of the board - student representative Rachael Johnson, a University of Northern Iowa sophomore, and Patricia Cownie, of Des Moines, who currently serves on the Drake University Board of Trustees.

Cownie's son, Peter Cownie, is a Republican state representative of West Des Moines. He serves on several committees, including ways and means, government oversight, agriculture, legislative council, and commerce, which he chairs.