Welcome to State Governmental Relations
Welcome to the home page for State Relations. With roughly one-third of Iowa State University's annual budget derived from state appropriations, state legislative relations are of critical importance to the University's ability to provide world-class education, research and outreach services to Iowa's families, communities and businesses.
Policy Development
The Board of Regents has the sole authority to determine the state legislative policy for ISU and the other institutions the Board governs. These policies are determined by the Board following consultation with ISU President Greg Geoffroy and the heads of the other Regents institutions. The Board's exclusive authority in policy-setting ensures that the Governor and State Legislature are presented a cohesive legislative plan for all the institutions that is focused on the highest priorities for the universities' education, research and outreach missions and makes the most efficient use of state appropriations.
Policy Implementation
Communicating ISU's policy priorities to the Legislature is also highly coordinated. Day to day communication with legislators is the responsibility of the Board of Regents' State Relations Officers. Each Regents university is assigned a State Relations Officer whose office is located on campus. The State Relations Officers communicate policies in one-on-one meetings with legislators, coordinate requests for information about the university from legislators, schedule appearances by university specialists before legislative committees and ensure that the President of the university is kept apprised of key legislative developments.
Advocacy
Iowa State University is fortunate to have exceptionally loyal alumni who are recognized leaders in communities across the state. Many ISU alumni are well-connected to their local legislators and are eager to advocate on behalf of the University. To help these alumni and other friends of ISU be well-informed advocates, the Office of Governmental Relations provides extensive information on this website regarding ISU's legislative priorities as well as frequent updates on policy developments during the legislative session. This site also includes links that advocates can use to contact their own legislators by telephone or email.
Contact Us
If you have questions about state legislative policy for ISU, please use the links on this website to contact State Relations Officer Andy Baumert.
