Alumni Association: Alma mater affinity

The University of Northern Iowa Alumni Association was born when graduates of the Iowa State Normal School gathered at Commencement in June 1879. It was agreed to meet again the following year, where a constitution was drafted and a program presented to 42 alumni. Dues were 50 cents for the first year and $1 thereafter; members were expected to report their whereabouts to the secretary every six months. The mission was to “promote interests of the alumni of the ISNS and to give social and intellectual improvement to its members.”

There were three types of meetings in the early years: literary, business and social. Members in attendance at the meetings grew from about 100 in the 1880s to more than 500 in 1902. Members were content with these activities until 1893, when they became concerned with the physical and instructional needs of the school. They supported the building of a new assembly hall, chemical laboratory and social spaces. The assembly hall became the Auditorium Building, Lang Hall today, which was ready to be used for Commencement in 1902.

The first iteration of this magazine, the Alumni News Letter, was published in 1915 and was issued from President Seerley’s office. He continued to edit it until his death. It was the Alumnus until 1986, then became The Nonpareil and, eventually, University of Northern Iowa Today.

The association was instrumental in the planning of UNI’s 50th anniversary in 1926, and the members rallied support for the proposed Campanile.

Fundraising began in 1915 and continued for many years; even at groundbreaking in 1924 the funds were not completely assured. Alumni organized the first nationwide fundraising effort in 1925, a series of special dinners “in every community all over Iowa and generally throughout the United States.” The dinners would climax with a radio broadcast over WSUI featuring President Homer Seerley and musical performances by students. Many found the “whole program just a little more thrilling” than anticipated, resulting in responses from 23 states amounting to about $6,000.

Seerley’s retirement in 1928 prompted the association to establish a fund to be called the Seerley Foundation and encourage all alumni to make a donation to it each year. The purpose of the fund was to assist worthy students and create campus activities that benefitted the student body. A gift from the Seerley Foundation helped establish the UNI Foundation in 1959.

In recent decades, the association has focused on services to benefit alumni and current students, including social and networking activities, assisting with recruiting and scholarships, career services and legislative advocacy. Its current mission is to encourage and support a lifelong relationship between UNI and its alumni and friends; to promote the interaction of alumni with each other; and to promote and advance the interests of the university and its alumni. Today, the Alumni Association is 7,000 members strong, with a goal to reach 10,000 by 2010. Hundreds of alumni return each year for affinity group reunions, regular reunions, Homecoming and other special events.

Maintained by the UNI Alumni Association
Last Modified: August 28, 2009