Board of Regents

Wendy Wintersteen will retire as president of Iowa State University on Jan. 2, 2026. She started her career at ISU Extension in 1979 and rose through the academic ranks to become the land-grant university's first woman president in 2017.

The Iowa Board of Regents elected Robert Cramer as its new president after former President Sherry Bates announced her resignation earlier this week.

A rundown of important news from this week, including an audit of DMPS, the latest on the carbon pipeline saga and what you should know about voting early in local elections.

The ISU employee said on a personal social media account that Charlie Kirk “got what was coming.” The university said the comments are harmful to the institution.

The Iowa Board of Regents voted Wednesday to place university employees on leave while universities determine if they violated social media policies over comments made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The Iowa Board of Regents is directing teachers at public universities to avoid what they call indoctrination of one perspective. For some educators, the changes raise questions about where to draw the line between opinion and scientific truth.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird launched an investigation Wednesday into the University of Iowa for allegedly violating a state law that restricts diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The Iowa Board of Regents wrapped up two days of meetings with discussions on tuition increases, civic engagement and new syllabi policies. The board is coming under increased scrutiny for its stance on DEI. Some students are calling on them to stand up against the Trump administration’s blitz on higher education.

Iowa House Republicans advanced bills Tuesday establishing uniform educational requirements at the state’s public universities and protecting universities from being penalized by accreditors for following state law. Proposals for capping in-state tuition and establishing tuition guarantee were also removed from a bill known as the "College Affordability Act."

The Iowa House advanced two proposals Tuesday targeting diversity, equity and inclusion in state agencies and higher education amidst pushback from Iowa House Democrats.