“As state senators, we have been contacted by Iowans who are concerned about different issues regarding the Board of Regents,” they wrote in the letter, sent Friday to Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter and Executive Director Robert Donley. “One especially timely concern that has been raised is how the search for a new president at the University of Northern Iowa will be conducted. We share that concern.”

The Board of Regents last fall came under fire from UI faculty, staff, students, and other community members for its hiring of businessman Bruce Harreld as UI president. Harreld, a former IBM executive with no administrative academic experience, was among four finalists — including former Ohio State University Executive Vice President and Provost Joseph Steinmetz, who just months later landed a job as chancellor of the University of Arkansas.