Date:4/6/00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Bill Calhoun, vice president for Advancement and president of the UNI Foundation, (319) 273-6078

Gwenne Culpepper, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761

University of Northern Iowa to benefit from Sahai family's generosity

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – One of Webster City's most well known families, that of Prem and Urmilia Sahai, has established a distinguished professorship and a new scholarship at the University of Northern Iowa. The professorship will be named for Prem Sahai, who received an M.A. in Education from UNI in 1958, and a specialist degree in communication media from the university in 1967. Prem's son, Subhash, is a UNI alumnus as well. The family owns the Webster City Medical Clinic and is philanthropically active throughout the state.

“I came to UNI directly from India, and the adjustment to a new environment was initially very difficult. But the congeniality of the professors, of the university as a whole, really helped me. Everyone was extremely cordial and thoughtful,” recalls Subhash Sahai, who practices medicine at the Webster City clinic. He says UNI was first to give educational opportunities to him and to his father. He is hoping the establishment of the professorship and the scholarship will open doors for professors and students alike.

Jean Gerrath, an associate professor of biology, is the first recipient of the Sahai Distinguished Professorship. She will present a lecture, “Vines and Their Tendrils: The Growth of Plastic Plants,” Monday, April 17, at 3 p.m. in the Center for Energy and Environmental Education Auditorium. The professorship will rotate through the departments of Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.

The Prem Sahai Actuarial Science Scholarship will be awarded to a student pursuing a major in

actuarial science and planning to work in that field. Preference will be given to students of Asian Indian origin.

“The University of Northern Iowa has a heritage of strong science programs and has played a significant leadership role in science education,” said Bill Calhoun, vice president for Advancement and president of the UNI Foundation. “This gift will strengthen that role by directly affecting students on our campus, and indirectly affecting students studying the sciences at all levels across this state.”

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