Iowa's proud heritage : your state universities (1974)

[Music] there's not much Prairie left in Iowa yet this is what most of Iowa looked like when it gained statehood in 1846 there were no roads no railroads just grass Prairie flowers and more [Music] grass yet somehow on these grasslands homes would have to be built food and clothing provided even with so much to do it was determined that if Iowa were to grow and prosper it must have public higher education available at low cost to educate teachers and other Professionals for the frontier society and especially to provide opportunities for Iowa young people to prepare for productive lives the University of Iowa was established by the first general assembly just 59 days after Iowa became a state another Milestone was the establishment of Iowa State University when Iowa became the first state to take advantage of the moral act whereby a federal land grant provided startup funds to teach Agriculture and Engineering at the college level again in 1876 in a renovated home for civil war orphans a state normal school later to become the University of Northern Iowa with was established to meet the need for teachers for the public schools of the state and so lowcost public education was already a major goal low cost because these institutions were to be available to all rich or poor thus as covered wagons continued Westward Iowa Pioneers began raising the buildings in which their sons and daughters could learn to heal to build to teach to make laws and to farm but beyond providing for learning more was required of these important institutions the universities were expected not only to transmit knowledge but to search out new knowledge and to make it available to all who could use it to this day research church and public service are major characteristics of state universities and the Iowa institutions have traditionally LED in these efforts many of them Farm related from the past comes this [Music] example 1915 was a good year for oats old threshing hands as usual were guessing The Bushel per acre by watching how often The Bushel counter tripped it dumped so often that year that the yield was usually higher than the guess 1921 the counter had slowed down a bit 1925 still [Music] slower 9 1927 rust year after year the rust was taking a heavy toll that meant the painstaking work of cross-pollinating to develop the new varieties and the equ painstaking work of testing each new variety for rust resistance long before soybeans replaced oats as a second crop the rust resistant varieties had been developed one example of a university-based research gift to Iowa and the nation another example this one of Public Service the University Hospitals and Clinics created late in the 19th century by the Iowa legislature then as now its purpose was to combine clinical education with health care services for those who couldn't otherwise afford [Music] it today it is so developed that 2,000 patients a day are referred here over the past 40 years a member of one out of every two Iowa families has been cared for here some of them for such sophisticated Services as laser eye surgery kidney transplants and heart catheter ation in short it's a regional health care center with a national reputation for excellence service to the state and research pushing back the frontiers of our knowledge have become continuing Traditions at the state universities some accomplishments of the recent past are associated with well-known names Van Allen and radiation studies atanos off and the computer and the work goes on both with the problems Ians face today and those they are likely to face in the future tornadoes simulated in a laboratory to increase our chances of survival in these destructive storms dust abatement research to make our country roads cleaner for the farm homes they serve solar electric design a promising energy conserving approach to heating our homes of the future future okaboji Lakeside laboratory where the three state universities pursue a shared concern in Iowa's water plants and animal life an expanded program in Family Practice to provide Physicians for Iowa communities hand pollination of soybeans to meet world food needs by developing new varieties new developments in the treatment of dental diseases uniq the University of Northern Iowa's Center for Urban education works with disadvantaged Iowans in waterl the sulfur in Iowa coal a critical problem facing the future of Iowa's coal industry firemanship training to prepare Iowa's volunteer firefighters getting facts on swine dissenter to learn how to control a major problem in pork production hydraulic research studying how you cool a Riverside Atomic power plant without raising the water temperature anhydrous ammonia accidents agricultural medicine pools the talents of two state universities to make a safer healthier life for Farm families these are but a very few of the multitude of activities associated with University education and only with the state universities in Iowa furthermore new Industries have grown up spin-offs from research at the universities the universities also bring new levels of cultural experiences for Iowans Rudolph norev inher Auditorium and s oawa in the New York philarmonic Oran Orchestra in the Cy Stevens Auditorium but this is still only a part of the story The Big the major contribution of the Regent universities is the educated men and women who have studied in these institutions what do all these graduates bring when they go into the towns the shops and the industries of the state to find out look at a typical County one which represents the average of all the people in their occupations we'll call this typical County Regent County there you would find that of the 26 doctors in Regent County 12 would have received their training at the University of Iowa of a total of 450 teachers nearly half would have graduated from one of Iowa's three state universities one member of that teaching profession is Barbara Corson wife mother and assistant principal at waterloo's West High School today's emphasis on continuing education gave her another opportunity and I again returned to UNI where I had the opportunity to participate in the specialist in education program in school administration at the end of last summer I was qualified for State endorsement as a secondary principal and at the end of next summer I hope to receive my degree in school administration so I've relied on uni to open doorways for me that I didn't consider as a younger woman Regent County would have the services of 86 Engineers of this number 59 would be from Regent universities and 18 lawyers out of a county total of 28 would be alumni of the University of Iowa and continuing education is not limited to the teaching profession a 1950 graduate judge Max R worling of Iowa's 7th Judicial [Music] District I get back to the campus frequently to attend lectures and legal institutes and to use the excellent and extensive library at the College of Law and a visit with professors on particular points of law in which they are expert in other words to update and continue my legal education these visits and the various publications of the college College of Law including the Iowa law review constitute a very valuable service to those of us in the legal profession a service which is enhanced by the many other fields which are related in one way or another to the law and which are found only in a complex University such as the University of Iowa as Regent County builds it needs Architects half of them would be Iowa State University graduates there would be many farmers and Agra businessmen and in today's world an increasing percentage have had University training Richard L Smith president of the State Bank in Fort Dodge a graduate of Iowa State University banking is an everchanging business today and it's everchanging because the needs and requirements of our customers are ever changing and we in the banking business must constantly keep oursel a breast of of their business the changes that occur so that we can be at least as equally well informed as are they one of the sources that uh enable us to do this is the resource information and the assistance that is available to us from the region institutions for example the Iowa Bankers Association in conjunction with the Iowa State University people hold a twoe school over a three-year period That's a available to young officers to assist them in gaining new knowledge in the agricultural field what's the ratio among dentists out of 12 in Regent County 10 would be graduates of the University of Iowa there would be nurses lawmakers Merchants ministers public officials musicians and Publishers alt together there would be nearly 900 graduates of three institutions in our typical County and 39 95 students from the county currently enrolled in the three universities Fred morraine longtime publisher of the Jefferson B and heral with his son and assistant publisher Rick morraine the marins are both graduates of the University of Iowa I just don't see how communities like Jefferson and Green County could operate in Iowa if we didn't have access to the graduates of the Regent universities uh by and large the great percentage of our leadership is uh trained in our three state universities practically all of our professional people our doctors our dentists our lawyers our Engineers veterinarians teachers practically all of our teachers uh come from Iowa schools and many of them from the Regent universities we did some figuring the other day and it's amazing but practically 5% of the people in Green County have either graduated from or are now attending the three Regent universities and this is to say nothing of the additional people who have attended there but who have not earned degrees yet I'm serious if Iowa communities are to remain vital and Progressive they're going to have to continue to have increasing numbers of regent trained people Ians have many reasons to be proud of their state universities and down through the years have supported them well both in resources and in good governance Iowa established its State Board of Regents in 199 the second state to take this step nine private citizens from throughout the state were appointed to assure coordination among its public universities full return on the educational dollar and the avoidance of unwise duplication today these same concerns guide their successors the president of the board from Harland Mary Louise Peterson an attorney vice president of a utility company from Davenport Donald Shaw a newspaper publisher and former Foreign Service Reserve officer from Sheridan John Baldridge a banker and former member of the State Board of Public Instruction from Wellman Stanley Barber a former state senator Farm manager and businessman from emmittsburg SJ brownley a community leader from oscal loosa Margaret Collison an attorney and president of a Waterloo company Harry SLI a law student at the University of Iowa from Manchester Steven Zumba a patent attorney and former legislator from Clarion Ray Bailey governing bodies like this one appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate have set educational and fiscal policy for Iowa's public universities as well as the Iowa Braille and sight saving school and the Iowa School for the Deaf Iowans have traditionally placed high value on education it has received serious and sympathetic concern from lawmakers in the general assembly they among others are increasingly aware of new problems which have entered the picture and for which Solutions are pressing runaway inflation is one of these inflation is tough on everyone but it hits universities particularly because of their prolonged budgeting process for example a classroom building planned in 1973 is approved d by the general assembly in 1974 goes to Construction in 1975 for completion in 1977 no forward planning can take into account inflation's effects during that time the building to last 100 years is forever inadequate the same is true for operating expenses inflation will leave its mark on society but only greatest vigilance will prevent it from Le leaving our universities in a permanently weakened condition also although Iowans continue to look to their Regent universities as the Capstone of their educational system the state is spreading its educational dollars over far more territory including more than 50 vocational community and private institutions as important as they are these schools are not interchangeable with the state universities 8 years ago Iowa was committing 23% of its general fund to its public universities now it is down to 14 and a half% and yet enrollments are over 20% higher than they were 8 years ago as a result in Iowa and throughout the nation more and more of the financial burden falls on the students 20 years ago the fees paid by Iowa residents covered about 1/10th of the cost of their education at the state Institution today their fees must cover nearly one3 of the cost there's irony and a great Injustice in such a [Music] tendency it doesn't change matters much for the poor where low family incomes make them eligible for financial assistance and it doesn't hurt the children of well-to-do families for whom a few hundred additional dollars may be no great burden but for the middle class it can be a heavy burden indeed the state universities are made up largely of students whose parents are in this middle- inome group they are not eligible for substantial financial aid they cannot meet spiraling tuition costs without great hardship today these middle inome families who contribute so much to Iowa find that early goal of accessibility to college fading away for their children if Iowa is to solve its critical problems of an aging population energy and the environment rural decline health care and transportation it will need a great deal more not less help from its state universities there is no other ready source of brain power in so many areas of advanced knowledge as is to be found on these three campuses here again Mary Louise Peterson president of the board of regions the history of this state the concern and the traditions of its people in the past and today have been to maintain high quality universities I have a deep concern that I would like to share with you and that is that we follow the traditions of the past and that we continue to preserve quality public institutions in our state that we are provided the funds so that we can attract outstanding faculty to teach the young people of this state that we are able to provide adequate classrooms that we're able to replace obsolete equipment that we are able to provide in essence quality education for the young people and the mature continuing education students in this state I am concerned that we are able to provide opportunities for young people the basic philosophy traditionally from the past from today and hopefully into the future will be that we are able to provide educational opportunities for large numbers of students at a reasonable cost the Regent universities strong in their achievements responsible for Unique contributions to the Vitality of the state need your strong and continued [Music] support [Music] from the time of the Prairies to the present Iowans have placed high value on their lowcost public universities their good judgment has been confirmed by the performance of these outstanding [Music] institutions