Gov. Kim Reynolds takes a photo with guests (including Board of Regents President Robert Cramer, far left) at the inaugural event for the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, Dec. 6, 2025. The event went $10k over its $60k budget, spending $34,000 on a speaking fee for Christopher Rufo (center, brown tie), $26,000 on travel and lodging for attendees and $18,000 for catering. Roughly 100 lawmakers were extended invitations, all Republican. — via @IAGovernor on X

The overseeing committees for the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa moved ahead with two candidates for the center’s top role Friday after a finalist’s rejection of a job offer caused a national search to continue.

Members of the Center for Intellectual Freedom’s executive committee and full advisory council met Friday afternoon to discuss finalists for the permanent director position, a job that was supposed to be already filled.

Executive Committee Chair Mark Bauerlein told the advisory committee that his committee completed interviews with two candidates for the director job, and its recommendation was to move both forward as finalists for the board of regents to interview. The advisory council gave unanimous approval to send the candidates ahead.

“The board of regents will interview the finalists in closed session at next week’s meeting, and all of the identities will continue to remain confidential before and during the interview process because they did sign confidentiality documents,” said Regent Chris Hensley, chair of the board of regents committee overseeing the center.

Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa Director Carson Holloway. — photo courtesy of the Iowa Board of Regents

Discussion of the center director position is scheduled for Nov. 11 at the board’s meeting at Iowa State University, according to the board’s meeting agenda.

The original candidate chosen for the position, Carson Holloway, informed the board Tuesday he had chosen to go with another job offer at the University of Florida. Holloway was a department head and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha at the time he was interviewing for the position in Iowa.

With Holloway’s decision, the national search for a new center director has now lasted close to five months, having launched in mid-June with the original goal of selecting a permanent director in September. UI professor Luciano de Castro served as interim president from the center’s establishment in summer 2025 to Oct. 22 of this year.

Brooklyn Draisey is a Report for America corps member covering higher education for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this story first appeared.