Online report shares stories of flood recovery, documents achievements for fiscal year 2009

	Despite being displaced by the flood of 2008, University Theatres productions returned before the end of the fall semester. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

Since June 2008, The University of Iowa has conferred more than 5,000 degrees, given the world new treatments for disease and new prize-winning literature, logged record grant and gift totals, and developed innovative solutions for leaner, greener times.

These and other achievements offer a striking record for any year. But they’re even more remarkable given that the past year saw The University of Iowa confront one of the greatest challenges in its history—the flood of 2008.

The Office of the President has published its fiscal year 2009 annual report, which recounts unforeseen opportunities that emerged in the flood’s wake. UI students, faculty, staff, and friends tell their own stories, accounts that illuminate, inspire, and illustrate the University community’s resolve.

“This annual report documents recovery and renewal since the flood, an event that showed the world what Iowa—our University and our state—is all about,” Mason says in a welcome message found on the annual report’s web site, www.uiowa.edu/annual-report-09. “The collaboration, dedication, and creativity that inspired us last summer continue to drive us today.”

The report, produced by the Office of University Relations on behalf of the Office of the President, offers a series of audio slide shows titled “One Year After” as its centerpiece. Twelve individuals from a cross-section of the UI community spoke about myriad recovery efforts and new opportunities that came in the flood’s wake.

Some stories tackle well-publicized challenges: Ferman Milster in Facilities Management describes what it took to get the UI Power Plant back online before winter weather took hold, while art professor Isabel Barbuzza talks about the rapid transformation of a former Menards building into a new home for the studio arts programs.

Other shows highlight the educational opportunities that came from the flood (engineering professor Keri Hornbuckle led students to Cedar Rapids to conduct soil research) and the immense challenges that didn’t grab the biggest headlines (Renée Houser spent a frenzied summer finding homes for all fall 2008 courses in her role as director of classroom scheduling).

The report also includes a month-by-month review of the year’s achievements, plus financial data and other statistics.

Publishing the report online instead of on paper saves the cost of printing and distribution, reduces environmental impact, and makes it available to a broader audience. It also permits multimedia features like the “One Year After” collection.