UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

(Redirected from The University of Iowa)

The 'University of Iowa', also commonly called 'Iowa' or 'U of I', is a major national research university located on a campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the banks of the Iowa River in East Central Iowa.

Contents
History and Distinctions
Academics
Campus
Athletics
Notable people
Past University Presidents
See also
External links

History and Distinctions


The 'State University of Iowa' was founded February 25, 1847, as Iowa's first public institution of higher learning, only 59 days after Iowa became a state. In spite of its original name, it is not to be confused with Iowa State University.
The first faculty offered instruction at the University in March 1855 to students in the Old Mechanics Building, situated where Seashore Hall is now. In September 1855, the student body numbered 124, of which, 41 were women. The 1856-57 catalogue listed nine departments offering Ancient Language, Modern Language, Intellectual Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, History, Natural History, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, and Chemistry.
The original campus was composed of the Iowa Old Capitol Building and the 10 acres of land on which it stood. Following the placing of the cornerstone July 4, 1840, the building housed the Fifth Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa (December 5, 1842) and then became the first capitol of the State of Iowa (December 28, 1846). Until that date it had been the third capitol of the Territory of Iowa. When the capitol of Iowa was moved to Des Moines in 1857, Old Capitol became the first permanent "home" of the University.
In 1855, Iowa became the first public university in the United States to admit men and women on an equal basis. Additionally, the University was the world's first university to accept creative work in theater, writing, music, and art on an equal basis with academic research.
The university was one of the first institutions in America to grant a law degree to a woman (Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson, 1873), to grant a law degree to an African American (G. Alexander Clark, 1879), and to put an African American on a varsity athletic squad (Carleton “Kinney†Holbrook, 1895)[1]. The university offered its first doctoral degree in 1898.
It established the first law school west of the Mississippi River, and was also the first to use television in education (1932) and pioneered the field of standardized testing. Additionally, Iowa was the first Big Ten institution to promote an African American to an administrative vice president’s position (Dr. Phillip Hubbard, promoted in 1966).
The university is also the home of the renowned Iowa Writers' Workshop and the National Advanced Driving Simulator (a virtual reality driving simulator.) U.S. News & World Report has ranked UI Hospitals and Clinics among "America’s Best Hospitals" ever since the rankings began in 1990. The University is currently home to ISCABBS, an aging public bulletin board system that was the largest Internet community in the world prior to the commercialization of the world wide web.
The university is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. Its Law Library is ranked #1 in the nation by the ''National Jurist''.
The University of Iowa is considered a Public Ivy.
On November 1, 1991, three faculty and one staff member of the department of physics and astronomy were killed, along with one administrator, when physics graduate student Gang Lu went on a shooting rampage, presumably because he was turned down for a prestigious award. The shooting spree also left one student permanently paralyzed. On April 13, 2006, a tornado struck the University and adjacent Iowa City, causing moderate damage throughout the campus and town. Despite the damage, injuries were relatively light in the area, although one person in a neighboring county was killed.
The school has recently come under fire for spending over $200,000 in searching for a new university president to replace the vacant position left by David J. Skorton after assuming the presidency of Cornell University in January 2006. The search has been unsuccessful, leading to tensions among faculty and staff members. On December 7, 2006, it was reported that the university faculty senate was seeking to give a vote of no confidence to two members of the Iowa Board of Regents.
In June of 2007, the school conducted interviews with four candidates for the office of President. On June 20, 2007 television station KCRG reported that Sally Mason had been selected as the next President at Iowa.[2] The Board of Regents later confirmed that Mason had been selected as the next President of Iowa.[3]

Academics


Bachelors, master's, and doctoral programs are offered through the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, the College of Dentistry, the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the College of Public Health, the College of Education, the College of Law, the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, the Graduate College, the College of Nursing, and the College of Pharmacy. 'U.S. News & World Report' ranks the University of Iowa's undergraduate program 60th in the National Universities category, tied with Boston University, Purdue University, Rutgers, Ohio State University, and Texas A&M University.

Campus


The Old Capitol, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The University of Iowa's main campus is located in Iowa City, with the campus bordered by Park Road to the north and Dubuque and Gilbert Streets roughly to the east. U.S. Highway 6 traverses the university campus. The Iowa River flows through the campus dividing it into west and east sides.
View from Cleary Walkway with the Old Capitol in the background

Of architectural note is the Pentacrest at the center of The University of Iowa campus. The Pentacrest is the location of five major campus buildings: Old Capitol, Schaeffer Hall, MacLean Hall, Macbride Hall, and Jessup Hall.
Also on the eastern side of campus includes four residence halls, the Iowa Memorial Union, the Pappajohn Business Building, and the buildings for biology, chemistry, psychology, and physics.
The Colleges of Law, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Public Health are on the western bank of the Iowa River, along with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Voxman Music Building. Additionally, four residence halls, Kinnick Stadium, and Carver-Hawkeye Arena are located on the west campus.
The Oakdale Campus, which is home to some of the university's research facilities and the driving simulator, is located north of Interstate 80 in adjacent Coralville.

Athletics


Main articles: Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa Hawkeyes logo.

The school's sports teams, the Hawkeyes, participate in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big Ten Conference.
Iowa's football team plays its home games at historic Kinnick Stadium, named after former Iowa football player Nile Kinnick who won the Heisman Trophy in 1939. Kinnick Stadium hosts 70,585 fans. The stadium unveiled a new look in 2006 with the completion of a 90 million dollar renovation. The renovation included new stands in the south endzone, a new press box, and a statue of Nile Kinnick. In recent years, the football team has enjoyed much success, earning six national bowl appearances since 2001 including shared Big Ten titles in 2002 and 2004.
Iowa battles Iowa State University annually for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, a traveling award. The Hawkeyes have dominated the series with the Cyclones, holding a 36-18 advantage following a 27-17 win in 2006. Iowa also has a Big Ten rivalry with Minnesota. The two schools' football teams meet yearly to battle for Floyd of Rosedale, a traveling trophy in the shape of a bronzed pig. In 2004, Iowa and Wisconsin unveiled the Heartland Trophy, a bronze bull, to be played for in their annual rivalry. The Hawkeye football team has won eleven Big Ten football titles.
The school is also famous for its collegiate wrestling program. Through 2006, the Hawkeyes wrestlers have won 20 national titles and 31 Big Ten titles. Coach Dan Gable's Gang won nine straight NCAA team championships (1978 to 1986) and twice won three in a row (1991 to 1993 and 1995 to 1997). Iowa's 48 NCAA Champions have won a total of 74 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. Furthermore, Iowa's 130 all-Americans have earned all-America status 261 times, including 16 four-time, 27 three-time and 30 two-time honorees. ''Sports Illustrated'' named the Iowa program one of the top sports dynasties of the 20th century.[4] The program again made the news on March 29, 2006 when it was announced that wrestling coach Jim Zalesky's contract will not be renewed. About a month later, Iowa hired former 4 time All-American and Olympic champion Tom Brands as the new head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. The University of Iowa wrestling program has consistently held an edge over in-state rival Iowa State.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena seats 15,500 for Iowa basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and wrestling.
The trampoline was invented by University members George Nissen and Larry Griswold around 1935. Griswold, was the assistant gymnastics coach and Nissen was a tumbler on the gymnastics team.
On June 23, 2006 it was announced that former University of Wyoming athletic director Gary Barta had been named the new athletic director of the University. Barta replaced Bob Bowlsby, who left the University on July 9th to become the new athletic director of Stanford University.
The University of Iowa also has several club sports teams that compete in Baseball, Rugby, Lacrosse, Volleyball, Soccer, Ice Hockey, and several other sports.

Notable people


Main articles: List of University of Iowa people

The Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratory

As with any major public university, many University of Iowa alumni have achieved fame or notoriety after graduating. These people include athletes, film and television actors, and technological innovators. From its Iowa Writers' Workshop, the University boasts a number of Pulitzer Prizes winners (most recently Writer's Workshop faculty member Marilynne Robinson for her novel Gilead in 2005 ), as well as numerous National Book Awards and other major literary honors.
Iowa's 1,700+ faculty members includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, five former clerks to U.S. Supreme Court justices, and numerous members of the nation’s most prestigious scholarly academies:

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (4)

American Academy of Arts and Sciences (11)

Institute of Medicine (16)

Past University Presidents



★ Amos Dean (1855-1859)

★ Silas Totten (1859-1862)

★ Oliver Spencer (1862-1867)

★ James Black (1868-1870)

★ George Thacher (1871-1877)

★ Josiah Pickard (1878-1887)

★ Charles Schaeffer (1887-1898)

★ George MacLean (1899-1911)

John Bowman (1911-1914)

★ Thomas Macbride (1914-1916)

★ Walter Jessup (1916-1934)

★ Eugene Gilmore (1934-1940)

★ Virgil Hancher (1940-1964)

★ Howard Bowen (1964-1969)

★ Willard Boyd (1969-1981)

James O. Freedman (1982-1987)

Hunter R. Rawlings III (1988-1995)

Mary Sue Coleman (1995-2002)

David Skorton (2003-2006)

Sally Mason (2007-)
Iowa's most recent presidents have left to become presidents at several of the most prestigious colleges and universities of the United States: Dartmouth College (James O. Freedman in 1987), The University of Michigan (Mary Sue Coleman in 2002), and Cornell University (Hunter R. Rawlings III in 1995 and David Skorton in 2006).

See also



Iowa Electronic Markets, a futures market run by the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.

External links



Official website

Official Iowa athletics site

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