Editor’s note: Because of a production error, this article, intended to appear in the March 4 online edition of the Daily, was not published until late afternoon on March 4. The Daily regrets this error.

Ruth Harkin said serving on the Board of Regents is something she has “long been interested in” during a teleconference interview with reporters Thursday.

At the start of teleconference, reporters questioned Harkin about her qualifications for a position, as she has spent more time during the past few years in Virginia with husband Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, than in Iowa. This has worried some legislators and others in the state about her knowledge and familiarity with current education issues in Iowa.

“Let me just say, the last 12 years we have had a legal residence in Iowa and during that time, as you know, Tom has been in Congress; we have also maintained a home in Virginia,” Harkin said.

She said she could not make an estimate on how much time she has spent in either state because she has been “[in Iowa] for so many reasons, both personal and professional.”

Harkin also pointed out that she holds a legal residence in Iowa and pays Iowa state taxes.

Because of her dual residency, questions have also surfaced about Harkin’s travel expenses for flying from Virginia to Iowa for board meetings. Some Iowans have said they believe it inappropriate for the Board of Regents to pay for travel expenses.

Regents can be reimbursed for travel, hotel and food costs incurred during board meetings, if they choose. Regents have also been reimbursed for airfare to attend meetings. According to The Des Moines Register, former Sioux City Regent Sue Nieland was reimbursed for airfare between her Arizona winter home and Des Moines for a board meeting.

If her position is approved, Harkin told lawmakers Wednesday she would not charge taxpayers for travel cost expenses between her two homes.

Harkin also downplayed the significance of her travel expenses, saying the time commitment is the biggest expense for her and her colleagues on the board.

“Other expenses are pretty insignificant in that context,” she said.

In January, Harkin resigned as senior vice president and international affairs and government relations officer for United Technologies Corporation but still maintains her seat on the Board of Directors of ConocoPhillips.

“I’ve spent time all over the world because I had six offices overseas,” she said. She added that that does not mean she has not been involved in Iowa but is “simply [meant] to tell about my work life.”

Harkin said these business and management backgrounds are the biggest contributions she will make if her nomination is approved by the Iowa Senate, which she and the governor discussed earlier this year.

“Gov. Vilsack and I spoke in January, and the conversation came up because positions were available on the board,” she said.

Harkin said the board’s “number one priority is educating Iowa for a future in a global marketplace,” an opportunity it hopes will be provided by offering “the best quality of education and at a price [students] can afford.”