4/20/01
Following is a story lead and the University of Northern Iowa sources who can best address this topic. Feel free to contact the sources directly.
Although construction continues, the university is allowing students to tour Redeker Center, a unique new dining hall set to open in the fall. Pat Beck, assistant director for marketing and conferences in the Department of Residence, said the center will feature meals "made to order," and will serve as a gathering place for all students, including those who aren't purchasing a meal. Other amenities include a computer lab, an eight-foot water wall, a convenience store, and a stage area for performance art. There will be seating for 850 people. "This definitely will be a more complete dining experience," said Beck.
Redeker Center was closed in fall 2000 for renovation. Beck said the new center will open in time to welcome students back to campus in August.
Tours begin at the Rider Hall lobby, Saturday, April 21, from noon to 3 p.m., every half hour. While the tours are not open to the public, the media may attend.
Pat Beck, assistant director for marketing and conferences, Department of Residence, (319) 273-2333
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
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4/20/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ruth Ratliff, director, central development, (319) 273-6078
Ross Christensen, chairman, McElroy Trust, (319) 234-4486
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The R.J. McElroy Trust has made a $1 million challenge grant to the University of Northern Iowa's "Students First" fundraising campaign, to be used toward construction of the McLeodUSA Center. The university's foundation will now have to raise another $3 million to meet the challenge. The foundation is seeking to raise the matching funds through gifts of $100,000 or more.
"You don't receive a gift of this magnitude or generosity every day," said Robert Koob, UNI president. "But it's indicative of the kind of support we've typically received from this community, and we're going to work hard to show our appreciation."
The goal for the center is $15 million. To date, close to $7 million in gifts and pledges has been raised.
"The McLeodUSA Center will help us attract even better student-athletes; the student body will have a quality facility in which to watch intercollegiate volleyball, wrestling and men's and women's basketball; and we will have a state-of-the-art building for other important university and community functions such as convocations, lectures and concerts," said Rick Hartzell, director of athletics at UNI.
The "Students First" campaign has a goal of $75 million for scholarships, academic program support and facilities, including $15 million to build a multi-sport arena, the McLeodUSA Center. Other construction includes R.J. McElroy Hall in Waterloo, which houses the Freeburg Early Childhood Program, and a human performance center to be built onto the north end of the UNI-Dome. Facilities needing renovation or equipment are Russell Hall, Lang Hall and McCollum Science Hall.
Ross Christensen, chairman of the McElroy Trust, expects the impact of the McLeodUSA Center to extend beyond the Cedar Valley. "The construction of this arena will increase access to UNI's many and valuable programs, and that will enhance the lives of young people throughout Northeast Iowa," he said.
Campaign preparation has begun, and the official campaign kickoff for the Cedar Valley portion will take place later this year. The university's last major campaign ended in 1995 and exceeded its $25 million goal.
The McElroy Trust was established in 1965, with a primary goal of enhancing the lives of youths in Northeast Iowa.
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4/20/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ruth Ratliff, director of central development, UNI Foundation, (319) 273-6078
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS -- Ronald Roskens, president of Global Connections in Omaha, will present the University of Northern Iowa's annual R. Gordon Hoxie Lecture at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, April 26, in the Great Reading Room of Seerley Hall. Roskens' lecture is titled, "The American Presidency: From the Outside In." At 11 a.m. on Friday, April 27, Roskens will host an informal talk with UNI students to discuss his role as Kent State University's executive vice president in 1972, when four students were shot and killed by National Guard troops during campus protests.
A Spencer, Iowa native, Roskens was named president of Global Connections, an international business consulting firm, in 1996. Previously, he served as administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a position to which he was appointed by President George Bush. His academic career includes stints as executive vice president of Kent State, chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and president of the University of Nebraska System. He now is director of ConAgra Inc., and the Russian Farm Community Project; and sits on the board of the World Food Programme of Rome. He holds a B.A in political science and an M.A. in counseling, both from Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI); and a Ph.D.in psychology from the University of Iowa. In 1985, UNI awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
The Hoxie lecture was established by R. Gordon Hoxie, a graduate of Iowa State Teachers College and founder of the Center for the Study of the Presidency, in New York. It brings to campus distinguished public figures and scholars to address topics related to political science and history. The public may attend the lecture at no charge.
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4/20/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Martha Reineke, Hearst Lecture Series Committee Chair, (319) 273-6233 or martha.reineke@uni.edu
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- "African-American Religion and Culture in the 21st Century" will be presented in the final Hearst Lecture Series program at the University of Northern Iowa, Tuesday, April 26.
Michael Eric Dyson, Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor at DePaul University and Baptist minister, will present the lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Davis Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. The event is open to the public and free of charge. Dyson was originally scheduled to speak March 27, but that appearance was cancelled, due to extenuating circumstances.
Dyson is the best-selling author of "Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture," among other works. Martha Reineke, Hearst Lecture Series committee chair, said "Dr. Dyson is what we call a public intellectual, which means his scholarship is widely known in the public sphere, not just among academic scholars."
Dyson holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Carson-Newman College and master's and doctorate degrees in religion from Princeton University.
Following the lecture, Dyson will take questions from the audience and sign books.
The Department of Philosophy and Religion is the host for this year's series which is funded by the Meryl Norton Hearst Chair in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. The purpose of the series, according to its mission statement, is to bring together a body of speakers who "demonstrate in compelling ways that as we move into a new century, the humanities continue to make significant contributions to our efforts to understand each other and our communities, as we learn from the past, explore the present and shape the future."
The lecture is co-sponsored by the Center for Multicultural Education and the Joint Committee on Diversity Programming.
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4/20/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Marc Johnson, vice president, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., (319) 833-7709
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS -- Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., at the University of Northern Iowa, will host its sixth annual Sleep-out for the Homeless, beginning at noon Thursday, April 26 and continuing until noon Friday, April 27. Members of the organization will construct "homes" from cardboard boxes and sleep on top of Maucker Union. Throughout the event, they will accept donations of clothing, food and money, all to be given to Cedar Valley charities for the homeless.
"Until I joined our fraternity and began helping with this project, I didn't realize that this community had a homeless population," said Marc Johnson, vice president of the organization. "But the charitable organizations we work with have explained that the farm crisis and industry layoffs of the '80s contributed heavily to this problem."
Johnson is hoping the sleep-out will raise awareness about the needs of the homeless. Last year the organization donated one ton of food to the Cedar Valley Food Bank.
For more information, contact Johnson at (319) 833-7709, or Wuru Terrell at (319) 268-4170.
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4/20/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jerry Duea, emeritus professor of education, (319) 266-3606
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- A public memorial service honoring Ross A. Nielsen, emeritus professor and head of teaching at the University of Northern Iowa, will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28, following the annual UNI Emeritus Association Luncheon. The service will be held in Ross Nielsen Fieldhouse, which bears his name, at Price Laboratory School on the northern end of the UNI campus, 19th and College Streets.
Nielsen, who was born May 12, 1918 in Wiota, Iowa, died Feb. 8, following a heart attack while vacationing in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jeanne, and a daughter, Sharon. He is survived by a brother, Keith, of Bella Vista, Ark., and three grandchildren, Jolan, Shara and Ross Valo, all in California.
Nielsen attended classes in 11 different Iowa districts during his first twelve years of school, graduating from high school at Plainfleld in 1935. He earned a B.A. degree from Wartburg College in 1939, and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Iowa, in 1948 and 1955, respectively.
Prior to joining the Iowa State Teachers College (later UNI) faculty, Nielsen served as a teacher and boys' basketball and baseball coach at Blairstown (1939-42) and Hudson (1942-55), except for the two years he served in the U.S. Navy (1945-46). His coaching success during those years led to his being named to the Iowa Baseball Coaches' Hall of Fame in 1991.
In 1947, he was invited to become a member of the ISTC Department of Teaching as a student teaching supervisor while continuing his teaching and coaching responsibilities at Hudson. He continued to serve in that role until transferring to Price Laboratory School as math chair in the fall of 1955. In June 1962, Nielsen was appointed Head of the Department of Teaching, which included serving as the director of Price Laboratory School and the director of student teaching. He remained department head until his retirement in June of 1986.
During his tenure, Price Laboratory School was recognized nationally for the quality of its faculty and for its productivity in curriculum development and publication. Nielsen received numerous commendations for his work as an evaluator of elementary and secondary schools, and for his leadership in a number of professional associations at state, regional, and national levels. He also received the Wartburg Alumni Citation in 1962.
Following his retirement from the Department of Teaching, Nielsen continued to consult and exert leadership on a variety of educational fronts at the local, state and national levels. Among his accomplishments was the founding of the UNI Emeritus Association. In recent years, he also had established a number of teaching awards and scholarships in his and his wife's names at both Wartburg College and the University of Northern Iowa.
Memorials may be directed to the Ross A. Nielsen Endowment Fund in care of the UNI Foundation, the Jeanne Nielsen Collection at the Plainfield (Iowa) Library, or to Wartburg College.
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4/20/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
William D. Calhoun, UNI vice president for University Advancement, (319) 273-6078
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa's 43rd Annual Recognition Breakfast will be held Saturday, April 28, honoring 39 employees who will have retired within the 2000-2001 fiscal year.
This year's honorees together have completed 851 years of service.
The individuals to be honored this year include (years of service follow in parentheses), from the College of Education: School of Health, Physical Education & Leisure Services – Jane Mertesdorf, assistant professor of leisure, youth and student services (30); Department of Teaching – Glenda Salyer, clerk typist II (15), Judy Vowell, office coordinator II (21); Department of Curriculum and Instruction – Loretta Kuse, assistant professor of education (28).
From the College of Business Administration: Willis Greer, dean and professor of accounting (5); Department of Management – Lynda Goulet, instructor in management (16).
From the College of Humanities and Fine Arts: Department of Communication Studies – G. Jon Hall, associate professor of communication studies (28), Bill Henderson, associate professor of communication studies (22).
From the College of Natural Sciences: Department of Computer Science – Walter Beck, associate professor of computer science (20); Department of Chemistry – Carol Hutchison, secretary III (16); James Macmillan, associate professor of chemistry (28); Department of Mathematics – Michael Millar, professor of mathematics (38); Department of Physics – Roy Unruh, professor of physics (33); Department of Industrial Technology – Richard Schlamp, lab assistant and production (8).
From the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences: Department of Psychology – Albert Gilgen, professor of psychology (27), David Whitsett, professor of psychology (25); Department of History – Charles Quirk, associate professor of history (37); Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology – Ronald Roberts, professor of sociology (31); Department of Design, Family & Consumer Sciences – Joel Wells, professor of family services (19).
From the Controller's Office: Margie Biddlecombe, data entry operator II (15), Judy Kuhlmann, account clerk (15).
From the Physical Plant: Lorraine Crotty, account specialist (16), Connie Loonan, custodian I (31).
From the Department of Residence: David Davis, custodian I (13), Marlys Floss, custodian I (15), Judy Reiter, cook I (12).
From the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics: Meredith Bakley, head softball coach (18), Gene Bruhn, assistant softball coach (14).
Others to be recognized: Ronald Bigelow, safety coordinator, Public Safety (34), John Conner, vice president for administration & finance (16), Dorla Dutcher, math specialist, Center for Academic Achievement (12), Glenn Hansen, associate professor and dean of Continuing Education and Special Programs (36), Doris Miller, administrative assistant, President's Office (46), Germana Nijim, international services director, admissions (22), Jons Olsson, director of development, Broadcasting Services (21), Esther Owczarek, clerk II, Donald O. Rod Library (10), Marcia Simpson, secretary II, University Health Services, Health Center (15), Muriel Stone, director, The Career Center (12), Charlotte Wilson, clerk II, North American Review (31).
For more information, contact the UNI Office of University Advancement at (319) 273-2484.
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