RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated PressLeadership & PolicyAudit Questions Iowa State’s Purchase of Plane for Ex-leaderIOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa State University had no clear need to spend $498,000 in donations to buy an airplane that former President Steven Leath used largely to improve his piloting skills, state auditors reported Tuesday. Iowa State should also consider seeking reimbursement from Leath, now president of Auburn University, for a 2016 spring break […]October 24, 2017Leadership & PolicyRegents Detail Secret Harreld Meetings During U. of Iowa SearchIOWA CITY, Iowa — A majority of University of Iowa governing board members have described under oath how they secretly recruited Bruce Harreld weeks before hiring the businessman as president, circumventing the Iowa Open Meetings Law, court records show. Five of nine members of the Board of Regents met Harreld — a former IBM executive […]September 25, 2017SportsAudit: Iowa Athletics IT Director Submitted False InvoicesIOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa athletics department’s information technology director spent school money on personal items for his home and then submitted false invoices to cover his tracks, according to a state audit released Thursday. The employee, Patrick Delin, also spent thousands of dollars traveling to a conference in Colorado that wasn’t […]May 25, 2017News RoundupNavy Group at Iowa State Cancels Dinner After Photo IncidentIOWA CITY, Iowa — The commander of a military training program at Iowa State University cancelled an annual formal dinner Friday after news broke that explicit photographs of some male cadets had been posted on Facebook. Capt. Scott Curtis sent an email to the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps saying he was calling off Saturday’s […]April 9, 2017StudentsAfter Backlash, University of Iowa Restores ScholarshipsIOWA CITY, Iowa — After facing lawsuits and days of criticism, the University of Iowa is shelving a plan to eliminate scholarships promised to thousands of current and incoming students. UI President Bruce Harreld announced Wednesday that he was reinstating the Iowa Heritage Award and four other smaller scholarship programs for current students and those […]March 1, 2017StudentsLawsuits Challenge University of Iowa Decision to Revoke ScholarshipsIOWA CITY, Iowa — Two proposed class-action lawsuits have been filed challenging the University of Iowa’s decision to eliminate scholarships that had been promised to roughly 3,000 students. UI student Jenna Pokorny is the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Johnson County. It claims the university “breached its contractual duties” by eliminating two scholarship […]February 28, 2017Leadership & PolicyRegent: Response to Iowa State Plane Scandal was ‘Slap in the Face’A member of the Board of Regents says his colleagues’ decision to take no action against Iowa State University President Steven Leath for misusing university airplanes was “a slap in the face” to Iowa taxpayers. In a Dec. 20 email obtained Wednesday through the public records law, Regent Subhash Sahai told board leaders that he […]January 11, 2017Faculty & StaffDespite Claims, Iowa State Professor does not run Focus GroupsA prominent Iowa political scientist who goes by the nickname “Dr. Politics” has routinely made misleading claims suggesting he has gleaned unique political insight from a focus group, when he actually just discusses issues with acquaintances and contacts, The Associated Press has found. Iowa State University professor Steffen Schmidt, who is frequently quoted about the […]December 18, 2016Leadership & PolicyIowa State President Apologizes, Reimburses for More FlightsANKENY, Iowa — Iowa State University President Steven Leath apologized Monday for using university airplanes for some personal trips and said he had paid back the school for additional flights beyond what he had done previously. Leath told the Iowa Board of Regents during a special meeting in Ankeny that he was “very sorry” for […]December 12, 2016Leadership & PolicyIowa State President had Earlier ‘Hard Landing’AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University President Steven Leath damaged a private plane in a hard landing in 2014, 11 months before he banged up a university aircraft in remarkably similar fashion, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Leath was flying in gusty conditions on Aug. 11, 2014 and “landed hard” in a […]November 14, 2016Page 1 of 4Next Page