INSIDE HIGHER ED: A ‘Barrage of Bills’ Would Overhaul Higher Ed in Iowa—If They Actually Pass
“Iowa’s legislative session began roughly three weeks ago, and the state’s House Higher Education Committee and its subcommittees have already advanced sweeping legislation that could threaten universities’ budgets, change who has a vote on the board overseeing public universities, increase direct legislative oversight of these universities, and more.
The Republican leading these pushes has called gender studies degrees “garbage” and made other criticism of what universities teach. Some faculty have raised concerns that the Legislature is encroaching on the Board of Regents’ authority to oversee institutions, and on faculty’s role in shared governance. If all this legislation passes into law, Iowa would join the ranks of states such as Texas, Florida and Utah in enacting far-reaching conservative overhauls of higher ed in recent years….”