The Board of Regents met Wednesday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, at the University of Northern Iowa and discussed Clery Act crimes, athletics revenue, professional development reports and more.
The Free Speech and Student Affairs Committee heard from Associate Vice President and Chief of Police Michael Newton about crime statistics in accordance with the Clery Act. He spoke on Iowa State’s 2023 crime statistics and trends he has found in the data.
“We’ve seen a downward trend in both sexual assault and fondling cases in the last couple of years,” Newton said.
Newton added that he does not believe he can attribute it to one thing but said ISUPD have great awareness, training and timely warnings.
“But I think the truth is that we all have to recognize there is still a lot of work we have to do in this area,” Newton said. “We continue to partner with all of our campus partners […]”
Newton said, on the other hand, stalking cases have risen.
“Our stalking cases have rose. It’s something we’re seeing not just at Iowa State, but nationally seeing this trend,” Newton said. “I also do think it’s worth noting that the Clery definition of stalking is much broader than the state’s definition of stalking, so you will see that appear in our statistics that aren’t state law violations.”
Newton said that violent crime appears as if it is increasing significantly, but because the numbers are low, it does not take much for the rate to increase.
To see Newton’s full 2023 report, visit here.
The Investment and Finance Committee heard about the Iowa State Athletics budget. University Athletics operated a slightly positive surplus with an income of approximately $116.9 million and approximately $116.8 million in expenses in fiscal year 2024.
Iowa State football led income with $16.9 million. Men’s and women’s basketball were second and third, earning $4.8 million and $803,000 respectively.
“Higher ticket sales from team successes exceeded the conservative budgets resulting in higher sports income. Conference and NCAA distributions exceeded by the budget by approximately 4%. Post-season revenues (and expenses) exceeded the budget largely due to bowl game participation,” according to Regent documents.
Overall, the university operated with $783 million in revenue and $785 million in expenditures.
The Academics Affairs Committee recommended the approval of 104 professional development assignment requests to the full board for fiscal year 2026.
Iowa State accounts for 43 of those assignments, up from 38 in 2025. According to regent documents, all faculty members employed half-time or greater are eligible to apply, with no restriction on length of service. However, priority is given to accomplished senior faculty, faculty seeking competitive fellowships and faculty who have not received assignments in the past five years.
The assignments for 2026 include climate-smart and precision agriculture, cheating effects on exam performance and adoption in the news media. For the full list of assignments, visit here (page 27-35).
The committee also heard from all three universities on the annual accreditation report.
The regents will meet Thursday to approve the consent agenda and provide an update on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The board will also hear from Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen.
