June 1-3, 2021 Meeting Recap
The Board of Regents met June 1-3, 2021 in Iowa City. Selected items discussed are outlined below.
Back In Person
The June 1-3, 2021 meeting was the Board’s first in-person meeting on a campus since its November 2019 meeting at UNI. The Board met virtually using video conferencing software during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to May 2021.
Welcome New Regents
Regents Abby Crow and Greta Rouse were present for their first official Board meetings. Rouse and Crow were appointed by Governor Kim Reynolds this past April to replace Regent Patty Cownie, whose term expired, and Regent Zack Leist, who graduated from Iowa State University. President Richards was reappointed to serve an additional six-year term.
Related: New Regents Begin Terms in May
President Pro Tem Election
Regent Sherry Bates was unanimously elected as President Pro Tem. Her term as Pro Tem ends April 30, 2022, at which time the Board will hold elections for both President and President Pro Tem.
Free Speech Committee
Regent Rouse chaired the first meeting of the Board’s Free Speech Committee, established to oversee free speech issues on campus.
End of Year Reviews
Much of the Board’s three-day meeting was spent in closed session reviewing the performance of the institutional heads and executive director. Incoming University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson also met with the Board to discuss first-year goals.
Following performance reviews, Special Schools Superintendent Steve Gettel was awarded a $20,000 performance incentive with a 1.1 percent salary increase. The Board established a new deferred compensation plan for Regents Executive Director Mark Braun with $105,000 annual contributions. Finally, ISU President Wendy Wintersteen’s salary was increased to $600,000 and a new deferred compensation plan was established with annual contributions of $100,000.
Audit and Compliance Committee
Board Chief Audit Executive Deb Johnston presented internal audits.
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Committee
The committee received the UIHC presentation from VP for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Carver College of Medicine Brooks Jackson, Associate VP of UI Health Care and UIHC CEO Suresh Gunasekaran, and Associate VP for Finance and UIHC CFO Bradley Haws. In addition, Ted Abel, Carver Chair in Neuroscience, and Lane Strathearn, Director of the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics presented on the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center.
Academic Affairs Committee
Iowa State requested six new programs, including a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence. UNI requested an expansion of its MA in Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs program to include an online component.
Related: New Programs at Iowa’s Public Universities
Property and Facilities Committee
The Board permitted Iowa State to accept a gift of nearly six acres of land outside of Nevada, Iowa from Howard and Nancy Hill. The committee advanced the annual Campus Sustainability Report, which was accepted as part of the consent agenda.
Related: Campus Sustainability at Iowa’s Public Universities
Investment and Finance Committee
Representatives from Marquette Associates, Inc., the Board’s investment advisor, presented the quarterly investment report.
Bond Sales
The Board approved the sale of more than $19 million in University of Iowa dormitory revenue bonds. Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund the Hillcrest Residence Hall renovation.