Hoping to ease the recent turmoil in the Board of Regents, Gov. Tom Vilsack announced two more appointments to the board Friday.

Vilsack appointed Ruth Harkin, wife of Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, to replace Sioux City Regent Sue Nieland, and Tom Bedell, president of Pure Fishing, to replace Des Moines Regent Owen Newlin, whose term expires in April.

Des Moines Regent Rose Vasquez was reappointed to a full six-year term. Vasquez was appointed in September by Vilsack to fill the seat vacated by former Des Moines Regent Deb Turner.

Harkin, Vasquez and Bedell could not be reached for comment.

“These business leaders understand the importance of continuing the transformational work underway at the Board of Regents,” Vilsack said in a statement released Friday. “These dedicated Iowans will provide steady, thorough and thoughtful leadership.”

With the latest announcement, Vilsack has made five appointments to the nine-member board in the past three weeks. The two appointments and the reappointment of a current regent would potentially fill every board position vacated by April.

“Media attention has served as somewhat of a distraction, but this is not a crisis. This is not a huge problem in governance,” Oskaloosa Regent Mary Ellen Becker said of the board departures. “I think the Legislature will see that this is a little blip on the screen.”

The board’s shakeup began when former board President John Forsyth and former La Porte City Regent David Neil resigned Jan. 21, citing potential conflicts of interest regarding contract negotiations between the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Wellmark Inc.

Forsyth is CEO of Wellmark Inc., and Neil is a former Wellmark board member.

Nieland resigned shortly after, citing frustration with the circumstances behind the dual departures and the board’s governance.

The governor appointed Michael Gartner, principal owner of the Iowa Cubs, and Mid-America Group president Teresa Wahlert to replace Neil and Forsyth, respectively.

“With the board now filled with these appointments, we can get back to focusing on what’s important — and that’s the board and the universities’ new strategic plan,” Becker said.

Although all appointments are subject to confirmation by the Iowa Senate, regent and university officials say the appointments will help the board move forward from the wake of resignations with reassurance and confidence that the board’s structure and leadership will remain intact.

Becker said the three resignations are not uncharacteristic for the board.

“This is my fourth year on the board, and people have come and gone,” she said.

“Even in routine planning, you have three people on and three people off. It’s not unnormal for the cycle.”

Regents serve six-year staggered terms, with no more than three of the nine positions up for reappointment in a given year.

Some state Republicans have said they will not make the confirmation process easy, as they worry about the leadership of the board and the universities and have many unanswered questions behind the resignations. Republicans said they are also worried about party affiliations that would make up the board with these appointments. The board would be comprised of five registered Democrats, the maximum number of individuals from a single party allowed on the board under state law.

Senate Republicans also said Harkin’s appointment could prove polarizing because of her dual residency in Iowa and Washington and her connections to national Democratic leaders through her husband.

State Democrats, however, said they will do their best to fast-track the appointments through the Senate.

—The Associated Press

contributed to this article.

Facts about Friday’s appointees

• Ruth Harkin, 60, was one of the first women in the country to be elected as a prosecutor in 1972 when she became Story County Attorney. She went on to serve as president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and later as senior vice president for United Technologies International.

• Tom Bedell, 55, is chairman of Pure Fishing, the world’s leading fishing and tackle company. Bedell is a native of Spirit Lake.

• Rose Vasquez, 50, works in the human resources department at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines. She has also served as director of the Iowa Department of Human Rights from 1999 to 2002, and as Assistant Iowa Attorney General from 1985 to 1999. Vasquez is a native of Moline, Ill., and a graduate of the University of Iowa, with a law degree from Drake University.

— Source: Office of the Governor of the State of Iowa and Office of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa