IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa’s governing board was issued a stern warning that selecting Bruce Harreld as the next school president would badly damage its relationship with the faculty, according to an email released Tuesday.
Harreld, a former IBM executive with no experience in higher education administration, had “a clear lack of faculty support,” Faculty Senate President Christina Bohannan told the Iowa Board of Regents in the Sept. 2 email. Choosing him over three other candidates who were warmly received would “destroy the goodwill” with faculty leaders and prompt calls for a no-confidence vote in the regents, she warned.
A day later, the regents voted unanimously to make Harreld the school’s 21st president and gave him a five-year contract, sparking protests from faculty and staff.
“It is hard to see how the Regents’ relationship with faculty could thrive under such circumstances,” wrote Bohannan, a law professor who was part of the 21-member committee that recommended four finalists to replace retiring president Sally Mason. The board released the email in response to an inquiry from The Associated Press.
The other finalists—Oberlin College President Marvin Krislov, Ohio State University provost Joseph Steinmetz and Tulane University provost Michael Bernstein—“garnered tremendous support from campus constituencies” and choosing any of them would instill confidence, Bohannan wrote.
The Faculty Senate was to meet Tuesday for the first time since Harreld’s hiring. His tenure begins Nov. 2.
Board President Bruce Rastetter has said the regents considered Harreld the best leader for the university and received feedback from the “greater Iowa community” as well as from campus.
