Regents committee approves Center for Intellectual Freedom advisory council amid debate over political balance and out-of-state appointees

The Board of Regents' Governance, Evaluation and Human Resource Committee on Wednesday recommended approval of membership for the newly created Center for Intellectual Freedom advisory council at the University of Iowa, advancing a list of 26 proposed appointees to the full board. Committee members debated whether the council met the political-balance requirements in state law and whether appointing out-of-state figures diluted Iowa representation.

Regent Hensley, who led the center effort, told the committee she was "really excited" that the project was ahead of schedule and noted the advisory slate included 11 Republicans, three Democrats and 12 independents. "It's important that we have political balance, which we do have," Hensley said in committee remarks. She told members the governor's…