///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// College and University Governance: The University of Iowa Governing Board’s Selection of a President1 (DECEMBER 2015) I. Introduction appointing authority, to inform the board of a “clear On September 1, 2015, Mr. Bruce Harreld, one of lack of faculty support” for Mr. Harreld. Professor four finalists identified by the search committee for the Bohannan observed that, were Mr. Harreld to be presidency of the University of Iowa, addressed a town chosen, “some members of the Faculty Senate would hall meeting of the university community. He was the demand a vote of no confidence in the Regents.” In last of the four to do so. Mr. Harreld was an indepen- that event and regardless of the outcome, Professor dent business consultant who had previously occupied Bohannan wrote, it would be “hard to see how the corporate office and had served as a senior lecturer at Board’s relationship with the faculty could thrive.” the Harvard Business School. The other three candi- She stressed that the three other candidates were out- dates held high office in academic administration in standing and enjoyed “tremendous support” and that prominent institutions of higher learning. Mr. Har- the selection of any one of them would “instill faculty reld’s remarks and ensuing questions and answers confidence” in the new president and the board. took about ninety minutes.2 The next day, September 3, the board of regents The following evening, Professor Christina voted unanimously to offer the position to Mr. Bohannan, president of the University of Iowa Faculty Harreld, who was present for the announcement. A Senate and a member of the search committee, wrote letter of appointment was executed the same day, to the board of regents of the state of Iowa, the signed by Mr. Harreld and, on the board’s behalf, by its president, Mr. Bruce Rastetter. 1. The ad hoc investigating committee prepared the initial text of Five days later, on September 8, the faculty senate this report. In accordance with Association practice, the text was edited voted no confidence in the board. The motion stated by the AAUP’s staff and, with the ad hoc committee’s concurrence, that the board had shown a “blatant disregard for submitted to the AAUP’s standing Committee on College and University the shared nature of university governance.” Similar Governance. With that committee’s approval, the report was then motions were passed by the Graduate and Professional sent, with an invitation for corrections and comments, to the officers Student Government, the undergraduate student sen- of the governing board, the interim university administration, the new president, the AAUP chapter officers, the UI faculty senate officers, ate, and the University Staff Council. That same day and others who met with the investigating committee. The report was the board issued a statement in response to the senate’s prepared for publication after consideration of the responses received. vote. It will be taken up later. 2. The town hall presentation is available at http://www.youtube.com On September 23, the Faculty Assembly of the /watch?v=S5S5ZXWxc98. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the elected © 2015 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS College and University Governance: The University of Iowa representative body of the college’s faculty, endorsed the board’s senior communications director wrote to the faculty senate’s vote of no confidence. It also called the chair to “confirm that members of the Board of for the resignation or dismissal of the members of the Regents and Board office staff will not be available to board of regents. The assembly then voted to censure meet.” Interim President Robillard made no reply. Mr. Harreld for his “failure of professional ethics” in The ad hoc committee regrets the refusal of the the matter of some of the contents of his résumé.3 regents and the interim president to meet with us or The Association’s local chapter, led by Professor to respond to our inquiries. It also regrets incoming Katherine Tachau, requested that the AAUP’s national President Harreld’s declination before taking office office take an official interest in the issues of academic to acknowledge the staff’s letter. We doubtless would governance raised by these events. By letter of have benefited by having been able to explore these September 29, the Association’s national office staff events directly with them. Nevertheless, we do not informed board president Rastetter, interim university believe their refusals have prevented the committee president Jean Robillard (who had chaired the search from securing a reasonable grasp of these events and committee), and president designate Harreld that of their larger implications. the AAUP’s executive director had appointed the The undersigned accordingly visited Iowa City undersigned as an ad hoc consultative committee on October 16 and 17, 2015, a Friday and Saturday. to visit the campus. The AAUP staff invited their Through the good offices of AAUP chapter president cooperation. On behalf of the board of regents, its Tachau, to whom we express our deep appreciation, president pro tem, Dr. Katie Mulholland, responded we were able to meet with former and current officers that the board would decline to meet. Her letter is of the senate, members of the search committee, the set out at the close of this report as appendix A. chair of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences fac- Interim President Robillard wrote simply to echo Dr. ulty assembly, and others, including a former regent, Mulholland’s letter. Mr. Harreld did not reply. who provided useful information and insight. We also The chair of this ad hoc committee wrote to Mr. conducted telephone interviews with members of a Rastetter urging him to reconsider and suggesting prior search committee and with other faculty leaders. an alternative, of responding to written questions We are indebted to all with whom we met for their the committee might wish to pose in light of what it generosity in sharing their time and for their candor. learned from its campus visit. That letter is reproduced in appendix B. Interim President Robillard also II. The University of Iowa received a copy. On October 15, 2015, by e-mail, Before delving further, the general terrain on which these events played out should be delineated. A. An Overview 3. The undersigned ad hoc committee was charged with examin- The territory of Iowa was admitted to statehood in ing the process of presidential selection, not the credentials of the January 1847. One of the new state’s first official appointee. However, we cannot leave that part of the faculty assembly’s resolution unexplained. Mr. Harreld’s résumé listed him as “Managing actions, taken on February 25 of that year, was the Principal” of a limited liability company (LLC), Executing Strategy, in Col- foundation of the University of Iowa. The capital of orado. It also listed twelve professional publications by title and venue. the territory and then the state was Iowa City, and After Mr. Harreld was appointed, investigation revealed that the LLC the university was temporarily located at a site close was not registered in Colorado and that for eight of his listed publica- to the building known as Old Capitol that housed tions Mr. Harreld was a coauthor, which had not been set out in the cita- the territorial assembly and, subsequently, the state tions given on his résumé. In the town meeting, Mr. Harreld explained government. The capital of Iowa was moved to Des that, in effect, he was Executing Strategy. In other words, the choice Moines in 1857, whereupon Old Capitol became the of business form was immaterial to the work he did as a business university’s first permanent home. consultant. He had simply neglected to register it as an LLC in Colorado Instruction at the university commenced in March when he moved there from Massachusetts, hardly a serious failure. In a 1855. In September of that year 124 students, forty- meeting with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty assembly after his appointment, Mr. Harreld explained that reference to coauthors one of them women, were enrolled. The catalogue on one’s résumé is not customary in the business world. The aspect of for the following year identified nine departments this episode that the committee finds informative, and that many of the of instruction: ancient language, modern language, faculty with whom we met emphasized, is that neither of these issues intellectual philosophy, moral philosophy, history, was flagged for clarification by the search firm retained by the regents. natural history, mathematics, natural philosophy, and 2 College and University Governance: The University of Iowa chemistry. The university awarded its first under- Despite the latter provision, we were informed graduate degree in 1858. Its expansion during the late that in recent years members of the board have been nineteenth century featured the beginning of the law contributors to Iowa governor Terry Branstad’s elec- school and a medical department. The law school was tion campaign. The current president of the board, one of the first public institutions to grant degrees to Mr. Bruce Rastetter, is a prominent figure in Iowa an African American (1870) and to a woman (1873). Republican politics.4 In addition, one or more of The