The Iowa Board of Regents unanimously selected University of Nebraska at Omaha political science professor Carson Holloway as the permanent director of the University of Iowa's Center for Intellectual Freedom on Tuesday.
The appointment comes amid allegations from its outgoing interim director that regents and university administrators disregarded state law and obstructed the center's development.
Regents voted to offer Holloway the position following closed-door interviews with three finalists. A fourth finalist withdrew over the weekend for personal reasons.
Holloway’s appointment remains subject to negotiations over compensation and employment terms, which must return to the board for final approval.
The position advertised an annual salary ranging from $200,000 to $450,000, depending on experience.
Holloway is a professor of political science at Nebraska Omaha. He currently chairs the university's political science department and serves as founding director of its Constitutional Studies Forum. He earned his doctorate in political science from Northern Illinois University in 1998 and has written extensively about American constitutionalism, political philosophy and the nation's founding principles.
His appointment comes at a contentious moment for the center, which Iowa lawmakers created in 2025 to promote intellectual diversity, free inquiry and civic education at the state's public universities.
Allegations from interim director
In a roughly 400-page annual report submitted to lawmakers this month, outgoing interim director Luciano de Castro accused Board of Regents officials and UI administrators of repeatedly interfering with the center's operations, undermining its statutory independence and taking actions he believes violated state law or its intent.
De Castro urged regents to suspend the director search and leave the center's future to the next governor and Legislature, together with a substantially renewed Board of Regents.
He warned the center risked becoming a "staged pretense of reform, rather than the real change that could have been truly valuable to the students of the University of Iowa,” unless its independence was restored. He argued the center should be discontinued if it cannot fulfill the mission lawmakers intended.
“University of Iowa administrators have used their influence over the Board of Regents to hinder the Center’s operations at nearly every stage of its development,” de Castro wrote.
Among his allegations, de Castro said board officials sought to postpone a visiting professor's appearance, university administrators blocked faculty hiring and regents approved bylaws containing spending restrictions that were not included in the version he submitted. He also accused the board of attempting to delay publication of a market assessment examining demand for the center's courses.
De Castro argued the actions conflicted with provisions of Iowa Code establishing the center as an independent academic unit and granting its director specific authority over hiring, programming and other operations.
The disputes intensified after regents approved a new operational and financial management framework in September, which de Castro contended gave the board excessive control over the center's director and budget. He argued that proceeding with the permanent appointment under that framework would make meaningful reform increasingly difficult.
But Board of Regents President Robert Cramer, speaking publicly after Tuesday's vote, rejected de Castro's characterization of the board's actions.
"We have a very different view of what has happened in the last year, and a different view of how we should move forward," Cramer said.
Cramer emphasized that the legislation creating the center requires its director to report directly to the Board of Regents and that the board has an obligation to oversee the use of public money.
The Legislature initially appropriated $1 million for the center's operations through the University of Iowa.
"We have a responsibility to ensure that the taxpayers' funding was appropriately used and accounted for in governing the center," Cramer said.
He said the center initially attempted to operate under university policies before disagreements emerged over administrative procedures and oversight. Cramer said board staff subsequently worked with UI officials to establish the center as an independent organizational unit, with the university providing administrative services.
Cramer accused de Castro and a small group of advisory council members of resisting oversight of the center's operations and expenditures.
"It became readily clear that there was a small subset of the advisory council on the center, and the interim director, that did not want any oversight of the center and its use of taxpayer dollars," Cramer said.
He said the board ultimately determined that hiring permanent leadership was necessary to move the center forward.
“I appreciate the time and energy Professor De Castro put into the center,” Cramer said, adding that he looks forward to working with Holloway to make the center successful.
A challenging search
Regent Christine Hensley, who serves on the center's advisory council and the board committee overseeing its operations, described the director search as a lengthy and challenging process.
The position drew 62 applicants. The advisory council's executive committee initially advanced 11 candidates for further consideration Sept. 1 before narrowing the field to four finalists Sept. 25. The full advisory council voted Oct. 2 to forward those finalists to the Board of Regents.
De Castro was among the 11 candidates initially advanced, but was not selected as a finalist.
Hensley said the board handled the recruitment internally after efforts to hire a professional search firm proved unsuccessful. She also acknowledged the challenges created by the resignation of 11 of the advisory council’s 26 members last month, following disagreements over the center's governance and director search.
She said representatives of similar academic centers around the country had expressed interest in helping the center succeed, including offering mentorship to its incoming director.
"I think we're in a good place right now," Hensley said. "I'm excited about [the] next step."
A center with expanding responsibilities
The center was established through House File 437, signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in June 2025, as an independent academic center under the Board of Regents rather than the university's traditional administrative hierarchy. Its mission includes studying the intellectual foundations of free societies, American constitutional principles and civic responsibility. The center began offering courses in spring 2026 and launched an America 250 speaker series this fall.
Its responsibilities are set to expand significantly. Under legislation approved this year, beginning in the 2028-29 academic year, University of Iowa undergraduates must complete at least six credit hours of courses offered through the center to graduate. De Castro estimated the requirement would affect approximately 12,000 students annually. Holloway will be responsible for overseeing that expansion, including developing academic programming and recruiting faculty.
His academic background includes visiting appointments at Princeton University and research affiliations with the Heritage Foundation. His published work includes books and scholarship on constitutional law, political thought and the American founding.
For de Castro, however, the center's future depends less on who leads it than on whether the board preserves the independence he argues lawmakers envisioned.
"If the center is to continue, it must be given the independence House File 437 intended; otherwise, it should be discontinued," he wrote.
Regents, meanwhile, have made clear they intend to proceed.
"Our new director is ready to make that shift and will very soon have a very different story to tell," Cramer said.
