Public-Private Tensions in Iowa

With state funds in short supply, public and private higher education leaders in Iowa are sparring. The Des Moines Register reported that private college leaders were upset when Craig Lang, president of the Iowa Board of Regents, drew attention to the funds going to private college students in the state through a program not open to those at public institutions. He said that the money didn't go to "our public universities, which the people of Iowa own.” Gary Steinke, president of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, responded by saying: "If that was a shot across the bow, and it certainly seemed to be to me, I think that's selfish."