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Taking UNI on the road

The University of Northern Iowa will host a series of Community Visit Days this fall.
Community visit days allow UNI President Benjamin Allen and university faculty, staff and students to visit with Iowans about education and economic issues in their community. The visits also provide an opportunity for communities to learn about the university’s academic, economic, cultural and social programs and outreach to the state.

Nearly 59,000 UNI alumni live in Iowa, and the university contributes to all of Iowa’s 99 counties by educating students, placing graduates in jobs and forging strong partnerships with Iowa’s businesses and schools. For more information about the UNI Community Visit Days, contact Stacey Christensen, University Marketing & Public Relations, at 319-273-6728.

UNI Recipe Roundup:
Strawberry (Shrimp) Spinach Salad

courtesy of the UNI Department of Residence

4 quarts fresh spinach
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon onions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup salad oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
12 cups fresh strawberries
Shrimp (optional)

Four decades of graduate education at UNI

While the University of Northern Iowa is known as the premiere undergraduate institution in the state, graduate education is an integral facet of the UNI community. The Graduate College is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2009.

For more than 130 years, UNI has fostered a premier teaching and learning environment, and providing a broad curriculum of advanced programs leading to graduate degrees is an important part of its history. The university initiated graduate degree programs in 1951, when the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, authorized a program of graduate study leading to the Master of Arts in Education. The Graduate College was established in 1969.

Today, UNI offers more than 60 graduate programs leading to degrees. Building on its excellence in undergraduate education, the university has developed outstanding graduate programs in business, education, the natural sciences, humanities and fine arts, and the social and behavioral sciences. Fourteen percent of the students at UNI are graduate students. In 2007-08, 18 percent of all degrees awarded at UNI were graduate degrees.

Graduate College faculty are committed to teaching graduate students and engaging them in scholarly activities, providing them with life-changing opportunities and preparing them to be leaders in their chosen professions; but more importantly, impacting the way they view and live in the world.

UNI Strategic Marketing Services celebrates 20th year of service

This year, the University of Northern Iowa’s Strategic Marketing Services will celebrate 20 years of conducting cutting-edge market research. Since 1990, Strategic Marketing Services (SMS) has prided itself on providing market intelligence that is accurate, actionable and affordable. These three elements have built a noteworthy reputation for SMS among its business, government and nonprofit clients.

Launched as a pilot program with funding from the state of Iowa, SMS has grown into a comprehensive resource for businesses and organizations of all sizes. Now offering a full range of qualitative and quantitative marketing research and analysis tools, SMS has grown the services it offers while helping its clients realize success.

As a result of proven performance, SMS maintains many long-term clients. One such client is Siemens Building Technologies. Brad Haeberle, vice president for marketing, says the company worked with SMS on small projects initially, but that its relationship grew with time and positive outcomes.

Ron Padavich, director of SMS since its inception, believes that building relationships with other small businesses is critical to success. “We picked a couple of simple surveys first and those were very well done, very professional,” he said. “So we expanded the scope, and they are now a trusted partner of ours.”

According to Haeberle, this insight is critical to a marketing campaign. “Market research is one of the two most important things you do as a marketer. You need to make decisions based on facts, and market research gives you the facts you need.”

Padavich finds assisting businesses with marketing services important and fulfilling. “Over the past 20 years we have had the opportunity to help a lot of businesses grow and gain success,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to help so many people achieve their goals.”

Dalai Lama to make historic visit to UNI May 18, 2010

The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will visit the University of Northern Iowa Tuesday, May 18, to share his views on the importance of education in an increasingly global society.

"UNI is honored to host the Dalai Lama, who has received awards from around the world that recognize his messages of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, and universal responsibility and compassion," said UNI President Benjamin Allen. "At UNI, we take great pride in providing quality education and preparing future educators. The Dalai Lama imparts a message to the world that stresses the importance of learning, and the role education plays in developing socially responsible citizens. This is a great opportunity to provide inspiration and cultivate new thoughts and ideas at UNI."

More information about the day of the Dalai Lama's visit and associated events will follow in the fall. For more information about the Dalai Lama, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, visit www.dalailama.com.

UNI’s MyEntre.Net system boasts bigger, better site

Social networking sites are becoming more popular and reaching more people every day. This reality spurred University of Northern Iowa MyEntre.Net entrepreneurial development system’s recent Web site overhaul. In fact, the MyEntre.Net site (www.myentre.net) now boasts many of the same features that have helped Facebook, LinkedIn and others social networking sites realize extreme popularity, with the added benefit of being specifically geared towards the needs of small business owners.

Since 2001, UNI has connected small business owners in 14 Iowa counties through a combination of online resources and services in the entrepreneur’s home community. Last May, the newly rebuilt online community at www.myentre.net was reintroduced as a free, interactive resource for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs across Iowa and beyond. Central to the online community at MyEntre.Net is networking. Iowa business owners can easily build a profile showcasing their company, buy and sell goods or services and create online groups to interact with owners of other small firms throughout the state.

According to Maureen Collins-Williams, director of the UNI Regional Business Center, MyEntre.Net’s new Web resources will help thousands of Iowa firms.

“Until now, it was hard for many small companies to find each other and build relationships,” said Collins-Williams. “Now, they can find and connect with like-minded business owners in a few simple steps.”

Marty Stratton ’77, founder and president of Strat Exe, Inc., believes that building relationships with other small businesses is critical to success.

“Connections I made through the MyEntre.Net community opened a number of opportunities for me,” he said. “It is a safe place to talk to peers and counselors and access a wide range of services without worry. Small business owners need this outlet.”

According to Stratton, MyEntre.Net provides entrepreneurs with the tools and technical assistance necessary to take their business to the next level while maintaining a welcoming community.

He added, “You always have a friend somewhere in the MyEntre.Net system.”

For more information or to register, visit www.myentre.net.

Competition pool to be named in honor of first men’s swimming coach

The competition pool in the University of Northern Iowa Wellness/Recreation Center will have a new name this fall when it is rededicated as the Glen F. Henry Swimming & Diving Pool, in honor of UNI’s first men’s swimming coach. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Homecoming weekend, at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 17.

Henry, who began coaching men’s swimming in 1966, served as the head coach through the 1981 season, picking up head coaching duties for the first women’s competitive swimming and diving team in his final season. Henry led the Panthers to 10 men’s North Central Conference championships, and his swimmers earned 129 individual conference titles, with 35 earning All-American accolades. He served on the NCAA Swimming and Diving Rules Committee, was chair of the Collegiate All-American Swimmer Selection Committee and was a state, district and national swim clinician. He refereed and coordinated 17 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s National Swimming and Diving Championships from 1977 to 1995.

Henry received the UNI Alumni Service Award in 1975, and has served as president and fund drive chair of the UNI Athletic Club, among his extensive campus and community service. A swimming and diving scholarship endowment has been established in his name with the UNI Foundation. He retired from UNI in 2004. That July, he and his wife, Karen, were injured in a motorcycle accident in Wisconsin that left him paralyzed from the chest down. With therapy, he is working to regain some of his mobility.

Former UNI swim team and Athletic Hall of Fame member Roy Fielding ‘73, M.A. ‘77, initiated the move to rename the pool in Henry’s honor. “Glen has made significant contributions to UNI and beyond as an educator, especially in the area of aquatic education and competitive swimming,” he wrote in his letter, adding Henry consistently received outstanding teaching evaluations while maintaining a rigorous level of excellence from his students, many of whom went on to win numerous awards for excellence in coaching and teaching at state and national levels.

Richard O. Jacobson Human Performance Complex to be dedicated during Family Weekend

Special activities surrounding the formal dedication of phase II of the Richard O. Jacobson Human Performance Complex are taking shape for Saturday, Oct. 3 during Family Weekend. Named for Des Moines businessman and philanthropist Dick Jacobson, the latest additions to the complex include a 9,136-square-foot training center, locker rooms and athletic offices.

Phase II is located in the north end of the UNI-Dome and the adjoining area in the Human Performance Center and the Physical Education Center. A focal point is the state-of-the-art weight room and conditioning center, which will allow greater flexibility for athletic teams that previously shared space with educational programming, intramurals and users of wellness programs.

Phase I of the complex, occupied in January 2008 and dedicated that spring, serves a mixture of curricular, sports medicine and leisure services programming. Included in the complex are the Center for Sports and Human Performance, Youth and Human Services, Camp Adventure™, the Global Health Corps, the National Program for Playground Safety, and a community outreach partnership between UNI, Allen Hospital and Cedar Valley Medical Specialists that provides opportunities for students to interact with physicians, therapists and athletic trainers as part of their education.

In making his initial gift to the project in 2001, Jacobson cited his view that athletics is “an extremely important department for any university or college, because it produces opportunities for leadership. And if there is one thing our country has a tremendous appetite for, it is leadership.” When he later pledged $3 million toward completion of the complex and challenged others to join him to raise an additional $2 million, he noted that it was a “phenomenal opportunity to build a first-class facility to house programs that will enhance the lives of thousands of Iowans throughout the state.”

The UNI Foundation spearheaded the drive to secure the funds for the Jacobson Challenge.