Letters to the editor

Assigning fault

It was big news a couple months ago, after 181 years Iowa Wesleyan University would close May 31.

That day has quietly come and gone, but it’s still a huge blow to the community.

After years of financial troubles, including a dramatic decline in philanthropic donations, the school secured a USDA loan in 2016 for $26.1 million.

In February, IWU ignored legislators and asked Governor Reynolds for another $12 Million from federal COVID money saying without that money, IWU would have to close.

If the state could be put on the hook for the debt and future funding, the trustees would be relieved of their problem. It’s trustee’s job to secure financing and advance the school’s mission, tradition and reputation.

But Iowa has the best governor in the country, she saw their sinister scheme and protected the taxpayers. Gary Steinke, President of Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities said, “Let me tell you something, that was an unbelievably dumb request, the governor was never going to provide $12 Million in COVID money to a private, not-for-profit college that was on the verge of collapse.”

At a March 31 town hall, it was pointed out that before COVID, in 2019 IWU lost $2.5 million, 2018 -$3.8M, 2017 -$2.6M, 2016 -$3.3M, 2015 -$4.5M, 2014 -$2.8M.

That totals $19.5 Million in losses in only 6 years, and no indication of attempting to correct course.

Still the University President and trustees publicly blamed Governor Reynolds and republicans for closing the school.

One trustee said, “As a higher education institution that serves rural Iowa, we are disappointed in the lack of state support for this effort”.

That’s a democrat technique used to deflect shame and blame from their own problem.

Gary Steinke said, “To blame the governor is absolutely 100 percent preposterous, to blame the governor is stupid.”

Future use of the school assets is uncertain and suspicion, speculation and accusations may be unfair.

‘College Trustee’ is a prestigious position reserved for pillars of the community that are beyond reproach.

Since Iowa Wesleyan became publicly funded, the trustees should take the opportunity to explain what happened to 26 Million taxpayer dollars, their role in governing the school and any personal transactions they had with the school’s finances.

And they should publicly apologize to those they unjustly criticized.

Leland Graber

Wayland

Making money ‘fer ya’

This is a follow-up to Thom Krystofiak's letter "Warren Buffet misses the point.“ I once had an investment adviser tell me, "They're just making money fer ya" in response to some concerns I voiced regarding the ethics of a certain company.

That was 30 years ago and the phrase has stuck in my mind as a statement of what's wrong with the whole investment business. It didn't outrage me at the time, because it was said by someone whom I thought knew what he was talking about.

I wonder how many other people were told this same phrase by their "adviser," trying to separate making money from every other consideration. The advice about how to evaluate a certain company for investment potential routinely ignores these "soft" considerations in favor of more "concrete" aspects.

If the shareholders only care about making money, how can the management focus on more socially responsible goals? There are some funds that try to focus on companies that have the environment and social issues in their awareness, but there needs to be a change in the consciousness of society as a whole.

Bill Vesely

Fairfield