Iowa official register

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EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 

 

and records services and access to databases throughout the nation and world.  The library has 

nationally recognized collections in the physical and life sciences, and has extensive holdings in 

agriculture, botany, chemistry, entomology, mathematics, and veterinary medicine. 

Iowa State is designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a 

“Doctoral/Research University – Extensive,” its top category, and it is a member of the prestig-

ious Association of American Universities.  Sponsored funding in 2007-2008 totaled $274 mil-

lion, which includes research grants.  Iowa State’s research strengths include: agriculture, biore-

newable fuels and chemicals, plant sciences, many engineering disciplines, the biological sci-

ences, physical sciences, food sciences and human nutrition, animal health, climate science, en-

ergy, transportation and logistics, economics, rural sociology, child development, and many areas 

of psychology and behavioral science. 

In recent years, the university has launched several major interdisciplinary research initiatives 

to better address the complex problems facing society.  Included are the Bioeconomy Institute, 

Plant Sciences Institute, and the Institute for Physical Research and Technology, a complex of 

centers built on the materials science and fossil fuels foundation established by the Ames Labora-

tory, a U.S. Department of Energy lab operated by Iowa State.  In 2008, the National Science 

Foundation awarded ISU a five-year $18.5 million grant to establish the Center for Biorenewable 

Chemicals, one of five new NSF Engineering Research Centers and the only one focusing on 

biorenewable chemicals.  Other interdisciplinary initiatives include: the Center for Integrated 

Animal Genomics, Institute for Food Safety and Food Security, Institute for Combinatorial Dis-

covery, Information Assurance Center and Information Infrastructure Institute.  In 2007, Iowa 

State launched the CyberInnovation Institute, which includes the Virtual Reality Applications 

Center and C-6, the nation’s most advanced six-sided, totally immersible computer virtual reality 

theater.  Iowa State is headquarters to the Whole Earth Telescope international network and is one 

of six universities designated as a Center of Excellence in Information Assurance by the National 

Security Agency.  Iowa State has the largest concentration of faculty involved in sustainable agri-

culture in the world, and, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Animal 

Disease Center nearby, Ames also has the world’s largest concentration of animal health scien-

tists. 

Other major research centers and institutes at Iowa State include: Center for Agricultural and 

Rural Development, Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Center for Survey Statistics and Meth-

odology, Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, Center for Transportation Research and Edu-

cation, Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Ex-

periment Station, Iowa Energy Center, ISU Biotechnology Program, Leopold Center for Sustain-

able Agriculture, National Soil Tilth Laboratory (USDA), National Veterinary Services Laborato-

ries (USDA), and Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute. 

Iowa State is a leader in putting knowledge to work.  Iowa State’s faculty generates approxi-

mately 25 new patents each year, adding to a portfolio of about 400 active patents.  It ranks fifth 

among all universities in the number of licenses and options executed on its intellectual property 

(third in licenses and options per $10 million in research expenditures), and second in the number 

of R&D 100 Awards, which recognize the 100 top technological innovations each year. 

Technology developed by Iowa State faculty has spawned one of the most successful university 

research parks in the nation.  Since it was created in 1987, the ISU Research Park has nurtured 

175 technology-based industries, some started by Iowa State faculty and others by individuals or 

companies that want to be close to the work of faculty.  Nearly 80 percent of these companies are 

still in business, and they employ nearly 2,700 people at the research park or elsewhere in Iowa. 

With Extension offices in all 99 Iowa counties, Iowa State provides direct assistance to nearly 

900,000 Iowans each year with Extension programs in: agriculture and natural resources, business 

and industry, community and economic development, families, 4-H and youth development, and 

continuing education and professional development. 

Iowa State has several programs that provide technical, management, and product development 

assistance to businesses and industries throughout Iowa and the nation.  The Center for Industrial 

Research and Service (CIRAS) has a mission to improve the quality of life in Iowa by enhancing 

the performance of business and industry through research, education, and technical assistance. In       

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IOWA OFFICIAL REGISTER 

 

FY2008, businesses from 93 counties in the state received assistance on projects or attended 

educational workshops from CIRAS staff or partners.  Also in FY2008, 667 companies reported 

$62 million in new investments, $12 million in costs saved or avoided, and $122 million in sales 

gained or retained, and company executives reported that 2,226 jobs were added or retained as a 

result of the technical assistance and education they received from CIRAS and its partners.  In 

addition to direct project and workshop assistance to companies, CIRAS staff provided educa-

tional information to more than 10,000 individuals in FY2008. 

Iowa State has been a pioneer in the development of the land grant movement.  Iowa was the 

first state in the nation to accept the terms of the Morrill Act, which established the land grant 

institutions.  Iowa State faculty pioneered the development of Extension, which celebrated its 

100th anniversary in 2003, and the national Experiment Station system for applied research.  

Iowa State is where plant scientist George Washington Carver earned bachelor’s and master’s 

degrees and was the institution’s first African American faculty member, and where faculty 

member John V. Atanasoff built the world’s first electronic digital computer. 

Today, the university is building on this land-grant foundation by helping more students than 

ever to achieve success through education and by continuing to find new ways to put knowledge 

to work to benefit people everywhere. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA 

Benjamin J. Allen, president; Cedar Falls 50614; [phone]; 

www.uni.edu 

The University of Northern Iowa is a comprehensive institution distinguished by its focus on 

undergraduate education.  The university, regarded for its entire 133-year history as a leader in 

teacher preparation, supports exemplary undergraduate programs founded on a strong liberal arts 

curriculum, and offers selected master’s, doctoral, and other graduate programs that provide stu-

dents with specialized educational experiences.  On its 850-acre campus in fall 2008, the univer-

sity enrolled 12,908 students from all 99 of Iowa’s counties, 45 states and the District of Colum-

bia, and 61 foreign countries.  

The University of Northern Iowa was founded in 1876 as the Iowa State Normal School.  In 

1909, it became Iowa State Teachers College, and was first accredited as a teachers college in 

1913.  In 1961, the name was changed to State College of Iowa, and, in 1967, the Iowa General 

Assembly acted to change the status of the institution to that of a university under its present title.  

The university continues to vigorously pursue its role as a leader in pre-Kindergarten through 

grade 12 education and education-related issues in Iowa and the nation.  Well-known for prepar-

ing teachers, UNI’s student teaching network is a national model for the involvement of practitio-

ners in teacher education programs and offers intercultural student teaching opportunities in a 

number of states and foreign countries.  UNI has the largest teacher education program in Iowa, 

offering 96 endorsements in all five academic colleges.  Nearly 25 percent of Iowa’s teachers and 

33 percent of Iowa’s superintendents and principals are UNI graduates.  UNI education programs 

also prepare counselors, school psychologists, principals, superintendents, early childhood educa-

tion providers, environmental health specialists, athletic trainers, professionals for nonprofit or-

ganizations, and university faculty members.  

At the request of the State Board of Regents, UNI is leading the Iowa Mathematics and Sci-

ence Education Partnership (IMSEP), a state-funded initiative, in partnership with Iowa State 

University and the University of Iowa, to strengthen math and science education across the state.  

(For more information about IMSEP, go to www.iowamathscience.org.) 

Northern Iowa’s heritage and philosophy place great value on providing a student-centered 

educational experience.  Its culture has been established through the development of an open, 

ethical, and caring community that promotes diversity, honesty, integrity, respect, fairness, trust, 

and civility among its members.  The university nurtures a premier learning environment — it is 

small enough to offer its students individualized attention, yet large enough to provide a variety 

of resources and opportunities, as well as distinguished faculty.  Most classes are taught by some 

850 faculty members who are committed to helping students grow intellectually and personally.  

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