�����������ϳԹ�

I write with an update regarding the budget bill as passed by the Senate and the House and its impact on our College. I do so acknowledging that it will take time to understand the full impact of this bill on people and programs in multiple sectors across the nation.

For the past several months, we have been advocating on behalf of our global college and its rural community, seeking to stave off a very consequential draining of �����������ϳԹ�’s endowment. As of 2017, the College has been paying $2.4M annually based on a 1.4% tax on realized gains from the endowment. The House version of the legislation placed �����������ϳԹ� in a 21% tax tier, which would have meant paying $30M annually. Our advocacy focused on the endowment’s role in fulfilling our commitment to financial aid, which is manifested in meeting 100% of demonstrated need, need-blind admission for domestic students, our no loan policy, and all of the other financial aid measures totaling $77M in 2024-25. That the equivalent of 68% of our endowment draw goes to financial aid (when the national average is 42%) is a testament to that commitment. The final provisions of the bill as they apply to taxes on college and university endowments now mean that �����������ϳԹ�’s endowment will no longer be taxed. This outcome enables �����������ϳԹ� to sustain our distinctive commitment to access, to reducing student debt, and to academic excellence.

We remain concerned about this bill’s impact beyond the endowment tax and will continue to review its provisions. Simultaneously, we also feel gratitude for the outcome on the endowment tax and for what it will make possible for our students and community. Many people copied here gave their energies and expertise to advocate for �����������ϳԹ� and its community, and I thank them profoundly. The Iowa congressional delegation, especially Senator Grassley and Representative Feenstra, and their teams have taken the time to listen to our concerns and to understand the role of endowments in safeguarding access to college and creating opportunity for students, their families, and college communities. We thank them as well as all �����������ϳԹ� campus and community members, alumni, and friends who have advocated in support of �����������ϳԹ�’s values and exemplified them, especially trustee Steve Sandquist who opened many doors and conversations for us.

To give people time to process the many measures and changes that this legislation is moving into law and to better understand the impact of this bill on both the local and national economy and citizenry, we will share this outcome and our advocacy process with the campus community at the �����������ϳԹ� Colloquium on August 27, when we will discuss the bill and other state and national legislative matters in greater detail. If any community members or alumni have questions about the endowment tax in the meantime, please feel free to share this outcome and to refer them to the president’s office. We will send more information about this year’s �����������ϳԹ� Colloquium in mid-August. Until then, I wish you well for the summer, with tremendous gratitude for the �����������ϳԹ� community, for you, and for the advocacy that our students and mission inspire.

For �����������ϳԹ�, and all that we can honor and make possible together,

Anne F. Harris 
President