Regents History: November 11-12, 1976
Board Membership
- Mary Louise Petersen, President, Harlan
- Ray Bailey, Milford
- John Baldridge, Chariton
- Stanley Barber, Wellman
- S.J. Brownlee, Emmetsburg
- Margaret Collison, Oskaloosa
- Donald Shaw, Davenport
- Harry Slife, Cedar Falls
- Steven Zumbach, West Des Moines
Highlights
Considerable discussion emerged on the topic of how to allocate the State Extension and Continuing Education Council’s nearly $950 thousand budget appropriated by the Iowa Legislature. General agreement on greatly expanded services to Western Iowa residents and a proposal for a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree was reached, but disagreement on delivery methods abounded. Regent Zumbach questioned the market for these expanded services and hoped expectations would be tempered. Regent Slife agreed, noting his apprehension that these proposals would lead to renewed talk of a fourth Regents institution in Western Iowa. Regent Shaw, in a moment of prescience, stated the Board “may be on the threshold of tremendous expansion of the use of television,” to deliver educational services. University of Iowa Dean Robert Ray dismissed Shaw’s prediction, stating that “most people are not interested in watching television alone.”
The motion passed unanimously, leading to the expansion of Regent-led education in Western Iowa. Today, the Western Iowa Regents Resource Center connects western Iowans with access to degree programs and helps students transfer from community colleges to Iowa’s Regent universities.
Regent Shaw noted that the final three Iowa State and Iowa football games of the season were scheduled to kick off at the same time. He asked if those kickoff times could be staggered so Iowans could follow both games. ISU President Robert Parks and UI VP Edward Jennings stated that their home football dates were scheduled through the 1988 season and likely could not be changed. Today, most football kickoff dates and times are dictated by conference rules and television networks.
