President Donald Trump has tapped Iowa Board of Regents member David Barker, a prominent Iowa Republican Party donor, to serve as U.S. assistant secretary of postsecondary education.
The Iowa Senate recently confirmed Barker’s reappointment to a six-year term on the nine-member governing board of Iowa’s public universities, though it’s unclear whether the new federal post would conflict with his role as an unpaid regent.
He first joined the regents in 2019. His second term spans through 2031.
“Congratulations to Iowan David Barker on his nomination as Assistant Secretary of Post Secondary Education!” Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote in a post on X on May 8. “David’s service on the Iowa Board of Regents has prepared him to hit the ground running and have an immediate positive impact on our higher education system.”
The governor’s office hasn’t said whether Barker can continue to serve as a regent.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will take up Barker’s nomination to the federal government’s top role overseeing higher education while Trump is pushing a major overhaul of the U.S. Department of Education.
Iowa Board of Regents President Sherry Bates congratulated Barker on his nomination in a statement.
“He will bring his tremendous knowledge, expertise and passion to that role,” Bates said. “It’s great that a fellow Iowan has been selected for this position, and we wish him well.”
The regents’ spokesperson confirmed he is still on the board.
As a regent, David Barker has pushed for ending DEI programs
Barker is partner of Barker Companies in Iowa City, which owns, manages and develops apartments and other real estate in the area. Barker also has taught real estate investment, urban economics and corporate finance classes at the University of Iowa and University of Chicago.
He previously was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he researched real estate and the banking industry. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley and doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago.
State filings with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board show Barker has contributed about $167,826 to Reynolds’ campaign coffers since she became governor in 2017 when former Gov. Terry Branstad was appointed U.S. ambassador to China. Overall, he’s donated more than $770,000 to Iowa GOP candidates since 2002.
During his tenure as a regent, Barker has been a proponent of cutting costs and ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs as the regents directed the three public universities to shutter their DEI offices.
That move has saved the universities at least $2.1 million so far, but drawn pushback from marginalized communities who say DEI programming is key to their support navigating the predominantly white institutions.
In a statement, Iowa’s junior Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Barker was a “great pick.”
“Sixth generation Iowan David Barker has a proven 40-year track record as a successful entrepreneur and led the fight on the Iowa Board of Regents to undo restrictive COVID-19 mandates on students,” Ernst said.
U.S. Department of Education seeing major shakeup since Trump’s return
In the federal role, Barker would work to improve outcomes and accountability in postsecondary education, including by helping to lead reforms to accreditation, improving federal student aid programs and “ensuring its grant programs are invested in agency priorities,” according to a U.S. Department of Education news release.
Since Trump returned to the White House, he has signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and has significantly downsized the agency, laying off about half its workforce.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to fire accreditors for not protecting college students from schools that are “dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics.”
The Heritage Foundation, a rightwing think tank that created the Project 2025 conservative manifesto, has criticized accreditation processes as “costly and intrusive” while offering little in quality control and mandating “‘woke’ policies and practices within universities.”
Republicans also are pursuing legislation that would restructure the federal student loan system, shrinking the number of repayment plans from roughly a dozen to just two.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @marissajpayne.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Trump taps Iowa regent David Barker to serve as top federal higher education official
Reporting by Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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