Iowa Board of Regents Blocks Civics Center Director from Attending Conferences
The Iowa Board of Regents has refused to fund the travel of Luciano de Castro, interim director of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, to three upcoming conferences. These conferences, scheduled to take place in Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia, are hosted by right-leaning organizations and are set to feature conservative scholars, pundits, and politicians, including former Vice President Mike Pence. This decision marks the latest development in an ongoing power struggle between the university and the center, which was established in 2025 by the State Legislature to promote intellectual diversity and address alleged liberal bias on college campuses. De Castro had previously reported a lack of cooperation from university administrators and the Board of Regents in launching the center, citing issues such as blocked hiring, scrutiny of expenditures, altered bylaws, and exclusion from communication. The Board of Regents committee overseeing the center stated that the decision was made to ...