Northern Iowa Today, V74n2, Winter 1991

University of Northern Iowa UNI ScholarWorks UNI Today UNI Alumni Association Winter 1991 Northern Iowa Today, v74n2, Winter 1991 University of Northern Iowa Alumni Association Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy Copyright ©1991 University of Northern Iowa Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/alumninews Part of the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation University of Northern Iowa Alumni Association, "Northern Iowa Today, v74n2, Winter 1991" (1991). UNI Today. 63. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/alumninews/63 This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the UNI Alumni Association at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in UNI Today by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of North Winter 1991 ern Iowa magazine Contents Nort ern Iowa 2 The word is out Toda Enrollment growth bucks national trend 6 Learning from within The University of Northern Presidential Scholars savor Iowa magazine rigorous academic experience Volume 74, Number 2 Winter 1991 8 Enrollment growth creates critical needs Executive Editor/ Susan M. Chilcott Managing Editor/ Donavan M. Honnold Designer/ Elizabeth Conrad LaVelle 9 Magazine ranks Northern Iowa Photographer/ Bill Witt among top regional universities Other Contributors/ Gerald Anglum, Kad1erine Treloar Calhoun, Leigh Rigby, Carole 10 University program to recruit minorities into Shelley Yates teaching receives national award Class Notes Editor/ Brenda Meiners '90 Cover lliustration/Elizabem Conrad LaVelle 11 Northern Iowa takes environmental The Northern Iowa Today, distributed to all alumni, parents, faculty and staff, and omer education to Europe, Soviet Union friends of UNI, is published four times a year in the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter by me Office of Public Relations, 127 Gilchrist Hall, University of Normern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 12 In search of the golden calf 50614-0017 and the Division of Development. An "Indiana Holmes" in pursuit of lost The Office of Public Relations (319-273-2761) invites letters to me editor, as well as civilizations suggestions and contributions for a;-ticles and class notes. Send address changes to Northern Iowa Today, Office of Alumni Relations, 208 Commons, 14 The bridge to the real world University of Normern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa Northern Iowa programs help manufacturers solve problems, 50614-0284. Third class postage paid at Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. develop products The University of Northern Iowa is a member of CASE, me Council for me Advancement and Support of Education. Normern Iowa is an equal opportunity educator and employer wim a comprehensive plan for affirmative action. 16 Alumni Profile: Jan Spivey Gilchrist On the cover Enroll ments were shrinking at colleges and 18 Faculty Profile: Ira Simet univer ities across me country mis academic year, but Northern Iowa set a new record enrollment, the only Iowa Regent's university to show an enrollment increase over 1989. The growd1 contributes to me academic vitality of 20 College & University the university; higher admissions standards mean mat U I's entering freshmen in 1989 were better prepared academicall y than ever 26 Preview before. 27 Class Notes 36 Perspective .. The Word is Out t first glance, it seems impossible. Colleges and universities all across the country experienced shrinking enrollments this academic year, generally reflecting the decreasing pool of available high school graduates. But the University of orthern Iowa set a new enrollment record of 12,638, becoming the only Iowa Regents' university to show an enrollment increase over by Leigh Rigby 1989. Many institutions, from small liberal arts colleges to giant research universities, saw dramatic drops in their freshmen rolls last fall-up to 35 percent for some. But the University of orthern Iowa's new freshmen enrollment was the highest in its history (2,092). That record surpassed the last freshmen high, set at U I in 1977 when the number of graduating Iowa high school seniors available for recruitment was markedly higher. Projections indicate U I's enrollment will continue to grow at a gradual rate into the foreseeable future. And the growth isn't just in numbers; UNI's entering freshmen in 1989 were better prepared academically, and scored better on standardized test scores, than ever before. Why is orthern Iowa bucking the trend? Observers agree: our secret is out. "U I has a long tradition of quality," says Jack Wielenga, director of admissions. " ow we're getting that message out to a wider public." Enrollment growth bucks national trend That public widened considerably a few months ago. Although UNI draws around 95 percent of its students from within the borders of Iowa, its reputation made wider ripples when the U.S. News and World Report's "1991 College Guide" (released November 1990) listed Northern Iowa tied for seventh place among the 15 best regional colleges and universities in the Midwest. UNI was one of only two public universities on this select list. Evidence suggests that more and more students-and their parents-are interested in an institution that considers teaching students its first priority. The University of Northern Iowa has long been recognized as a student-centered university, and its commitment to teaching has never wavered. "UNI provides its students with a premiere undergraduate residential education. Not a lot of public universities do that with the quality we achieve. UNI is a leader among the leading publics in the nation," says Dr. Paul Butler-Nalin, planning administrator. Butler-Nalin came to UNI in the fall of 1990 from SRI (formerly known as the Stanford Research Institute). He has worked in higher education planning for many years, and believes that students in general are moving away from the vocational emphasis of the mid- 1980s, and are again looking for a complete educational experience. "Students and their families are interested in a broader liberal arts and academically-grounded education now. UNI's move to implement general education, and our renewed emphasis on academic majors, put us in a lead position to take advantage of that change," he notes. The faculty providing that broad education historically differ from their peers at many institutions in their passion for teaching. Professors teach an overwhelming percentage of courses at orthern Iowa, even at the undergraduate level. Teaching assistants are rare. "At very few At very few institutions institutions will you find a world renowned scholar like Dr. Hyo Myung teaching freshman calculus," says Dr. John Longnecker, chair will you find a world of the faculty senate. (Myung is among the world's leading renowned scholar teaching researchers in lie-admissable algebras.) The oft-stated dictum "publish or perish" has meant that the entire freshman calculus reward system for faculty is based on research and publishing. U.S. News and World Report, which annually publishes an in-depth study of the status of American universities (see story, page 9), has noted that "the ascendancy of research over teaching may have peaked." The story further advocates the model of a balance between teaching plus research to create a faculty of "scholars." "Our faculty always have strongly embraced the model of the teacher-scholar," agrees Dr. Rick Stinchfield, executive assistant to President Constantine Curris. "I believe that may become the model for the '90s at colleges and universities across the country." A recent report from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching supports this contention. Carnegie president Ernest Boyer comments, "I'm beginning to believe that the 1990s may come to be remembered as the decade of the undergraduate." Leading research institutions such as Columbia University are "rediscovering" what UNI has never forgotten-that the careful 3 education of the nation's undergraduates is the foundation on which rest research, industry and national prosperity. UNI plays a double role in shoring up that foundation; its traditional commitment to quality undergraduate education is complemented by its continued eminence as a teacher training institution. Recognition for excellence' also regularly accrues to programs such as accounting, music, biology and industrial technology, among many others. Another key element of UNI's ability to remain student-centered is its size. Student after student cites UNI's "big school advantages in a small school atmosphere" as a primary reason for selecting Northern Iowa. "People here like each other," says Corey Smith, a junior history major from Cedar Falls. "They'll talk to you. And the faculty is impressive-the quality you tend to see at schools with 40,000 enrollment, but we have a 1:18 faculty-student ratio." A compact campus, nearby residence halls and accessible off-campus housing maintain that "small school" atmosphere, although the recent enrollment crest has stretched physical facilities to their limits. (See accompanying story.) Recent national media attention to campus safety issues illuminates Northern Iowa's positive record in that area. "Parents are very concerned about safety when they visit a campus," says Wielenga, "especially when they come from a rural area or small town. We traditionally have a very safe campus community." Butler-Nalin does not discount the power of the purse in swaying some students UNI's way. "If we were in business for profit, we'd be known for providing the best product at the lowest price available," he says frankly. "That's a proven formula for success." An undergraduate education of comparable quality at a private college or university could cost a student up to 10 times more than it does at UNI. Nationally, the newfound emphasis on the value of teaching undergraduates makes good economic sense. A Newsweek article titled "Decade of the Student" notes that "while American universities produce great research ... they sometimes pay little attention to the task that lies at their very core: the teaching of undergraduate students.

Load more