Iowa Board of Regents Appoints Brian Lai as Director of Intellectual Freedom Center After Previous Candidate Declined
The Iowa Board of Regents has selected Brian Lai, a political science associate professor at the University of Iowa (UI), as the new permanent director for the Center for Intellectual Freedom. This appointment follows the previous selection, Carson Holloway, a professor from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, declining the offer to take a position at the University of Florida. Board President Robert Cramer stated that the center, which was inactive this past year, is undergoing a restart. The board conducted closed-session interviews before announcing Lai's appointment at its November 12 meeting. Lai has been with the UI since 2001 and holds bachelor's degrees in political science and international studies from Northwestern University, along with a political science doctorate from Emory University. The center's advisory council presented two candidates to the board after a national search was relaunched.
