Iowa legislation requires almost all University of Iowa undergraduate students to complete courses in American history and American government, and the mandate states only the Center for Intellectual Freedom can offer these courses. The requirement for the center to provide these courses will begin in fall 2028.

The center currently has one faculty member, who serves as its interim director, Luciano I. de Castro. During the previous semester, the center taught 19 students across two courses, titled Political and Economic Institutions of the U.S. and American Culture and Values.

De Castro said there are still quite a few undefined aspects regarding implementation that will need to be worked out in the coming months. "However, I'm very confident we will be able to organize the required courses within the timeframe," he said.

Christine Hensley, a member of the Center for Intellectual Freedom's advisory council and the Iowa Board of Regents, addressed the staffing needs. Teaching core-curriculum courses is "going to require a significant amount of faculty to be hired," Hensley said. She added, "There's just a lot of work ahead," but called the task "very doable."

Hope Metcalf, a faculty member at the University of Iowa College of Law and co-president of the University of Iowa chapter of the American Association of University Professors, wrote that the new director of the center should "rebuild trust with students, faculty and taxpayers." Metcalf stated, "A simple starting place is teaching core courses." She also suggested that the executive director should speak with existing faculty at the university who teach U.S. history and government, "rather than rushing to make expensive new hires from outside of Iowa."

The legislation specifies that undergraduates must take a course described as a "comprehensive survey of all American history" and a second course in American government. Students who have completed substantially similar coursework are exempt from the requirement. Students pursuing degrees designed to take three years or less are also exempt. The University of Iowa had more than 22,000 undergraduate students in spring 2026, according to the Iowa Board of Regents.