Meeting Rundown
The Iowa Board of Regents will meet September 17-18, 2025 at UNI’s Maucker Union. Open session portions of the meeting will be livestreamed on the Board’s YouTube Channel.
Meeting Background
This July, the Board approved FY 2026 budgets for the three universities, the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory and the Board Office with an agreement to consider an ongoing review of those and future budgets. This month, the Board will consider the annual facilities report and capital request for FY 2027 and FY 2027 state appropriations requests from the Iowa General Assembly.
The three university presidents will present updates from their respective campuses, including notes on their state appropriations requests and budgets. The presidents are scheduled to present Thursday at 9:25 a.m.
FY 2027 State Appropriations
Iowa Code requires state entities to submit state appropriations requests on or before October 1. The Board will request $503.8 million in general university appropriations. This total is the same as its FY 2026 appropriation.
Additionally, the three universities will request special purpose unit funding based on statewide need and other factors. The University of Iowa will request $3.6 million in additional funding to increase the number of physicians serving rural Iowa. ISU is requesting a $1.8 million appropriation for its Agricultural Experiment Station and UNI requests $1.6 million to fund its neighboring state tuition initiative and expand its nursing program.
FY 2027 State Appropriations is Item 8 on the docket and is scheduled to go before the Board Thursday at 10:25 a.m.
Read more on FY 2027 State Appropriations
Annual Facilities Report and FY 2027 Capital Request
The Property and Facilities Committee will review the Annual Facilities Report which includes the five-year institutional roads program, the facilities governance report and five-year capital plans, including the capital request for FY 2027. These reports were presented as separate items until 2018 when they were combined for simplicity and ease of access.
This year, the Board’s capital request includes funding for a nursing simulation laboratory at UI, the Atanasoff Hall renewal project at ISU and the Commons Modernization project at UNI.
The Property and Facilities Committee is scheduled to review the annual facilities report Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Final approval will be considered as part of the consent agenda Thursday at 9:15 a.m.
UNI Future Center Discussion
The Board will receive an update from UNI on the work it is doing in preparation for the arrival of US Senator Chuck Grassley’s official senate papers. Additionally, UNI will provide updates on the potential creation of the Chuck and Barbara Grassley Center, which will house those papers.
Center for Intellectual Freedom
House File 437 requires the creation of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. The law also requires the Board to create an advisory council before the end of the calendar year. The Board appointed UI Professor Luciano de Castro as Interim Executive Director in July and will consider approval of the Advisory Council during this meeting.
The Center for Intellectual Freedom Advisory Council appointments will be considered as part of the Governance, Evaluation and Human Resources Committee Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. Final approval will be considered as part of the consent agenda Thursday at 9:15 a.m.
Read more on the Center for Intellectual Freedom
Free Speech and First Amendment Training
The Board will hear its annual update on First Amendment training from university representatives as part of the Free Speech and Student Affairs Committee Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. In addition, the committee will consider authorization of the 2025-26 Free Speech Survey for the three universities, which is performed every two years.
