More than 100 university sabbaticals. Sand for governor? Concerns over restraint chairs in jails.
2/5/2025For the average worker, a sabbatical may be joked about as taking a long weekend, or perhaps even a week off of work, to rest, relax and recharge. For university professors, however, they are more. Much more. Each year, we review the “professional development assignments,” AKA sabbaticals, requested by state university professors to the Iowa Board of Regents. These sabbaticals are typically granted for research, books, articles, works of art, new systems, coursework, software and other related efforts.
For fiscal year 2026, a total of 104 professional development assignments were requested: 56 from the University of Iowa, 43 from Iowa State University and five from the University of Northern Iowa.
The budgeted replacement net costs for each of the universities are $251,385 for UI, $33,001 for UNI and $0 for ISU. According to the Academic Affairs Committee, “ISU costs would be $348,550, but because several requests are for full year PDA, the salary savings are $349,762.”
University of Northern Iowa
Williams Fleming, an associate professor for family, aging and counseling with 18 years of service, request is for “Engaging Parents of Adolescents in Efforts for Violence Prevention Understanding Barriers, Facilitators and Messaging.” He says an estimated 22% of females and 15% of males experience some form of bullying or intimate partner violence for the first time between 11 and 17 years of age. The proposed project for this PDA is the first component of a multi-stage approach to examine messaging about dating violence that occurs between adolescents, their parents and school systems. The PDA aims to identify facilitators and barriers between parents and adolescents regarding communication on these issues and supporting a multilevel prevention program in Iowa known as the Mentors in Violence Prevention.
Sei-Young Lee, associate professor of social work with six years of service, proposed research titled, “Social Media Use and Gender Norms: Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Among College Students.” It says that more than 90% of young adults constantly use social media to socialize and share information. It’s becoming a growing concern that problematic internet use has negative impacts on young populations such as decreased mental health, poor sleep, negative body image, sex objectification and gender role stereotypes. The project will compare social media use, gender norms and intimate partner violence between Korean and U.S. college students.
Randall Harlow, associate professor of the school of music with 12 years of service, will co-edit “Edited Volume: Hyperorgan Art, the Organ as a Voice for our Time.” It says that, over the past decade, a growing number of musicians, artists and scholars has emerged across Europe and globally around the notion of “hyperorgan:” a term to denote pipe organs incorporating new digital technologies. The project will present the first comprehensive account of the history, current state and trajectory of the hyperorgan movement.
Iowa State University
Rachel Eike, associate professor in apparel, events and hospitality management with six years of service, will research “Revolutionizing Circular Fashion: Transforming Textile Waste into Innovative Solutions.” The project aims to keep textile waste out of landfills by converting it into nonwoven leather alternatives or using it as animal bedding or soil fertilizer. It will offer students a hands-on experience in sustainability and hopes to promote interdisciplinary collaboration across fashion, art and agricultural sciences.
David Peterson, a professor of political science with 15 years of service, will research “The Beaten Generation: The Politics and Apolitics of Generation X.” It says that Gen X, Americans born between 1965 and 1980, has been the least politically engaged across its life cycle. It’s yet to have a U.S. president, is underrepresented at all levels of government and has lower levels of political participation than other generations. Peterson’s research is expected to result in a book based on the studies of Generation X’s politics and new material for ISU courses.
Matthew Sivils, a professor of English with 16 years of service, will write six chapters of his in-progress book, “Spinning the Teetotum: Reading Nineteenth-Century American Board Games.” The book addresses the cultural impact of early American board games made between 1822 and 1904, which he says coincides with arguably the nation’s most formative era. It also says the work will support ISU courses on American literature and literary study.
University of Iowa
Katherine Broton, associate professor of education-educational policy and leadership with eight years of service, will research “Understanding the College Experiences of Students Struggling to Make Ends Meet: Insights from New National Data.” It says that, over the past decade, a basic needs insecurity among college students has grown, and the understanding of the ongoing experience of college students struggling to make ends meet remains limited due to a lack of data. Using new survey data from the U.S. Department of Education, Broton will aim to shed light on the later lived experiences of students who encountered basic needs insecurity early in their college lives.
Jovana Davidovic, associate professor of CLAS-philosophy with 13 years of service, will present the findings of her research from “Beyond Killer Robots: Ethical Risk Management of AI-Enabled Weapons.” It addresses a growing concern that AI-enabled weapons will be used without human oversight and thus used unethically. It also says the focus on human oversight has neglected important issues on how these weapons are developed and tested. Davidovic will co-author a book after a year of interviews with weapons developers and document review. She will present the findings at conferences and complete two chapters of the book “Beyond Killer Robots.”
Steve McGuire, a professor of CLAS-art and art history with 35 years of service, will help two other universities build titanium bicycles. Titled “Design, Build, Ride – How to Design & Build a Titanium Bicycle,” McGuire will conduct two week-long workshops at the University of California Santa Barbara and the University of North Dakota to help establish and build a handmade bicycle curriculum. It says UI has received national and international recognition for the program. McGuire will also create and produce a two-hour video on how to build a titanium bicycle that will be used at UI and other colleges and universities. It will be premiered at Bespoked, an international handmade bike show in Dresden, Germany. …
State Auditor Rob Sand recently announced what he called a record $8.4 million in fundraising and a record 28,000 grassroots donations in 2024. According to the new filings, Nixon and Nancy Lauridsen, his mother and father-in-law, donated a total of $4 million to Sand. His wife, Christine, donated $1.9 million. Some believe this is the beginning charge of a Sand campaign for governor, as few others are poised to challenge Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2026. She raised $1.8 million last year and, for reference, Reynolds entered the 2022 governor’s election with $4.8 million cash on hand. …
1,000 Friends of Iowa, a statewide nonprofit focused on land use and transportation, announced the winners of the 2024 Best Development Awards in January. The awards honor projects that recognize connections between building and project development and quality of life. Several Des Moines projects won awards. Star Lofts, a housing apartment building, won the Mixed Use award. Harriet Street Brownfield Solar Field, Des Moines’ first municipal solar field, won the Brownfield Revitalization award. The Ingersoll Avenue Streetscape, which improved pedestrian travel in the corridor, won the Transportation/Complete Streets award. …
The Iowa Office of Ombudsman, which, “after careful investigation, research, and analysis, the ombudsman makes recommendations to resolve complaints that are found justified,” made a recommendation on updating the rules to protect mentally ill inmates in jail. According to a report released by the office, staff at two county jails misused restraint chairs against inmates, some of whom were in the midst of a mental health crisis.
The Ombudsman investigated four inmate complaints that revealed state administrative rules, manufacturer instructions and jail policies were repeatedly violated at the Webster and Boone county jails. In those cases, inmates were kept in chairs for five, nine and even 14 hours.
Key findings in the report were a lack of mental health evaluations, inadequate documentation and monitoring, non-compliance with restraint chair policies, use of restraint chairs as punishment and failures in reporting to the State Jail Inspector.
The Ombudsman issued a public report in 2009 on restraint chairs in jails that led to improvements, but an upswing in complaints has been seen beginning in 2020. Due to the recurrence of valid complaints, Ombudsman Bernardo Granwehr recommended the Iowa Department of Corrections enact or amend eight administrative rules to tighten oversight and provide clearer direction to jailers. Those eight recommendations are implementing comprehensive mental health screenings, consider less restrictive alternatives, visual observations, involve medical and mental health professionals, improve documentation and video monitoring, regular training for staff, strict adherence to policies, and reporting and oversight. n
