Campaign funds have direct effect on employees

This month all faculty and staff members will receive a mailing from Sam Becker, professor emeritus of communication studies, reminding them to contribute to the Campus Campaign, the faculty/staff portion of the University’s $850 million Good. Better. Best. Iowa: The Campaign to Advance Our Great University.

As part of this effort, fyi has been asking faculty and staff members to reflect on their reasons for making gifts to the University and reporting their comments in the “Who are the givers among us?” feature. In this issue, the spotlight is on “the receivers among us”—members of the campus community who’ve benefited from gifts made by UI alumni, as well as by colleagues, through campaign priorities such as staff development, faculty support, and student aid.

Pat Meskimen gets help with taxing work

Pat Meskimen, nonresident alien tax specialist, reviews the taxation of 2,500 nonresidents working on campus each year. By attending the annual International Tax Summit—which she’ll be able to do this year thanks to a Mary Jo Small Staff Fellowship—she can save herself hours of researching tax law changes on the Internet. Photos by Tom Jorgensen.

The annual International Tax Summit is the “most intense three days,” that is, according to Pat Meskimen.

Meskimen, nonresident alien tax specialist, looks forward to attending the conference each year to learn about changes in tax laws and treaties, find out the latest software developments in the field, and pick the brains of Internal Revenue Service agents.

“The conference is awesome—it’s huge,” says Meskimen, who has been in the UI position for seven years and has attended the last two summits.

“For every foreign national that is employed at the University, I handle the taxation—what’s withheld and how it’s reported to the IRS. This applies to staff on a biweekly payroll, teaching assistants, postdocs, and faculty members as well as those receiving honorariums and prizes.”

In previous years, Human Resources’ Payroll Office was able to send Meskimen to the conference, which will be held this November in Wisconsin, but the tight budget climate has forced the department to trim expenditures.

“One of the biggest areas to be hit in our department was travel, so I applied for a Mary Jo Small Staff Fellowship,” Meskimen says. “I am so appreciative that I got one.”

The fellowship was established by Mary Jo Small, a UI graduate who retired as associate vice president for finance and university services in 1999. Staff members may use the award to offset the cost of course work, workshops, training opportunities, and/or work release to prepare publications. For Meskimen, it will provide nearly $1,500 to register for and attend the conference.

Not being present at the tax summit could be a gamble for the University, Meskimen says.

“In the event of a tax ruling that we were not aware of, where we reported incorrectly, and in the event of an audit, the fines could be in the millions,” she explains. “One small detail overlooked could have huge ramifications. Since 9/11, this is huge—there is much more scrutiny.”

Lila Byock has time to start penning her debut novel

A full scholarship allows Lila Byock, a graduate student in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, to devote more time to studying and writing.

Lila Byock has wanted to be a writer since she was about 10 years old, so attending the top-rated Iowa Writers’ Workshop was a dream.

“I knew I wanted to go to an M.F.A. program for creative writing,” says the Montana native. “I never thought I would get accepted to the Writers’ Workshop, but when I did, I couldn’t walk away.”

But the honor didn’t come with a small price tag. She figured the cost of going to graduate school and living in Iowa City would be about $14,000 a year.

“I assumed I would have to cover tuition and that I’d have to take out a loan,” she says.

When she set foot on campus last year, however, Byock was informed that she was the recipient of a Callen scholarship, which provides tuition, fees, and $1,000 toward school supplies. Joseph and Ursil Callen, both native Iowans and UI graduates, established the scholarship fund in 1990.

“It was a huge relief,” Byock says. “I used some of the money to buy an Apple iBook. I use it all day, everyday. I’m attached to it in a literal way. I like to do my writing outside my house, and this makes me much more mobile.”

In addition to attending classes and beginning work on a novel, Byock is a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of English.

“If I didn’t have this scholarship, I’d feel much more of a burden and I’d have to take on a second job. As it is, teaching takes up so much time, so I feel liberated to have this luxury,” she says.

“I’m having the time of my life here. It’s been a really positive experience.”

Jerold Woodhead shifts teaching, workload

An endowed professorship in the UI Carver College of Medicine means Jerold Woodhead can spend more time developing the curriculum for medical students’ clinical rotations.

Five years ago, Jerold Woodhead got a break.

The associate professor of pediatrics was appointed in 1998 to the Sahai Family Professorship of Medical Education, which has allowed him to step away from full-time work in the classroom and clinical settings and focus more on medical student education. The professorship provides an annual stipend for the faculty member responsible for the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine’s core medical curriculum related to primary care education in community settings.

Woodhead has spent the time working with colleagues in the college and throughout the state to improve course structure and material in several areas, including the Community-Based Primary Care Clerkship.

“We have expanded teaching about community-based health care,” he explains. “We involve students with physicians and other health care professionals in the community to emphasize the importance of the community-wide team. Here on campus, they are part of a large center where people come to us. In the community, they learn about the range of services available, and they help provide those services where their patients live.”

In addition to the obvious benefits it bestows on students and their future patients, the Sahai professorship—established by a family of physicians practicing in Webster City—has been invaluable for Woodhead.

“The Sahai professorship has had a very positive impact on my career development,” he says. “I have gained a lot of practical experience with community-based medical education and have been able to devote time to new activities, such as writing and editing a textbook.”

Although the demands of teaching and patient care are high, Woodhead says he thoroughly enjoyed his work before the professorship and looks forward to returning to it when he steps down as curriculum director, and therefore as the Sahai professor, in 2005.

“The Sahai professorship has provided me the opportunity to participate more directly in the college than would have been possible without it,” he says. “Donors such as the Sahai family help faculty spend invaluable time and effort improving the medical curriculum. The more people we have thinking about these kinds of things, the more ability we have to make things work well.”

stories by Sara Epstein Moninger