New Education Dean
Sandra Bowman Damico, a professor and recent director of Emory University’s Division of Educational Studies, has been named the new dean of the College of Education. She replaces Steven R. Yussen, who resigned in August 1998. Richard Shepardson, UI associate dean for student services, has been acting dean since Yussen’s departure.
Damico started July 1 at Iowa. Her husband, Alfonso J. Damico, is a visiting faculty member in the political science department.
"I think it’s a really exciting opportunity to work with the faculty and staff of such a strong college, especially as they look to improving teacher education," Damico says. "The University of Iowa has a very high reputation nationally in higher education."
Damico is writing a book that examines the ways in which school policies and practices contribute to student disengagement and dropping out. Her research interests include at-risk students, school improvement, and sociocultural conditions affecting learning and behavior.
RA Wins National Scholarship
University of Iowa junior Lana Zak has won the prestigious national Truman Scholarship, which carries a $30,000 stipend for use during the final year of undergraduate study and up to three years of graduate school.
Zak, who is student government president in 1999-2000, was selected from more than 650 candidates nationwide who were nominated by their universities. Up to 75 winners are named annually on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability, and the likelihood of "making a difference." This year, 65 awards have been made so far.
Zak is a political science and journalism major and a resident assistant in Mayflower Residence Hall. Last summer she worked as an intern at the U.S. State Department, organizing a national conference on creation of a global disaster information network. She is a 1996 graduate of Bettendorf High School.
Zak plans to pursue either a master’s degreee in public administration at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government or a master’s degree in science in foreign service at Georgetown University. Future plans include working for the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, serving as a liaison to the United Nations, and eventually running for Congress.
Gift to Nursing Program
The gift of a retired school nurse will fund a variety of projects in school nursing and community health in The University of Iowa College of Nursing. Harriett Tripp, who is not an alumna of the University, made the largest individual gift to the college in 1998, a charitable gift annuity of $100,000, to support lectures, visiting scholars, and research projects.
Tripp, who worked as a school nurse in Perry and Fairfield, Iowa, now lives in North Liberty. She volunteers part-time in the Colleges of Medicine and Dentistry. Her daughter, Professor Toni Tripp-Reimer, is a nurse anthropologist and associate dean for research in the college, specializing in gerontology and intercultural health issues.