The Iowa Board of Regents unanimously passed the Center for Intellectual Freedom bylaws at a special meeting on Dec. 3.
At the meeting, Regent Hensley spoke in favor of the newly revised bylaws, and said there has been “significant discussion” on them by both the advisory council for the center and regents.
“I know Regent Cramer had a few suggested changes which have been incorporated into these bylaws that are being proposed. So we would appreciate your support,” she said.
Mark Braun, the board’s executive director, said the bylaws had been reviewed and approved by the advisory council for the center, but were “materially the same” as what the board saw in November.
The original bylaws were drafted by Interim Director Luciano de Castro. The bylaws include guidelines on who will work on the center and what the center will accomplish as well as requirements mandated by House File 437, which is the law that created the center.
RELATED: Iowa Board of Regents unanimously vote to table UI Center for Intellectual Freedom bylaws
House File 437, which was signed into law in April, states that the center will teach classes pertaining to historical ideas, traditions, and texts and will “work to expand the intellectual diversity of the university’s academic community.”
At their Nov. 13 meeting, the board agreed to table the bylaws until revisions could be made by the center’s advisory council. This came after several regents brought concerns regarding article four of the bylaws, titled “Membership.”
The advisory council amended the bylaws at its November meeting, with adjustments requiring the center director to receive approval from the advisory council and the regents to “develop policies and procedures for the Center.”
Amendments included a stipulation that the majority of required advisory council members elected to the center’s executive committee be current or former tenured professors from “R1 institutions,” or universities with high research activity.
The center will be hosting its inaugural events on Dec. 5 and 6 at the Old Capital Museum and the Iowa Memorial Union R. Wayne Richey Ballroom.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education David Barker, a former regent, are expected to be in attendance, Castro said during the council’s Nov. 18 meeting.