Universities serve as bastions of learning and culture in a society. While predictability and stagnation slow these causes, diversity can further both objectives. The University of Iowa is doing a pretty good job at creating diversity on campus, something that should be applauded and encouraged.
The number of non-international student minorities in the incoming UI class of 2019 is 21 percent, up from 9 percent in the class of 2009. This increase is vital to the growth of the university and the cultivation of innovation and creativity. That is why recent restructuring of finances by the state Board of Regents seems obtuse.
The regents changed the funding model for the state schools in Iowa. The restructuring primarily changed how resources are allocated, giving a higher priority in funding on how many Iowan students the universities enroll. This had a directly positive effect on the size of Iowa State University’s and the University of Northern Iowa’s budgets and, conversely, a diminished one on the UI’s.
Though the regents have subsequently offered a $4.5 million increase in funding for the UI after meeting with incoming President Bruce Harreld, this amounts to 1.9 percent increase in the UI’s funding. Comparatively, the increases for UNI and ISU amounted to an 8.1 and 4.5 percent increase in their funding, respectively.
This funding model is intended to provide an incentive to recruit in-state students, and to that end it may prove effective. The funding model is flawed, however, as other factors are not taken into account. One of these factors is diversity.
The state of Iowa is not particularly diverse, with a white population constituting 91.3 percent of the state’s population. If that is the pool the universities have to draw on for financial support, the effect on numbers of minority students will inevitably decline. The move has already spread a general feeling of alienation among out-of-state students, as their costs more than double that of an in-state student’s. With the funding model as it stands, Iowa’s state schools are encouraged to give more privileges and attention to in-state students. This may come at the cost of out-of-state tuitions and students. Connections with the surrounding world are essential for many departments of the university, from the Theater Department to the Tippie College of Business. To discourage out-of-state students is to discourage growth for the university culturally and intellectually.
It is nice to see real results from administrators, as they tout diversity as often as possible but don’t always deliver. Diversity leads to broader outlooks and better problem solving for all students. Exposure to ideas outside of one’s norm is the fastest way to grow as a human being. With all this in mind, the regents’ funding plan seems to be in direct opposition to the purposes of a university.
The Daily Iowan Editorial Board is happy to see new records in minority enrollment, because the benefits of having a diverse student body are well documented. But it is disappointing to consider that this may indirectly end up having a negative impact on the university’s funding. Diversity is a real accomplishment that should be acknowledged and praised. The best interests of the UI don’t seem to be on the regents’ agenda, and the growth of all of Iowa’s state schools may be stunted as a result.
