University budgets are on regents' July 30 agenda

Approval of university operating budgets for the fiscal year that began July 1 are on the agenda when the Iowa Board of Regents meets Wednesday, July 30 (11 a.m.-noon) at the University of Northern Iowa. The agenda (PDF) is online, and the meeting will be livestreamed on the board's website.

Iowa State leaders will outline a general university operating budget of $766.9 million, a net increase of $41.3 million (5.7%) over the previous year. That increase reflects a projected $44.1 million in additional tuition revenue and an estimated $2.7 million reduction in indirect costs (IDC) recovery due to uncertainty about both federal grant availability and the IDC rate.

The state appropriation for general university operations, $178.5 million, is unchanged from last year. Three direct state appropriations for specific units received increases totaling $1.4 million for FY 2026. The increases are:

• $1 million for the Ag Experiment Station (to $30.5 million)
• $299,898 for Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory operations (to $4.9 million)
• $100,000 for livestock disease research (one-time funds), in addition to a $291,390 appropriation

Iowa State's overall 2026 budget, which includes all budgets, is a projected $1.76 billion, up about $37 million from 2025. 

Auxiliary units (for example, athletics, residence, student health center, recreation services and campus utilities) and restricted fund budgets total $914 million in 2026, a decrease of $5.7 million from last year. Restricted funds refer to activities whose funding is restricted for a specific purpose (such as building projects, sponsored research, private gifts, student fees, fees for services and endowment income).

The last piece of Iowa State's budget is a group of about a dozen units or programs that receive their own appropriations from the state, totaling about $62 million in FY 2026. In addition to the three identified above, examples include Cooperative Extension, three biosciences innovation platforms, the Pappajohn Center and Center for Industrial Research and Service.

Knoll analysis

In other business, the regents will ask the senior vice president for finance and operations at each regent university to complete a facility analysis of their campus' presidential residence by the November board meeting. Each senior VP should submit a report that includes a review of: 

• Routine maintenance
• Deferred maintenance
• Necessary upgrades
• Renovation recommendations (if any), including cost estimates and renovation alternatives

A series of periodic replacement projects and exterior renovation of the Knoll, started during former President Steven Leath's administration, were completed in 2016-18.

The regents postponed a second reading of a proposed board policy to prohibit DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) or critical race theory content in required courses. The first reading and discussion were part of the board's June 12 meeting. In a July 22 statement, board president Sherry Bates said board members still are reviewing feedback received.