Governor Tom Vilsack today appointed a new member to the board that oversees the state universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City. Former Iowa Department of Human Rights director Rose Vasquez, a diversity consultant for Principal Financial, will finish out the term of Dr. Deb Turner, who resigned recently. Turner was black, and Vilsack says he chose Vasquez because he wants a “minority women” on the Board of Regents. “As we continue to look for ways to expand the hiring of minority faculty and continue to look for ways to make sure that higher educational opportunities are available to students of all cultures and colors in this state, I think it’s important to have a voice of diversity on the Board of Regents,” Vilsack says. The Governor says Vasquez is just the person for the job. Vilsack says Vasquez understands the challenges minority and women students face. Vasquez was an assistant state Attorney General from 1985 to 1999. She got her undergrad degree from the University of Iowa and her law degree from Drake.
