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Koob announces retirement from UNI presidency

The first alumnus of the University of Northern Iowa to serve as its president, Robert Koob (B.A. ’62), announced Oct. 12 that he will leave his position a year ahead of his self-imposed term limit of 12 years, to facilitate hiring of a new provost and vice president for academic affairs for UNI. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, will conduct a search to replace the 64-year-old Koob, who will remain in his current position until the new president takes over.

“The overriding reason for my decision is that UNI deserves the best provost it can attract,” said Koob, who became UNI’s eighth president in 1995. “I question the attractiveness to potential candidates of a position this close to the president when the president is near retirement.” The position of provost and vice president for academic affairs — UNI’s chief academic officer — has been vacant since Aaron Podolefsky left to become president of Central Missouri State University in July 2005. James Lubker, dean of UNI’s College of Humanities & Fine Arts, will continue as interim provost until that search can be completed.

Koob requested the Board of Regents grant him a professional development leave that will allow him to be professionally involved in service to UNI and Iowa, but away from the campus, prior to returning to the UNI chemistry faculty, where he holds the rank of professor. In response, Regents President Michael Gartner announced in November that Koob will become the board’s senior adviser for education policy and strategy, a two-year appointment, developing policies to ease the transition from community colleges to Iowa’s public universities.

The Board ratified in December the membership of the UNI Presidential Search and Screen Committee, selected through consultation with campus and community groups. They are: Regents Michael Gartner, Jenny Rokes, Teresa Wahlert and Tom Bedell; Ira Simet, associate professor of chemistry, representing the UNI Faculty Senate; Daniel Power, professor of management information, representing the United Faculty; Joe Murphy, president of the Northern Iowa Student Association; Julia Wallace, dean of the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences; Jessica Moon, director, University Honors Program, representing Professional & Scientific staff; Mary-Sue Bartlett, secretary in the College of Education, representing Supervisory/Confidential Merit staff; Susan Baker, drafter in facilities planning, representing AFSCME; Joy Corning, alumna and chair of the UNI Foundation Board of Trustees; Steve Dust, president of the Cedar Valley Alliance; and Gary Steinke, Regents executive director, staff for committee. To facilitate broad input into the selection process, Simet, Power and Wallace have been asked to choose an advisory committee comprised of 10 to 20 faculty and staff.

The Search and Screen Committee is developing a description of the position, including qualities, knowledge, skills and abilities required. Members will work with the executive search firm of Korn/Ferry International, whose selection was ratified at the Board’s December meeting. Korn/Ferry was retained for the most recent presidential searches at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, and was one of four firms to seek selection. The committee will evaluate nominations and applications and recommend to the Board at least four prospects who best meet the search criteria. Korn/Ferry proposed a timeline that calls for Board interviews of candidates in late April.

UNI Museums, SUE exhibit named best of 2005

The Iowa Tourism Office and the Travel Federation of Iowa named the UNI Museums and the exhibit “A T. rex Named SUE” the 2005 Attraction of the Year at the Iowa Tourism Conference.

More than 45,000 people visited the exhibit “A T. rex Named SUE” from March through May 2005. The exhibit was created by The Field Museum, Chicago, and made possible through the generosity of McDonald’s Corporation. Visitors came from all over Iowa, 37 other states and 11 foreign countries. The project involved more than a year of preparation, 350 dedicated volunteers and local community support.

Selection was based on criteria that included outstanding performance of the project, economic impact of the attraction, and the quality and effectiveness of the marketing.

“The University Museum is proud to have brought this ’big museum’ experience to Iowa. The project was a success thanks to the efforts of many people who have a commitment to our community and to the education of its people,” said Kay Thuesen, public affairs coordinator for UNI Museums.

The UNI Museums and “A T. rex Named SUE” also received the Cedar Valley Tourism’s Choice award in May during Tourism Month.

UNI RBC launches MyEntreNet

The University of Northern Iowa Regional Business Center (RBC)/Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has launched a community-directed, rural business-accelerator initiative called MyEntreNet. Funded by the Grow Iowa Values Fund, MyEntreNet provides rural entrepreneurs help in starting or expanding businesses, and gives rural communities planning assistance to support entrepreneurship.

“The system is based on the premise that entrepreneurs exist outside of urban regions and that, if given access to technical and marketing assistance, community support networks and financial resources, they will create and expand businesses in rural parts of the state,” said Maureen Collins-Williams, director of the UNI RBC/SBDC.

Several hundred rural entrepreneurs participated in the system’s pilot project in northeast Iowa during the past three years. Four additional regions in the state were selected last fall for a program to begin in January 2006. “In a typical MyEntreNet region, 100 entrepreneurs participate in program services. They will start or expand 20 businesses that create an average of 75 full-time jobs and $3 million in commercial financing,” said Collins-Williams.

State Representative Roger Thomas of Elkader, ranking member of the Iowa House of Representatives Economic Growth Committee, said, “The MyEntreNet pilot program has been a success in my district. It’s rewarding to see UNI launch this entrepreneurship program across the state. Iowa’s prosperity relies on entrepreneurship, and this program is an exceptional tool for individuals who want to start or grow businesses.”

Examples abound: Rich Lukes of Spillville took part in the MyEntreNet pilot to develop a business expansion strategy. He plans a $1 million facility near Spillville for custom meat processing and retail sales of organic, ethnic and specialty-processed meats.

Peggy Zumbach of Independence used MyEntreNet classes to start a home-based commercial embroidery operation. It did so well she purchased a competing business and moved it to the city’s commercial district.

In New Hampton, Jane Shekleton credited MyEntreNet networking with providing her the confidence to open a second business operation after closing a bakery a few years earlier.

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, recently approved Grow Iowa Values Fund proposals from the three Regent universities. MyEntreNet was part of UNI’s proposal.

“UNI has made a long-term investment in rural economic vitality with the development of MyEntreNet,” said Collins-Williams.
For more information, contact the UNI Regional Business Center at (319) 236-8123, e-mail at navigateyourfuture@myentre.net or online at www.myentre.net

UNI alumni eligible for Merchant Scholarship

University of Northern Iowa alumni are eligible to apply for a 2006 Merchant Scholarship. Scholarship recipients must be attending or planning to attend a graduate or professional school at an educational institution in the United States or abroad. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of ability, achievement, moral character, spirit, personality, intellectual promise and service to society.

The scholarships are awarded from a trust established in 1951 to honor Frank Ivan Merchant and his sister, Kate Matilda Merchant. Frank was a professor of Latin and Greek, and served as head of the Department of Foreign Languages at UNI, then Iowa State Teachers College. He lived with his sister, who taught piano lessons until her death in 1942.

Alumni wishing to apply should request an application packet from Barbara Hetrick, Merchant Scholarship Committee chair, UNI Department of Biology, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614 or call (319) 273-2456. Completed application forms, along with transcripts and three letters of recommendation, must be received no later than March 1, 2006.

SHC Grand Opening

David Towle, counseling center and disability services director, and Sue Courts, Student Health Clinic director, untied the ceremonial bow that got grand opening tours underway at the newly renovated Student Health Center during Family Weekend in October.

Former convict warns of ethical traps

Patrick Kuhse’s lecture, “Straight From the Heart: An Iowa Ex-Con Talks Business Ethics,” was delivered to a rapt audience in the Curris Business Building as part of UNI’s Wilson Series in Business Ethics.

Kuhse, an Iowa native and former financial planner and stockbroker in California, became involved in illegal activities and lived as a fugitive in Costa Rica before being incarcerated in a federal penitentiary. He now speaks to students and business people about his story and the dilemmas that can trap the unsuspecting young professional.

“Each of us is faced with moral and ethical dilemmas every day. At times ethics can be a moving target that hides behind the seductive siren of greed,” said Kuhse. His presentation emphasized how to recognize the warning signs before it’s too late.

Host of the September event was UNI professor Donna J. Wood, who holds the David W. Wilson Chair in Business Ethics, Iowa’s only endowed chair in business ethics. UNI’s first-ever joint endowed chair, it was established through a $1 million gift from Laguna, Calif., resident David W. Wilson ’70.

Wood holds a joint appointment in the Management Department of the College of Business Administration and the Department of Philosophy & Religion in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. Her new book is titled Global Business Citizenship: Transformative Ethics and Sustainable Capitalism.

UNI honors Pioneer Hi-Bred with DM event

This fall UNI organized a luncheon for employees, alumni and parents at Pioneer Hi-Bred International in Des Moines. UNI President Robert Koob and College of Business Administration Dean Farzad Moussavi were among UNI representatives who addressed the group. Along with heavily recruiting UNI graduates, Pioneer has supported the CBA with internships, scholarships, and the Pioneer Hi-Bred International Professorship in Innovation, which is currently held by Lou Honory.

More than 50 UNI alumni at Pioneer include Thomas Phillips (Marketing ’66), director of community investment (pictured), and Diane Bridgewater (Accounting ’88), vice president and business director of North America operations. 

CBA dean Farzad Moussavi (front, center) with staff, alumni and scholarship recipients at the Pioneer Hi-Bred alumni luncheon in Des Moines in September.

Grassley Ambassadors Tour

Iowa Senator Charles Grassley ’55, M.A. ’56 annually conducts a tour for ambassadors from around the world so they can experience Iowa and its people first-hand. The Cedar Valley hosted this year’s August tour. The senator and his distinguished guests attended a reception at the UNI’s Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, where they learned about the university and the community. The Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau helped organize volunteers to host guests overnight in their homes.

Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus presented $100,000 to Donna Thompson (middle) and Susan Hudson of the National Program for Playground Safety, following the Stryker Challenge charity golf tournament. Thompson, NPPS director, and Hudson, NPPS education director, attended the golf tournament at the Bear’s Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., Nicklaus’ home course, where more than 120 golfers participated in the charity event. Nicklaus, honorary tournament chairman, and Stryker Orthopaedics, teamed with NPPS and orthopaedic surgeons around the world to raise money to make playgrounds safer.

Maintained by the UNI Alumni Association
Last Modified: January 25, 2006