The Iowa Legislature created the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. It has an advisory board overseeing the launch of the Center. Now, nearly half of the advisory council has resigned, claiming the terms the university was setting would kill the legislative intent of the Center.
One member, Richard Lowery, wrote, “The legislature created the center in 2025 to teach and research the ideas behind the American constitutional order and to promote free speech, civil discourse, and intellectual diversity on campus — and on the terms the regents have now set, it cannot do what the law created it to do.”
Mass resignations hit U. Iowa Intellectual Freedom Center advisory council over independence concerns– www.thecollegefix.com
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Launching the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa hit a big snag this week after nearly half of its Advisory Council resigned in protest.
The en masse resignations come amid concerns from resigning members that the Board of Regents seeks to embed the center’s operations into the university in a business-as-usual setup, rather than allowing it to operate independently to counteract what they view as left-wing bias on campus.
“The legislature created the center in 2025 to teach and research the ideas behind the American constitutional order and to promote free speech, civil discourse, and intellectual diversity on campus — and on the terms the regents have now set, it cannot do what the law created it to do,” according to former Advisory Council member Richard Lowery.
A state law passed over the summer requires University of Iowa students to complete courses in American history and American government based on original, historical and Constitutional documents through the Center for Intellectual Freedom starting fall 2028.
Writing for National Review, Lowery said university leaders so far have refused to list the center’s courses, blocked its hiring of even temporary faculty, and denied approval for routine travel.