UI to gradually reduce funding over next four years while officials find own funding sources
KCJJ Staff
02/19/19
The Labor Center based on the University of Iowa campus may not be going away after all.
UI officials plan to ask the Iowa Board of Regents at its meeting in Ames next week to reconsider its vote to close the center. Officials on Tuesday released a memorandum of understanding from College of Law dean Kevin Washburn and Labor Center director Jennifer Sherer stating the center plans to be self-sufficient in four years.
The memorandum of understanding states general education funding for the center will be eliminated while providing increasingly limited support in that time to give officials time to search for new or additional revenue sources.
The Labor Center was one of seven based on the UI campus recommended for closure by UI President Bruce Harreld last summer due to dwindling state support for higher education. At the time, he said they needed to focus their general education funding on efforts impacting the core mission of the university.
However, Harreld has maintained he is open to keeping the center open if officials and supporters could find funding on their own.
The closure of the center has caused supporters to rally several times at the university, city and state level. The city of Iowa City earlier this month approved a resolution in support of the center. Supporters have claimed they have already raised a large portion of the funds necessary to keep it open but had asked for the UI and the Regents to meet them halfway.
Per the memo, the Labor Center will retain current staffing levels but budget reviews will be more frequent to ensure its operating plan is sustainable.
UI funding over the next four years for the center will come from unspent revenue from the Institute of Public Affairs, which is one of the centers tabbed for closure along with the Labor Center.
