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In
August, University of Iowa President David Skorton talked with a future
Hawkeye and her dad, just two of the thousands of visitors who stopped
by the University’s booth at the Iowa State Fair. In addition to
saying hello to the University president, fairgoers could meet students
and staff and faculty members, participate in health screenings and drawings
for tickets to football games and Hancher events, meet past and present
Hawkeye athletes, and learn about University research, programs, and
activities that benefit students, the state, and the world.
The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention announced that UI President David Skorton has been selected to serve on the Presidents Leadership Group (PLG), a body of higher education presidents and chancellors who have made student substance abuse prevention a priority on their campuses.
Skorton is among nine higher education leaders who joined the PLG, bringing the total member of the organization to 45. The expansion of the PLG marks the continued commitment by the Higher Education Center to highlight and promote the critical role of presidential leadership in collegiate alcohol and other drug prevention.
With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the PLG was formed to bring national attention to alcohol and other drug issues on college and university campuses. Representing a broad array of institutions of higher education, officials from 27 states now participate in this effort. Officials serve as prevention spokespersons, change agents, and models for other presidents; they also support statewide and regional alcohol and other drug prevention efforts, adopting leadership roles in existing regional initiatives or taking the lead where statewide efforts have not yet taken hold.
The Office for Study Abroad awarded 24 scholarships for summer and short-term study abroad. UI undergraduates from disciplines ranging from physical therapy to engineering spent summer overseas.
The $500 merit-based scholarships are part of a $65,000 financial aid package allocated by the University to support study abroad. This is the third year that this program has been available.
For more information
on this and other study abroad scholarship opportunities, students
can call the Office for Study Abroad at 319-335-0353 or visit www.uiowa.edu/~uiabroad/ and
click on Scholarships and Financial Aid.
The University of Iowa is a great educational value, and it makes Iowa City one of the “coolest places to work, play, study, party, and live,” according to national rankings published this month.
Kaplan Publishing’s The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges, 2004 includes the University among “schools that offer the best value for your tuition dollar.”
The Kaplan guide is based on a national survey of high school guidance counselors as well as interviews with randomly selected students at each campus. The guidance counselors named 59 schools, including the University, “Best Value” institutions by weighing their cost against the quality of education.
Although tuition
has risen sharply due to state budget cuts, the guide notes that the
University did not cut its financial aid budget and says that new president
David Skorton is a “proven fundraiser.” Iowa was the only
university in the state to be named a “Best Value.”
Jon Whitmore, UI provost and professor of theatre arts since August 1996, in August was tapped to serve as president of Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
“On behalf of the University of Iowa community, I want to express our profound gratitude for all that Jon has done to advance the excellence of our missions,” UI President David Skorton said. “He has been a leading advocate for interdisciplinary programs and a stalwart supporter of our library system. And, even in times of economic hardship, he kept us focused on the critical importance of remaining competitive in faculty salaries so that our students can learn from top-notch teachers.”
Skorton has named Patricia Cain, professor and associate dean for admissions in the College of Law, to serve as interim provost. Because Whitmore had announced his intention to step down as provost last summer, a national search for a new provost is already under way.
