As Far as the Eye Can See As Far as the Eye Can See The Promises and Perils of Research and Scholarship in the Twenty-First Century edited by Stephen J. pradarelli University of Iowa Press Iowa City University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242 Copyright © 2019 by the University of Iowa Press www.uipress.uiowa.edu Printed in the United States of America Design by Sara T. Sauers ISBN 978-1-60938-653-5 (pbk) ISBN 978-1-60938-654-2 (ebk) No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable steps have been taken to contact copyright holders of material used in this book. The publisher would be pleased to make suitable arrangements with any whom it has not been possible to reach. The University of Iowa Press is a member of Green Press Initiative and is committed to preserving natural resources. Printed on acid-free paper Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the Library of Congress. To the future When I dipt into the future far as human eye could see; Saw the Vision of the world and all the wonder that would be. —Alfred Tennyson A poem, a symphony, a painting, a mathematical truth, a new scientific fact, all bear in themselves all the justification that universities, colleges, and institutes of research need or require. —AbrAhAm flexner, 1939 Contents xiii Foreword Mary sue ColemAn xvii Acknowledgments xix Introduction Daniel A. reed Part 1. The Role of the University 3 Campus as Incubator: How Colleges and Universities Promote Success for Students and Society CAssie l. BarnhArdT And niCholAs A. bowmAn 10 Big Ideas: The Role of Interdisciplinary Teaching at a Research University CorneliA Lang And Andrew forbes 15 Higher Education Institutions as a Fertile Environment for Interdisciplinary Research That Can Solve Complex Biological Problems AliAsger K. Salem 18 Stronger Together: How Public-Private Partnerships Strengthen Scientific Literacy Maurine neimAn And emily Schoerning Part 2. The Arts 27 Backing History: Iowa’s Role in Protecting the United States’ Founding Documents Tim bArrett 32 Art on the Edge: Pushing the Boundaries of Imagination and Creativity JoyCe TsAi And Jennifer buckley 39 The Museum of Today and Tomorrow: Opportunities and Innovation in Art and Education Kimberly musiAl DatchuK 44 The History of Grace: How Dance Shapes, and Is Shaped by, the World rebekah J. KowAl 53 The Life of Discovery ChrisTopher merrill Part 3. Reading, Speech, and Language 61 Strong Girls Read Strong Books: Developing Reading Self- Efficacy and Critical Social Awareness in an Afterschool Book Club renita r. SchmidT And AmAndA HaerTling Thein 66 Fostering Collaboration among Reading Researchers, Policymakers, and Educators: The Iowa Reading Research Center deborAh K. reed 70 Hearing Lost Voices: Researching Women in Elocution mAriAn wilson Kimber 76 Why We Prank: Lessons Learned at Stuttering Camp PatriCiA ZebrowsKi 81 Education in a Multilingual Society: Supporting Bilingual Students David CAssels Johnson And liA plakans Part 4. Health and Environment 89 Filling the Knowledge Gap through Clinical Trials ChrisTopher s. Coffey And dixie Ecklund 94 Becoming “Wellderly”: Hopes and Risks of Superaged Societies bernd fritzsCh, gerAld JogersT, And ryAn CArnAhAn 105 Know It or Not: Public Health Research Has Transformed Your Life Corinne peeK-AsA And ediTh ParKer 111 Iowa’s Role in the Genetics Revolution roger A. williAmson And Jeffrey C. murrAy 118 Ticking Time Bomb: People, Animals, and the Effect of Antibiotics on Health and the Environment Marin SchweiZer, ChrisTine peTersen, KurAyi MahAChi, And Kelly Baker 126 Wrapping Our Hands, Hearts, and Heads around a Forest Half a World Away h. s. udAyKumAr And meenA KhAndelwAl 134 A Hard Rain: How the Flood of 2008 Transformed IIHR Larry weber Part 5. Community 141 As Far as the Ear Can Hear: Choral Singing in Prisons Grows a Community of Caring Mary l. Cohen 149 Faith and Friction: Why Studying Religion, Migration, and Work in the Heartland Matters KrisTy NabhAn-Warren 155 “How Are You Going to Keep Them Down on the Farm after They’ve Seen Iowa City?”: Making Public Research Universities Relevant to the Rural Midwest ChArles Connerly 160 Building Partnerships for Sustainable and Healthy Rural Communities brAndi JAnssen 167 Contributors Foreword As so eloquenTly described in this volume, As Far as the Eye Can See: The Promises and Perils of Research and Scholarship in the Twenty-First Century, faculty at the University of Iowa have contributed mightily to the public good. It is hard to imagine what the state would be like without the talents of the great writers and artists, scientists, healers, specialists in educational testing, historians, and more, who have roamed the campus, educated Iowa’s children, made groundbreaking discoveries, nourished our souls, and stimulated a robust economy. This vibrant economic and educational engine holds the public faith by being a good steward of public funds while at the same time attracting new support from a variety of private entities. It is incumbent upon all of us to understand the trajectory of our public universities and to clearly explain why they are so vital to our global competitiveness in the twenty-first century. For three years, beginning in 2013, I had the pleasure of working along- side Robert Birgeneau, former chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley, and collaborating with superb advisors—from higher education, corporations, financial institutions, foundations, and government—to examine the causes and consequences of reduced state investment in public research universities. These universities, of which the University of Iowa is one, are institutions of higher education that receive a portion of their funding from state and local appropriations and are Carnegie- classified as Very High and High Research Activity universities. Sup- ported by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, our project, titled The Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education, delved into the challenges and opportunities for these elemental insti- xiii tutions, which educate millions of students, contribute significantly to the cultural and economic vitality of their states, and generate research that drives the discovery and technological development critical for the advancement of our nation. Sadly, we documented that state funding of public research universi- ties, including the University of Iowa, has declined precipitously over the past decade, shrinking an average of 34 percent nationwide. Rather than being the consequence of a dramatic change in political philosophy, the withdrawal of state subsidies for education reflects decades-long struc- tural changes in state finances. The best way to describe this dilemma is that funding for research universities is most often the “balance wheel” of state budgets since such institutions are more flexible than most state agencies. When cuts have to be made, a higher percentage of budgetary excisions happen to higher education and specifically to research uni- versities because they are perceived to have “other sources of revenue,” such as tuition, donations, and access to competitive grants. Although they have such revenue sources, that average of a 34 percent decrease in state support over a decade represents a huge hit. In most states, higher education (including research universities) is the third largest priority, but it is a distant third, behind K–12 education and Medicaid spending. Corrections spending has also grown very rapidly in some states. All these competing demands will continue to put enormous pressure on funding available to support higher education. The reality is that public research universities, like the University of Iowa, find themselves in an increasingly perilous financial situation. While universities can and do raise tuition, shifting the burden of higher education from the state to individual families is eventually self-defeating. If access becomes more and more limited due to the high cost of public education, the benefits of having an educated citizenry will diminish. As it is, without question, in the interest of the state to encourage and foster an educated populace, so it is incumbent on all of us to work to- ward solutions. Clearly, universities have a responsibility continually to strive to reduce cost through efficiency targets and regional partnerships. With the increasing importance of philanthropy, universities must make the case for individuals and foundations to invest in exciting endeavors. Corporations have a role to play, as do state and federal governments, xiv Foreword since the talented young people being educated will be vital to the future of these entities. In short, each of us shares the responsibility for securing the future of our state research universities. As a first step, it is critically important that those of us in universities convey to everyone the excitement and awe that we all experience when learning about the latest discovery in a laboratory, reading a novel or poem, seeing a new work of art, or hearing about a life saved through an Iowa-generated medical advance. The University of Iowa is a magical place; and this volume helps to explain why it is so. Enjoy—and join those of us who treasure and champion the goals of this wonderful institution. Mary Sue Coleman, PhD President Emerita, University of Michigan Former President, University of Iowa President, Association of American Universities Foreword xv Acknowledgments A proJect of This magnitude takes many capable hands. In addition to the contributors, who were incredibly gracious and patient with me as this book moved from idea to print, I want to give a special thanks to several people who carried me, as much as this project, with their brilliant insight, deep knowledge, collegiality, and good humor. Rebekah Tilley helped shape initial essay proposals during meetings with contributors before the project got underway and lent her keen eyes to reviewing early drafts of the essays.