Former construction executive and current land developer Robert Cramer was elected as the new president of Iowa's Board of Regents on Wednesday. Cramer's election came after the board's former President Sherry Bates announced her resignation earlier this week.
Regent President Pro Tem Greta Rouse announced she's also stepping down from her leadership role. Regent Kurt Tjaden was elected as the new president pro tem on Wednesday. Rouse will continue to serve as on the board through the end of her term in 2027.
Cramer and Tjaden's terms in board leadership begin Thursday and end April 30, 2026.
At Wednesday's special meeting, Cramer thanked Bates for her years of service and friendship. He also thanked the board for trusting him with the opportunity.
"I'm a bridge-builder and this might be a good time for a bridge-builder to bring all of our interested parties who want to make our universities better, together," he said.
Cramer, a Republican, was first appointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Kim Reynolds in March 2023. His term expires in 2029.
He was previously nominated to the board in 2013 by then-Gov. Terry Branstad, but was rejected by the Democratic-majority state Senate. Democratic lawmakers cited concerns over Cramer's ability to promote academic freedom on campus due to comments he made while serving on the Johnston Community School Board. He also unsuccessfully ran for the 3rd District Congressional seat in 2014.
Cramer said his goals as president of the Board of Regents are for the universities to provide an affordable education to students alongside academic excellence.
"It comes through merit and just hard work and just always keeping that at the forefront of trying to produce better and better students," Cramer said.
He said his third goal is to provide a "fair and balanced" place for "vigorous" debate.
"That's been what a lot of our work has been this year — is just to create an atmosphere where students can engage," he said. "College is a great place to learn, to learn new things, to find out what you believe. But we just want a fair and balanced place where students can do that."
Cramer said he believes pursuing those three goals will help the state's public universities raise enrollment numbers and help Iowa's economy grow.
"We'll see these graduates go out and change the world," he said. "I think we can flip the narrative on higher education, and that is here in Iowa, a degree from one of our public universities is a great investment, and it's going to help these students going forward for the rest of their lives."
Cramer also serves on the advisory council of the University of Iowa's new Center for Intellectual Freedom alongside fellow Regents Chris Hensley and Kurt Tjaden. He serves on the Industry Advisory Council for the Construction Engineering Department at Iowa State University and on the statewide STEM advisory board. He previously served as board chairman of the The Family Leader, a conservative Christian group.
Cramer has a degree in construction engineering from ISU and served as co-president of his family's bridge construction and land development company, Cramer and Associates, Inc., until 2022, according to his bio page on the Board of Regents website. He currently works as vice president of land development for the company and serves as co-chair of the Cramer board.
Cramer replaced Regent Sherry Bates, who announced earlier this week that she will resign on Thursday after nearly 11 years as a member of the Board of Regents and nearly two years as board president.
“It’s time for me to step back, spend more time with my family and allow the next generation of regent leadership to continue our good work," Bates said in the press release. "Iowa, Iowa State and UNI are among the best public universities in the country, and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow and excel."
Bates' departure adds another open seat to the nine-member board to be filled by the governor. The other vacancy was caused by the resignation of Regent David Barker, who was appointed U.S. assistant secretary for Postsecondary Education by President Donald Trump in October. Reynolds is expected to announce a nominee for Barkers' seat soon.
