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The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 colleges offering more than 200 areas of study and seven professional degrees. On an urban 1,880-acre campus on the banks of the
Iowa River The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and is ...
, the University of Iowa is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". In fiscal year 2021, research expenditures at Iowa totaled $818 million. The university is best known for its programs in health care, law, and the fine arts, with programs ranking among the top 25 nationally in those areas. The university was the original developer of the
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
degree and it operates the
Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
, which has produced 17 of the university's 46
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winners. Iowa is a member of the
Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
, the
Universities Research Association The Universities Research Association is a non-profit association of more than 90 research universities, primarily but not exclusively in the United States. It has members also in Japan, Italy, and in the United Kingdon. It was founded in 1965 a ...
, and the
Big Ten Academic Alliance The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), is the academic consortium of the universities in the Big Ten Conference. The consortium was renamed on June 29, 2016. Member universities The B ...
. Among public universities in the United States, UI was the first to become
coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
and host a department of religious studies; it also opened the first coeducational
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
. The University of Iowa's 31,000 students take part in nearly 500 student organizations. Iowa's 22 varsity athletic teams, the
Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...
, compete in Division I of the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
and are members of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. The University of Iowa alumni network exceeds 250,000 graduates.


History


Founding and early history

The University of Iowa was founded on February 25, 1847, just 59 days after Iowa was admitted to the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
. The Constitution of the State of Iowa refers to a State University to be established in Iowa City "without branches at any other place." The legal name of the university is the State University of Iowa, but the
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...
approved using "The University of Iowa" for everyday usage in October 1964. The first faculty offered instruction at the university beginning in March 1855 to students in the Old Mechanics Building, located where Seashore Hall is now. In September 1855, there were 124 students, of whom forty-one were women. The 1856–57 catalog listed nine departments offering
ancient languages An ancient language is any language originating in times that may be referred to as ancient. There are no formal criteria for deeming a language ancient, but a traditional convention is to demarcate as "ancient" those languages that existed prior t ...
, modern languages, intellectual
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
,
moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
,
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
, natural history,
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...
, and
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
. The first president of the university was Amos Dean. The original campus consisted of the
Iowa Old Capitol Building The Iowa Old Capitol Building is located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was once the main government building for the state of Iowa, and it now stands as the most prominent landmark at the center of the University of Iowa's campus. The bu ...
and the (4.05 hectares) 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 The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remain ...
(December 5, 1842) and then became the first capitol building of the State of Iowa on 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 Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
in 1857, the Old Capitol became the first permanent "home" of the university. In 1855, the university became the first public university in the United States to admit men and women on an equal basis. In addition, Iowa 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 ( Alexander G. Clark, Jr. in 1879), and to put an African American on a varsity athletic squad (
Frank Holbrook Frank Kinney Holbrook (c. 1874 in Tipton, Iowa – October 29, 1916) was the first African American intercollegiate athlete at the University of Iowa and one of the first African Americans to participate on an American college varsity athletic squad ...
in 1895). The university awarded its first
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in 1898.


20th century–present

The university was the first state university to recognize the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allied Union (in 1970). The University of Iowa established the first law school west of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. It was the first university to use television in education, in 1932, and it pioneered in the field of
standardized testing A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...
. Also, the University of Iowa was the first Big Ten institution to promote an African American to the position of administrative vice president. ( Phillip Hubbard, promoted in 1966) Under the leadership of Carl Seashore in 1922, Iowa became the first university in the United States to accept creative projects as theses for advanced degrees. Traditionally, graduate study culminates in the writing of a scholarly thesis, but Iowa accepted creative works including a collection of poems, a musical composition, or a series of paintings to be presented to the graduate college in support of a degree. In so doing, Iowa established a creative standard in qualifying for the Master of Fine Arts degree and secured a place for writers and artists in the academy. The university's Program in Creative Writing, known worldwide as the
Iowa Writers’ Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wr ...
, was founded in 1936 with the gathering together of writers of both poetry and fiction. It was the first creative writing program in the country, and it became the prototype for more than 300 writing programs, many of which were founded by Workshop alumni. The workshop remains the most prestigious creative writing program in the country and one of the most selective graduate programs of any kind, typically admitting fewer than five percent of its applicants. A shooting took place on campus on November 1, 1991. Six people died in the shooting, including the perpetrator, and one other person was wounded. This was one of the deadliest university campus shootings in United States history. In the summer of 2008, flood waters breached the Coralville Reservoir spillway, damaging more than 20 major campus buildings. Several weeks after the floodwaters receded, university officials placed a preliminary estimate on flood damage at $231.75 million. Later, the university estimated that repairs would cost about $743 million. The reconstruction and renovation work took a decade, but the university has recovered and taken several preventive measures with the hope of avoiding a tragic repeat of the event. In January 2009,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
designated Iowa City the world's third
City of Literature UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gas ...
, making it part of the UNESCO
Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.Iowa Board of Regents The Board of Regents, State of Iowa (commonly referred to as the Iowa Board of Regents) is the 9-member governing body overseeing the three public universities in the state of Iowa: the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University ...
selected
Bruce Harreld James Bruce Harreld (born December 12, 1950) is an American businessman and academic administrator who served as the 21st president of the University of Iowa. Formerly a business consultant, Harreld succeeded Sally Mason as president on November 2 ...
, a business consultant with limited experience in academic administration, to succeed Sally Mason as president. The regents' choice of Harreld provoked criticism and controversy on the UI campus due to his corporate background, lack of history in leading an institution of higher education, and the circumstances related to the search process. The regents said they had based their decision on the belief that Harreld could limit costs and find new sources of revenue beyond tuition in an age of declining state support for universities.


Campus

The University of Iowa's main campus is located in
Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
. The campus is roughly bordered by Park Road and U.S. Highway 6 to the north and Dubuque and Gilbert Streets to the east. The
Iowa River The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and is ...
flows through the campus, dividing it into west and east sides. Of architectural note is the
Pentacrest The Pentacrest is the Old Capitol and a collection of four buildings on the campus of the University of Iowa that surround the Old Capitol — Jessup Hall, Macbride Hall, MacLean Hall, and Schaeffer Hall — on a four-block-sized parcel ...
which comprises five major buildings— Old Capitol, Schaeffer Hall, MacLean Hall, Macbride Hall, and Jessup Hall—at the center of the University of Iowa Campus. The Pentacrest reflects the Beaux-Arts in addition to
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
architectural styles and the
Collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...
architecture, which is dominant in sections of the campus east of the
Iowa River The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and is ...
. The Old Capitol was once the home of the state legislature and the primary government building for the State of Iowa but is now the symbolic heart of the university with a restored ceremonial legislative chamber and a museum of Iowa history. Also on the east side of the campus are six residence halls (Burge, Daum, Stanley, Currier, Mayflower, and Catlett), the Iowa Memorial Union, the Women's Resource & Action Center, the Pappajohn Business Building, Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences, the Lindquist Center ( home of the College of Education), Phillips Hall (the foreign language building), Van Allen Hall (home to physics and astronomy), Trowbridge Hall (home to Earth & Environmental Sciences, as well as the Iowa Geological Survey), the English-Philosophy Building, the Becker Communication Building, the Adler Journalism Building,
Voxman Music Building The Voxman Music Building is an academic building of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The building is named in honor of former University of Iowa director of the school of music, Himie Voxman. History The original Voxma ...
, and the buildings for biology, chemistry, and psychology. The Main Library can also be found on the east side. The Colleges of Law, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and
Public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
are on the west side of the Iowa River, along with the
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) is an 811-bed public teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center affiliated with the University of Iowa. UI Hospitals and Clinics is part of University of Iowa Health Care, a partnership that inclu ...
, Art Building West and Visual Arts Building, and the Theatre Building. Additionally, five residence halls (Hillcrest, Slater, Rienow, Parklawn, and Petersen),
Kinnick Stadium Nile Kinnick Stadium is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team. First opened in 1929 as Iowa Stadium to replace Iowa Field, it currently holds up to 69,250 peo ...
, and Carver-Hawkeye Arena are located on the west campus. The campus is home to several museums, including the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art, the
Museum of Natural History A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...
, the Old Capitol Museum, the Medical Museum, the Athletic Hall of Fame and Museum, and Project Art at the University Hospitals and Clinics. A flood of the Iowa River in 2008 had a major impact on several campus buildings, forcing many to temporarily or permanently close. The upper levels of the Iowa Memorial Union remained open while its lower level was renovated. The arts campus, which included Art Building West, Old Art Building, Hancher Auditorium, Voxman Music Building, Clapp Recital Hall, and the Theatre Building, sustained significant damage. Art Building West reopened in 2012 after repairs were completed. Sections of Old Art Building were razed, leaving only the historic WPA-era building, which includes regionalist artist Grant Wood's former studio. Esteemed artists Elizabeth Catlett, Ana Mendieta, and Charles Ray were all trained in this building. The new Visual Arts Building was opened on a higher plot of land adjacent to Art Building West in 2016 after years when studio arts were housed in a temporary facility. Hancher Auditorium was rebuilt near its current site on the West bank of the Iowa River, and Voxman Music Hall was constructed adjacent to downtown Iowa City and the main campus on South Clinton Street. The new Hancher Auditorium and the new Voxman Music Building opened in 2016. The Oakdale Campus, which is home to some of the university's research facilities and the driving simulator, is located north of
Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
in adjacent
Coralville Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,318 at the 2020 census. History Coralville is the location of the Edgewater ...
.


Campus Public Art Collection

The University of Iowa holds and continues to commission an extensive collection of public art. The program began under the Iowa State 'Art in State Buildings Program,' one of the first percent for art programs in the United States since repealed in 2017. The collection includes many important works, including works by artists: Sol LeWitt (2-3-1-1, 1994);
El Anatsui El Anatsui ( h-nah-ch-wee born 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. He has drawn particular international attention for his " bottle-top installations". These installations consist of thousands of aluminum piec ...
(Anonymous Creature 2009);
Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly () (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20 ...
(Forest Amber and Gilded Chandelier, 2004); August Rodin (Jean de Fiennes, draped, 1889);
Peter Randall-Page Peter Randall-Page RA (born 1954) is a British artist and sculptor, known for his stone sculpture work, inspired by geometric patterns from nature. In his words "geometry is the theme on which nature plays her infinite variations, fundamental m ...
(Ridge and Furrow, 2011).


Sustainability

The University of Iowa is one of the EPA's Green Power Partners, burning oat hulls instead of coal and reducing coal consumption by 20%. In May 2004, the university joined the Chicago Climate Exchange, and in April 2009, a student garden was opened. The university also offers a Certificate in Sustainability through the Office of Sustainability (OS). The OS recently coordinated the university's first sustainability plan: "2020 Vision UIowa Sustainability Targets," proposed by UI president Sally Mason on October 29, 2010.


Organization and administration

The
Iowa Board of Regents The Board of Regents, State of Iowa (commonly referred to as the Iowa Board of Regents) is the 9-member governing body overseeing the three public universities in the state of Iowa: the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University ...
, a statewide body, governs the University of Iowa, as well as the state's two other public universities (Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa), along with certain other institutions. Created by the Iowa General Assembly in 1909, the Board of Regents is composed of nine volunteer members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa Senate to serve staggered six-year terms. The Iowa Board of Regents hires the president of the University of Iowa, and the university president reports to the Board. The 22nd and current president of the University of Iowa is Barbara J. Wilson, who has served since July 15, 2021.


Admissions


Undergraduate

The 2022 annual ranking of '' U.S. News & World Report'' categorizes UIowa as "more selective." For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), UIowa received 22,434 applications and accepted 19,340 (86.2%). Of those accepted, 4,521 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 23.4%. UIowa's freshman
retention rate The term "retention rate" is used in a variety of fields, including marketing, investing, education, in the workplace and in clinical trials. Maintaining retention in each of these fields often results in a positive outcome for the overall organiz ...
is 88%, with 73.7% going on to graduate within six years. Of the 65% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 22 and 29. Of the 18% of the incoming freshman class who submitted
SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1140-1330. University of Iowa is a college-sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored 24 Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 31 freshman students were National Merit Scholars.


Academics

The University of Iowa is regularly recognized as one of the top institutions of higher learning in the country, and over 5,000 courses are offered at the university each year. Iowa is a member of the
Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
. The university is home to
ISCABBS ISCABBS, also known as ISCA, is a bulletin board system ("BBS"), formerly based at the University of Iowa. Dave's own version of Citadel, an early branch of the Citadel/UX BBS software, was developed to run ISCA. Like most Citadels, the focus is ...
, a public
bulletin board system A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as ...
that was the world's largest Internet community before the commercialization of the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
. The
Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
was founded in 1936. Since 1947 it has produced thirteen
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winners. Twenty-five people affiliated with the Writers' Workshop have won a Pulitzer Prize. The Hanson Center for Technical Communication was founded at The University of Iowa and named after a 1960 graduate, Thomas R. Hanson, who funded the institution with $800,000. The university has educated many of the state's professionals, including 79% of Iowa's dentists, 50% of physicians, 48% of pharmacists, as well as many teachers and administrators in each of the state's K–12 school districts.


Rankings

In 2021, the University of Iowa tied for 88th among national universities, tied for 34th among public universities, placed 108th among "Best Value Schools," tied for 77th among "Most Innovative Schools," and tied for 353rd in "Top Performers on Social Mobility" by '' U.S. News & World Report''. In graduate school rankings for 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Iowa's Carver College of Medicine tied for 20th in the U.S. for primary care and tied for 34th for research. Its College of Public Health tied for 19th, its College of Pharmacy tied for 18th, its College of Law tied for 27th, and its Nursing School tied for 21st. ''U.S. News & World Report'' also ranked 9 University of Iowa graduate programs among the top 25 in the United States for 2021. According to the
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
, Iowa spent $511 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 51st in the United States.


Research institutes

* Institute of Agricultural Medicine. The Institute of Agricultural Medicine was established in 1955 to study rural public health issues with a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. It was later renamed the Institute of Agricultural Medicine and Occupational Health. * IIHR–Hydroscience & Engineering (Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research). IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering is a world-renowned center for education, research, and public service focusing on hydraulic engineering and fluid mechanics. Based in the C. Maxwell Stanley Hydraulics Laboratory, a five-story red brick building on the banks of the Iowa River, IIHR is a unit of the University of Iowa's College of Engineering. Because of its contributions to water's study and use, the
American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
recognized the Stanley Hydraulics Lab as a
National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
. The ASCE distinguishes the lab as the "oldest university-based hydraulics laboratory in the nation continuously focusing on research and education in hydraulic engineering." * Public Policy Center. The Public Policy Center (PPC) is an interdisciplinary academic research center investigating six policy areas: Environmental, Health, Housing & Land Use, Human Factors & Vehicle Safety, Social Science, and Transportation. The University of Iowa Public Policy Center (PPC) was founded in 1987 by David Forkenbrock, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, as a freestanding unit in the Office of the Vice President for Research. The PPC's original focus was Transportation Policy research, followed by Health Policy research (1990) and Human Factors and Vehicle Safety research (1996).


Libraries

The University of Iowa library system is the state's largest library and comprises the Main Library, the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, five branch libraries, and the Law Library. The University Libraries' holdings include more than five million bound volumes, more than 200,000 rare books, and 1000 historical manuscript collections. Significant holdings include Hardin Library's John Martin Rare Book Room, the Iowa Women's Archives, the Louis Szathmary culinary arts collections, the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of
Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
and
Visual Poetry Literary theorists have identified visual poetry as a development of concrete poetry but with the characteristics of intermedia in which non-representational language and visual elements predominate. Differentiation from concrete poetry As the l ...
, science fiction collections, and works of
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...
. The comic books collection in the Special Collections contains original art for 6,000 cartoons, film and television scripts, magazines and other underground or amateur publications, as well as mainstream books from throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.


Student life

There are also over 500 student organizations, including groups focused on politics, sports, games, lifestyles, dance, song, theater, and a variety of other activities. The university also tries to sponsor events that give students an alternative to the typical drinking scene. In 2004 the university established an annual $25,000 contract with the newly reopened
Iowa City Englert Theatre Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, is a renovated vaudeville-era playhouse now serving as a community arts center and 725-seat performance venue. It is owned and operated year around by Englert Civic Theatre, a non-profit art or ...
to host concerts and performances for as many as 40 nights a year. Students participate in a variety of student media organizations. For example, students edit and manage ''
The Daily Iowan ''The Daily Iowan'' is an independent, 6,500-circulation student newspaper serving Iowa City and the University of Iowa community. During the 2020–2021 academic year ''The Daily Iowan'' transitioned from printing daily to producing a print edi ...
'' newspaper (often called the DI), which is printed every Monday through Friday while classes are in session. Noted pollster
George Gallup George Horace Gallup (November 18, 1901 – July 26, 1984) was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a successful statistical method of survey sampling for measuring public opinion. Life and career ...
was an early editor of the DI. Daily Iowan TV, KRUI Radio, Student Video Productions, ''Off Deadline'' magazine, and ''Earthwords'' magazine are other examples of student-run media.


Athletics

The University of Iowa has 22 varsity athletic teams, known as the Hawkeyes. All teams are members of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. There are 10 men's teams and 12 women's teams. Three of these teams - men's gymnastics, men's swimming and diving, and men's tennis - were eliminated after the 2020–21 academic year to help address a projected $60–75 million deficit related to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


Wrestling

Iowa's most successful team is men's wrestling, which has won 24 of the school's 26 NCAA championships. Fifteen of those championships occurred during Dan Gable's 21-year tenure as head coach (1977-1997). It has 35 Big Ten titles, 81 individual NCAA Titles, and has graduated 17 Olympians. The team is currently coached by alumnus
Tom Brands Tom Brands (born April 9, 1968) is an American former Olympic wrestler and is currently the head coach of the University of Iowa men's wrestling team. He won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics. An intense competitor, Brands' wrestling c ...
.


Football

Iowa's
football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
is one of the most financially valuable college programs in the country. They have won 11 Big Ten championships and claim a share of the
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
,
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
,
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
, 1958 and
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
national championships. The program has produced 10 members of the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
, 27 consensus first-team All-Americans, 5 members of the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
and 245 NFL Draft Picks. The team is currently coached by
Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...
, who has completed his 21st year following coach
Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now know ...
, who coached the previous 20 seasons.


Field hockey

Iowa's
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
team is the most successful women's team at the university, winning the 1986 national championship. They have won 13 conference titles and have made 11 Final Four appearances in the 33-year history of the NCAA tournament, despite field hockey not being a high school sport in Iowa. The program has produced 85 All-Americans and 13 Olympians. The program is currently coached by Lisa Celluci.


Other sports

Other sports at the university include basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, gymnastics, golf, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, cross country, and rowing. Most of the school's athletic facilities are located on the west end of campus. The largest venue is the 70,585-seat
Kinnick Stadium Nile Kinnick Stadium is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team. First opened in 1929 as Iowa Stadium to replace Iowa Field, it currently holds up to 69,250 peo ...
, home to the football program. Opening in 1929 as Iowa Stadium, it was renamed in 1977 after
Nile Kinnick Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. (July 9, 1918 – June 2, 1943) was an American naval aviator, law student, and college football player at the University of Iowa. He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. He died during a trainin ...
, winner of the 1939
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
. The basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, and volleyball teams play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which seats 15,400. Other venues include the Beckwith Boathouse,
Duane Banks Field Duane Banks Field is a baseball stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home field of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes college baseball team. The stadium holds 3,000 people and opened in 1974. It is named after former Iowa Hawke ...
, and the old
Iowa Fieldhouse The Iowa Field House is a multi-purpose arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Opened in 1927, it held up to 13,365 people at its height. At one point in time, it housed all Iowa athletic teams and coaching offices before the construction of additional facil ...
.


Notable alumni and faculty

Among the thousands of graduates from the University of Iowa, especially notable alumni include
George Gallup George Horace Gallup (November 18, 1901 – July 26, 1984) was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a successful statistical method of survey sampling for measuring public opinion. Life and career ...
, founder of the Gallup Poll (BA, 1923);
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...
, author of "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (BA 1938);
Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...
, comedic film and television actor (BA 1955, Communication and Theatre Arts);
Andre Tippett Andre Bernard Tippett Sr. (born December 27, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football ...
, NFL Hall of Fame linebacker;
James Van Allen James Alfred Van Allen (September 7, 1914August 9, 2006) was an American space scientist at the University of Iowa. He was instrumental in establishing the field of magnetospheric research in space. The Van Allen radiation belts were named afte ...
, world-famous physicist and discoverer of two radiation belts (the Van Allen Belts) that surround the earth, Emeritus Carver Professor of Physics at the University of Iowa (MS 1936, PhD 1939, Physics);
Mauricio Lasansky Mauricio Leib Lasansky (October 12, 1914 – April 2, 2012) was an Argentine artist and educator known both for his advanced techniques in intaglio printmaking and for a series of 33 pencil drawings from the 1960s titled "The Nazi Drawings." ...
, Latin American artist known as the father of modern printmaking, founder of the University of Iowa's ‘Iowa print group’;
Albert Bandura Albert Bandura (; December 4, 1925 – July 26, 2021) was a Canadian-American psychologist who was the David Starr Jordan Professor in Psychology at Stanford University. Bandura was responsible for contributions to the field of education and to ...
, one of the most cited psychologists of all-time as originator of social cognitive theory (MA 1951, PhD 1952); (Mary)
Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...
, novelist and author of numerous short stories (MFA 1947, English);
Sarai Sherman Sarai Sherman (September 2, 1922 – October 24, 2013) was a Pennsylvania-born Jewish American artist whose work, both in America and Europe shaped international views of women and abstract expressionism. She was a significant twentieth century pa ...
, a twentieth century modernist painter whose work is in major national and international collections;
John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to G ...
, novelist who wrote ''
The World According to Garp ''The World According to Garp'' is John Irving's fourth novel, about a man, born out of wedlock to a feminist leader, who grows up to be a writer. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years. It was a finalist for the Natio ...
'', ''
A Prayer for Owen Meany ''A Prayer for Owen Meany'' is the seventh novel by American writer John Irving. Published in 1989, it tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960s. ...
'', and several others (MFA 1967, English), Jenny Zhang (writer),
Adrian Clayborn Adrian Jarrell Clayborn (born July 6, 1988) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football for the University of Iowa, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first r ...
,
Tyler Sash Tyler Jordan Sash (May 27, 1988 – September 8, 2015) was an American football Safety (American football position), safety for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the G ...
, and
Luka Garza Luka H. Garza (born December 27, 1998) is an American-Bosnian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He played c ...
, an NBA Basketball Player. Jewel Prestage, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in political science, graduated with a master's and a doctorate in 1954.
Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
,
Mark Mattson Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
, and
Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a S ...
also attended the University of Iowa. File:GEN Cartwright VJCS.jpg,
James Cartwright James Edward "Hoss" Cartwright (born September 22, 1949) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who last served as the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31, 2007, to August 3, 2011. He previously se ...
, former
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS) is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, - Vice Chairman ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman ...
File:George Gallup.png,
George Gallup George Horace Gallup (November 18, 1901 – July 26, 1984) was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a successful statistical method of survey sampling for measuring public opinion. Life and career ...
, founder of
Gallup Poll Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its bu ...
File:Silas B. Hays.jpg, Silas B. Hays, former
Surgeon General of the United States Army The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). By policy, the Surgeon General (TSG) serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as well as head of the ...
File:MaryBethHurt02.JPG,
Mary Beth Hurt Mary Beth Hurt (''née'' Supringer; born September 25, 1946) is an American actress of stage and screen. She is a three-time Tony Award-nominated actress. Notable films in which Hurt has appeared include ''Interiors'' (1978), ''The World Accordi ...
,
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
nominee File:Ashton Kutcher by David Shankbone.jpg,
Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a S ...
, actor File:Mark Mattson.JPG,
Mark Mattson Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
, Neuroscientist at the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
File:Flannery-O'Connor 1947.jpg,
Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...
, writer; winner of
National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
File:Marilynne Robinson.jpg,
Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Summers Robinson (born November 26, 1943) is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and ...
,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning novelist File:Tippett2008.jpg,
Andre Tippett Andre Bernard Tippett Sr. (born December 27, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football ...
, Hall of Fame football player File:James van Allen.jpg,
James Van Allen James Alfred Van Allen (September 7, 1914August 9, 2006) was an American space scientist at the University of Iowa. He was instrumental in establishing the field of magnetospheric research in space. The Van Allen radiation belts were named afte ...
, pioneer space scientist File:Gene Wilder 1970.JPG,
Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...
,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominee File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg,
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...
,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning playwright


See also

* Monster Study * Nachte Raho


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Iowa Athletics website
* * * {{authority control 1847 establishments in Iowa Buildings and structures in Iowa City, Iowa Education in Johnson County, Iowa Educational institutions established in 1847
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
Tourist attractions in Iowa City, Iowa