U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin is threatening to end his association with a namesake policy institute at Iowa State University if the school president does not remove restrictions on its ability to research agriculture.
Harkin suggests in a statement obtained Tuesday by the Des Moines Register that he may not donate his papers to the Harkin Institute of Public Policy because he -- quote -- "simply cannot be part of any arrangement that restricts full and unfettered academic freedom at this institute."
Harkin and the institute's advisory board are objecting to a memo issued by ISU President Steven Leath that says the institute generally cannot research agricultural subjects without approval from ISU's Center for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Leath says he wants to avoid duplication and maintain the center's prominence.
