Presidential Search

On January 21, 2006, it was announced that David J. Skorton was resigning his position as president of the University of Iowa, and that on July 1, 2006, he would assume the presidency of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Historically presidential search committees were chaired by faculty members, and the membership of these committees was dominated by faculty members. However, to replace David Skorton, the Board of Regents appointed Teresa Wahlert, president and chief operating officer of the Mid-America Group, as chairwoman of the presidential search committee.

The presidential search that followed created frustration, disapproval, and anger within the University of Iowa community. On December 12, 2006, Faculty Senate President Sheldon Kurtz summarized the justification for a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the Board of Regents and the Faculty Senate passed a no-confidence resolution by a vote of 62 to one. The CLAS Faculty Assembly and the Staff Council also passed no confidence resolutions. The presidential search committee was eventually disbanded.

In response to the Faculty Senate vote of no confidence in the leadership of the Board of Regents, the Executive Committee of the University of Iowa chapter of the AAUP adopted a resolution on December 12, 2006, which it shared with the Faculty Senate and the press.