CEDAR FALLS — The Iowa Board of Regents voted on finalizing the University of Iowa Center for Intellectual Freedom advisory board during the second day of their Sept. 18 meeting.
The regents had concerns about the proposed advisory board and its members, which was heavily debated during yesterday’s meetings. This resulted in a vote to remove the decision from the board’s consent agenda led by Regent Nancy Dunkel and seconded by University of Northern Iowa Student Regent Lucy Gipple. The measure passed 7-2.
The now finalized board is made up of 11 Republicans, three Democrats, and 12 independents; only two women will sit on the 26 person board, one of which being Chair Christine Hensley.
Dunkel highlighted several concerns about the advisory board’s demographic makeup, including the gender split, the political affiliations of members, and the fact only one half is made up of Iowans.
“It’s very dangerous, because you’ll get into a need for one or the other to be in control,” she said about the board consisting of members not from Iowa.
Dunkel requested to postpone the decision making process, as she felt herself and the other board members needed more time to review the proposed members’ information and political affiliations.
“This big thing, and we’re hoping it’s successful, we’re going to be all behind it,” Dunkel said. “It’s the law, but we need to do it right, and we need to do it right up front.”
Regent J.C. Risewick also highlighted a potential problem with the number of members on the board.
“We should be careful about a 26 member board,” Risewick said. “That seems like a lot of people to have it be effective. I can’t imagine this [Board of Regents] being a 26 member board — it would be really difficult.”
While some regents showed hesitancy, Hensley urged the other members to keep the process moving forward.
“I feel very confident that we’re going to have just a highly, highly regarded, respected group,” Hensley said.
Ultimately, the regents voted for the motion to be approved, with Dunkel and Gipple dissenting.
The UI Center for Intellectual Freedom advisory board has already found its way in other conversations.
Regent David Barker inquired about whether or not UI President Barbara Wilson believed the UI had work to do concerning intellectual diversity and ideological balance. Wilson said it has been and will remain a priority at the university.
“I continue to work on that regardless of this new center,” she said. “Our faculty are committed to making sure that we have open dialogue and that we respect viewpoints.”
The members of the UI Center for Intellectual Freedom advisory board are as follows:
Four-year term members
- Chris Hensley
- Robert Cramer
- Kurt Tjaden
- Reynolds Cramer
- Mike Whalen
- Liz Mathis
- Pete Matthes
- John Hendrickson
Additional four-year-term members
- Carlos Carvalho
- Joshua Katz
- Sergiu Klainerman
- Richard Lowery
- Iván Marinovic
- Nicola Persico
- Joshua Rauh
- Harald Uhlig
Two-year-term members
- Terry Branstad
- Greg Ganske
- Steve Lacy
- Jim Lindenmayer
- Mike Richards
Additional two-year-term members:
- Dorian Abbot
- Mark Bauerlein
- Daniel Bonevac
- Thomas Gallanis
- Wilfred McClay