DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says he wants to dispel the notion that he has any authority to remove members of a state board that oversees Iowa’s three public universities, following criticism over its hiring of a new University of Iowa president.
Branstad said Monday he was shocked that the Faculty Assembly at the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences voted recently for the nine-member Iowa Board of Regents to resign. The faculty group also asked Branstad to dismiss the board.
Branstad, who appoints members for six-year terms, says Iowa code is clear that the board doesn’t serve at the pleasure of the governor.
The board’s appointment in September of Bruce Harreld, a business executive, has been criticized by some UI faculty. They question Harreld’s lack of experience in academics.
