On the heels of a lightly-attended first year, the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa will not hold any courses until 2028, according to a recent advisory council meeting.
The center’s advisory board will instead focus on finding a permanent director and the new state law requiring UI students to enroll in two three-credit-hour civics courses. The requirement will take effect in 2028.
The center, according to interim director Luciano de Castro at the June 8 meeting, plans to offer a fall lecture series focused on the United States’ 250th anniversary and the upcoming midterm election. The lectures for 2026 have yet to be listed on the center’s website.
de Castro did not respond to the Press-Citizen’s request for comment regarding fall course offerings.
The center experienced low enrollment and limited interest in the initial two pass-fail one-credit courses it offered in March. The classes did not count towards any majors, minors, or certificates, and only 21 of the 64 available seats were filled.
Regent Christine Hensley, who chairs the advisory council, said the pause is the “most appropriate direction at this particular time,” to ensure the center becomes “a premier civic education center that is nationally recognized.”
“A lot of work ahead that’s going to need to be done, and it is going to need a lot of support and assistance from the advisory council to ensure that this is successful,” Hensley said during the June meeting.
State supports Center for Intellectual Freedom with $2M
The Center for Intellectual Freedom is the work of Iowa Republican lawmakers, who in 2025 passed a state law that required the Regents to establish the department at the University of Iowa. The state appropriated $2 million for the center’s operation, $1 million for the 2025-2026 academic year and $1 million for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Of the center’s $2 million in funding, about $438,000 is allocated to the director’s salary and benefits, with a third of the budget supporting staffing. The bill mandating the Center for Intellectual Freedom requires at least five full-time tenure-eligible faculty members, though it is unclear how the staff will be appointed or paid. The initial budget in March did not include salaries for the full-time faculty.
Regents have previously said they plan to hire a full-time director at an annual salary of $238,708 by Dec. 31. de Castro is the only faculty member listed on the center’s website.
Regents creates new committee to oversee Center for Intellectual Freedom
A new Iowa State Board of Regents committee will provide direct oversight of the University of Iowa’s Center for Intellectual Freedom as internal struggles to run the center persist.
At its July 29 meeting, the Regents are expected to approve the creation of a new Center for Intellectual Freedom Committee. The committee will be required to meet quarterly to provide oversight of the center’s budget, expenditures, compliance with state law, and its academic programming.
UI President Barbara Wilson said the university is looking forward to working with the board on the required classes but cautioned the board to ensure the courses do not add cost or additional time for students to graduate.
“The University of Iowa is very interested in working with our students on civic education,” Wilson said during Wednesday’s Regents meeting. “We believe in the mission of this effort.”
The committee will be made up of three Regents who also serve on the center’s advisory council:
The committee will report to and make recommendations to the Board of Regents. It will be staffed by the center’s director.
The advisory council, which is different than the three-person oversight committee, includes 26 members holding a variety of two- and four-year terms approved in September 2025. According to the center’s bylaws created in November 2025, the advisory council is helping search for a permanent center director while also giving advice to the Center for Intellectual Freedom director and the board “about matters related to the center.” The advisory council will also provide “oversight and deliver feedback on the activities and operations of the center.”
New committee after reports of issues with UI, Regents administration
The new committee arrives after The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that de Castro ran into several administrative and bureaucratic barriers when administering the center’s debut event and first classes.
The Gazette reported that de Castro struggled to get approval for expenses for the spring lecture series.
He also struggled to get the courses listed in the UI’s course catalog system.
de Castro said in a report to the Regents that the Regents’ executive director and UI administrators have “consistently placed obstacles in the path of the center rather than facilitating its work.”
(This article has been updated to add new information.)
Liam Halawith covers Johnson County local government, the University of Iowa, and crime for the Press-Citizen. Reach him by email at lhalawith@registermedia.com. Follow him on X at @liam_halawith.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: UI’s Center for Intellectual Freedom halts classes until 2028
Reporting by Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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By Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen | USA TODAY Network
