I will continue to add updates about J. Bruce Harreld and his illegitimate presidency to this threaded post. If this post scrolls you will be able to find it by clicking the link in the sticky post at the top of the home page. You can also bookmark this post, or search for it using various keywords and phrases, such as Harreld, fraud, co-conspirator, or carpetbagging dilettante.
03/03/21 — The next virtual meeting of the University of Iowa presidential search committee will take place on Friday, March 5th, at 9 a.m.. Per the agenda the focus of Friday’s meeting will be on a “discussion of potential questions for semifinalists”. (Shortly before the meeting, a link to the livestream will be posted here.)
While it makes sense to develop a slate of questions to ask each of the dozen or so semifinalists for the Iowa presidency, note that this phase of the search was originally scheduled to begin two weeks later, on March 22nd. Although the initial search timeline was and still is described as a “draft”, and developing these questions sooner rather than later shouldn’t present a problem, it is interesting that this phase of the search has been advanced. Having said that, developing questions now — before the committee begins looking at and winnowing applications, which is currently scheduled to commence in mid-March — seems like an effective way to focus the committee on common concerns and interests, which will in turn then inform the selection of semifinalists.
In any event, in the spirit of Friday’s meeting — and informed by five and a half years closely observing administrative abuses of power at the University of Iowa and Iowa Board of Regents — here are the questions I would ask….
Ten Questions for Candidates for President of the University of Iowa
* If you are appointed, do you intend to move into the presidential residence on the University of Iowa campus on a permanent, year-around basis?
* What experience do you have working with elected officials at the local, state and national level?
* What experience do you have meeting with and responding to local, state and national media?
* Are you prepared to be the cultural leader of the school, not merely presiding over an administration, but setting an example for the entire campus by holding yourself to the highest standards?
* In addition to conducting regular interviews with the Daily Iowan, will you agree to hold regular town halls with the University of Iowa community?
* How will you improve and increase funding for student mental health services at the University of Iowa?
* If you are appointed you will be an employee of the Iowa Board of Regents. How will you balance obligations to your employer with responsibilities to the University of Iowa community, when those interests conflict?
* Have you had any contact of any kind with any members of the search committee, any members of the Iowa Board of Regents who are not on the search committee, any former members of the Iowa Board of Regents, or any members of the professional staff at the Iowa Board of Regents, and if so, what was the nature and extent of that contact?
* Have you had any contact with J. Bruce Harreld, and if so what was the nature and extent of that contact?
* If you are appointed, will you authorize the release of any documents and records you submitted during the search process, any nominations or communications to the committee and/or search firm on your behalf, and any transcripts or videos of interviews you participated in during the search?