Making Room for More Ideas in Higher Education

Late last year, I had the honor of being nominated by Governor Kim Reynolds to serve on the advisory board of the newly created Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. The Center was created by legislation passed by the Iowa legislature in 2025, and pursues a mission  “to advance top-tier scholarship in areas such as the texts and debates foundational to free societies, the principles and institutions of the American constitutional order, and the foundations of responsible leadership and informed citizenship.” In addition to programs and guest speakers, the Center offers courses and other academic opportunities that lead to certificates, majors, minors, and graduate programs. Professor Luciano de Castro serves as the interim Director and as a Professor of Economics.

Many similar centers exist on both public and private college campuses. In fact, the Center for Intellectual Freedom now joins its peers at the other Iowa Regents institutions, including the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Civic Education and Iowa State University’s Center for Cyclone Civics. However, what makes the Center for Intellectual Freedom unique is that it was created by the legislature.

The Center has faced opposition from the beginning. On December 5-6, 2025, the Center held its inaugural event on the University of Iowa’s campus. The event centered on reforming higher education and featured panel discussions. Governor Kim Reynolds addressed the event, and Christopher Rufo was the keynote speaker. 

The Center has faced opposition from the beginning. Critics argue that the Center is not needed on campus, and many disagree that ideological bias exists within the University. Further, some have argued that the Center’s advisory council is not only too “Republican” but also does not reflect an appropriate gender balance.

The Center’s critics also argue that there is no student interest on campus due to low enrollment in its two current course offerings. The inaugural courses began in March and are entitled Political & Economic Institutions in the United States and American Culture and Values. Both are seven-week courses, each worth one credit hour with a pass/fail grade. 

Those who point to low enrollment in the initial course offerings fail to consider that students prefer credit hours that count toward degree completion. At present, the Center’s courses do not provide credit toward a major or minor academic field of study. Most college students, working with limited time and financial resources, naturally prioritize courses that move them closer to earning their degree. 

As a result, participation in non-credit offerings is likely to remain limited. Expanding into full-credit coursework would better align the Center with student priorities and help increase engagement on campus. To improve civic education, the legislature approved legislation that would require Iowa’s public universities to include one survey course in American history and one survey course in American government in their general education requirements. The legislation would permit the civic centers at the University of Iowa, Iowa State, and the University of Northern Iowa to offer these courses. 

It is premature to write the obituary for the Center. The Center is just starting, and its mission to foster open deliberation and intellectual diversity is sorely needed in higher education. 

The Center’s leaders deeply value curiosity and debate. The Center’s leaders deeply value curiosity and debate. I taught history at Iowa Wesleyan University for ten years, where I regularly participated in campus forums on civic issues, often providing a distinctly conservative perspective alongside other faculty voices. Open deliberation, not political advocacy (conservative or otherwise), was the goal.

Professor Wilfred McClay, a distinguished Professor of History at Hillsdale College, is also a member of the Center’s advisory council, and an example of a notable historian who approaches the craft with responsibility and respectability. In an interview, McClay stated that it “is not always a bad thing for good teachers to have a strongly held point of view, whether conservative or progressive, if they also have a commitment to the pursuit of the truth, and if they encourage a lively and open classroom, in which a diversity of perspectives is encouraged.”

However one chooses to measure it, the country remains fairly evenly divided between those who lean to the right and those who lean to the left. The purpose of the Center is to foster constructive debate and help ensure the campus provides an environment where a broader range of ideas can be expressed and considered. 

Reasonable people can disagree, and the Center offers students an opportunity to engage more deeply with the nation’s history while participating in thoughtful, open discussion of important issues. That is, after all, a key tenet of higher education.

John Hendrickson serves as Policy Director for Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation and is an Adjunct Professor of History.