Two vacancies down, one to go

The University has filled two of three high-profile campus positions: athletics director and UI Foundation president.

Gary A. Barta, who previously served as athletics director at the University of Wyoming, became UI director of intercollegiate athletics Aug. 1, succeeding Bob Bowlsby, who left in July to take the same position at Stanford University.

Lynette L. Marshall, previously vice president of the University of Illinois Foundation, began duties Aug. 22 as head of the UI Foundation, succeeding Michael New, whose poor health forced him to step down in September 2005.

A search for the next University president is under way. Details are available at www.uiowa.edu/uipresidentialsearch.

Record first-year class boosts total enrollment

This fall the University welcomed the largest incoming class ever—4,289 first-year students, up 440 from the fall of 2005. According to the Office of the Registrar, total  enrollment for the 2006 fall semester stands at 29,979  students, up 337 from 2005, while total undergraduate enrollment is up 438 to 20,738.

Iowa sports to get more national TV exposure

The Big Ten Channel, a national television network that will cover the Hawkeyes as well as the 10 other athletics programs  in the Big Ten Conference, will launch in August 2007.

Programming will include 35-plus football games with at least two games from each school, at least 105 regular- season men’s basketball games, at least 55 regular-season women’s basketball games, a series of Olympic sporting events, and a number of Big Ten championships.

“I see the Big Ten Channel advancing a long list of sports programs forward by providing opportunities that never before existed,” says Cindy Fredrick, Iowa’s head volleyball coach. “The impact of weekly television exposure during  our competitive seasons for our volleyball, field hockey, wrestling, softball, and baseball programs, to name a few,  on a television channel that is available across the country  is remarkable.”

University grants hit all-time high

UI faculty, together with staff and students, generated an all-time record $366.4 million in grants and contracts for research, education, and service during fiscal 2006, a  1.7 percent increase from 2005. The total surpassed the  one-third-billion dollar mark for the fifth consecutive year and  also marked the 20th consecutive year in which the University has attracted more than $100 million in support from federal government sources and the private sector. These grants  represent initiative and accomplishment by faculty—and  provide research and creative opportunities for students.

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