Incoming University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld has postponed plans to renovate the President’s Office and residence. The postponement comes after heavy criticism over the costs and necessity of these renovations. The plans have been tabled for now, though smaller improvements (the replacement of aging carpeting, new paint, etc.) will continue. The future of the renovations is unclear, but they will likely see the light of day at some point.

The postponement also comes after persistent criticism that the presidential-search process undertaken by the state Board of Regents was marred by a lack of transparency, including meeting with Harreld (and none of the other candidates) before the decision had been made, without disclosing that some regents had done so. Harreld was also invited on campus prior to the search and had contact with Gov. Terry Branstad.

This disregard for conduct, previously seen in the last appointment the regents made with former President Sally Mason, has led many student and faculty organizations to feel their voices had been ignored. Some claims the decision for president may have come to a conclusion far before the search began, wasting student and faculty time and taxpayer money on a search that was all show.

The postponement of renovation plans was certainly a strategic decision. Perhaps this sensitivity to public perception will prove useful in the coming months for Harreld. The disillusionment felt by graduate and undergraduate students, in addition to the faculty, is unlikely to subside if their concerns are disregarded and ignored entirely. This may be Harreld’s first step toward showing he cares about how the students and faculty feel — or at least a step toward looking like it.

The renovations were also under scrutiny as they come at a time when university students face a possible tuition hike. The hike would increase tuition by $200, a 3 percent increase. Most significantly, the hike would take the UI from the cheapest tuition of the state schools to the highest. UI Student Government President Liz Mills was successful in causing a tuition freeze for resident undergraduates this year, while the two other in-state schools had tuition increases. Tuition hikes affect public universities far more than they do private colleges. Private schools have a larger pool of resources to draw on in order to close gaps in tuition increases through scholarships. The state schools won’t receive special compensation to assist students in paying for their education.

The Daily Iowan Editorial Board believes Harreld has made the right decision in canceling the presidential renovations. Whether his intent came from a place of legitimate concern or crowd-pleasing, it’s hard to say. Regardless, with a possible tuition hike in the UI’s future, it was symbolically the right move to take.