Free Republic

Think politics does not play a part in hiring decisions at universities? Think again. Teresa Wagner, a conservative lawyer, has been in the center of a years-long legal battle with the University of Iowa’s Law School over their decision not to hire her because of her conservative political views. Legal Insurrection, a legal blog, explains her case here. She recently spoke at the conservative family think tank Family Research Council, where she once worked before moving to Iowa. wagner v jones frc event Wagner said that the Iowa law school has “50 tenure track faculty members and there [was] only...

Teresa Wagner is a distinguished attorney, professor, and author. The mother of four, who in the 1990s served as a senior leader here at FRC, is also probably the first FRCer ever to obtain a favorable ruling in a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Sadly, her victory before the nation’s highest legal bench is not one she ever wanted to obtain. It only came about because in 2009, Teresa was denied a position at the University of Iowa’s law school because she’s a self-identified conservative who believes in protecting the unborn and sustaining one-man, one-woman marriage. Again, this...

It was not a pretty weekend for the Iowa Hawkeyes. After jumping out to a 14-3 halftime lead against cross-state rival Iowa State, the Hawkeyes fell apart, letting the Cyclones come back to score a 20-17 victory on a last-second field goal. It’s the third time in the last four years that Iowa has dropped the rivalry game to Iowa State. For many Iowa fans, the blame for the failure, and for most of Iowa’s struggles in recent seasons, rests on the shoulders of head coach Kirk Ferentz. Things haven’t always been this bad for Ferentz. Just four years after...

Last summer, the University of Iowa earned the Princeton Review’s annually awarded title of "No. 1 Party School" in the United States. But I am emerging from my four years of undergraduate studies at Iowa with more than a bachelor’s degree: I’ll be leaving with a changed perspective on the lifestyle of the American college student. As a Catholic woman, the real highlight has come in these final months of my time in Iowa City, when three years of floundering led me beyond the stereotype of a partying college student and toward a deeper calling. Being "in the world but...

A federal magistrate judge agreed Wednesday to temporarily stay the release of a Minneapolis man facing federal conspiracy charges in connection with the 2004 animal-rights vandalism on the UI campus. Scott DeMuth, 22, will remain detained until at least 4 p.m. Monday, a federal magistrate ordered. The emergency stay of release will allow federal prosecutors a chance to appeal a release order issued Tuesday. The release order would have allowed DeMuth, a University of Minnesota graduate student, to return to Minneapolis while the federal case is pending. As part of that release, he was to be placed on home detention...

Knowing that bringing such a prominent conservative figure to liberal Iowa City would spark controversy, the UI Lecture Committee withheld its announcement that Karl Rove will speak on campus about his years as the "architect" of the Bush administration until Thursday. Rove is set to visit the UI campus on Feb. 17 for an on-stageinterview with UI journalism Associate Professor Frank Durham. The lecture, "Reflections from the Architect," is part of the 2007-08 UI Lecture Series and will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 in the IMU Main Lounge. The onstage interview will be followed by an audience...