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Stu Bassman, "Employees Aren't in Charge"

[Note: This material is copyright by the Des Moines Register, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Des Moines Register.]

What leading scholar in any discipline will want to work in such an unstable atmosphere? How many corporations or federal agencies are going to chance funneling millions of dollars in grants and other monies into such chaos?

It does not appear to be, as Regent Teresa Wahlert, said, a radical minority who disapprove of the regents' actions. (What part of a 621 vote of no confidence doesn't she get?) Both sides need to realize there is much more at stake here than the successful hunt for a new U of I president.

Dennis Peer,
Iowa Falls

It's no big surprise that the faculty at the University of Iowa would like to lead in the selection process of their new president. While the professors attempt to make a case for this change, it makes no sense to this reader. Most any person outside of the academic community knows that the employees do not hire the boss.

The university is a business and should be run like one. Let regents President Michael Gartner, along with the Board of Regents, do his thankless job; let the professors go back to work doing their job; and keep the 2007 Iowa Legislature out of the picture.

Stu Bassman,
Clive