Alumni Community Frequently Asked Questions


Alumni communities support community building and provide visibility and practical support to alumni and friends around the world. Alumni Communities:

  • Act as advocates for the University of Iowa.
  • Encourage UI alumni and friends to maintain an active relationship with the university and each other.
  • Facilitate events and programming focused on increasing involvement within all alumni age groups and for diversified interest areas.
  • Foster a spirit of camaraderie among alumni who share similar interests and identities.
  • Inspire and support students.
  • Receive access to services, benefits, and support from the UI.
  • Strengthen the alumni community and its relationship to the university.
  • Engage in intellectual, cultural, and athletic life, as well as social and networking opportunities, to enhance professional development.
  • Enhance and enrich the scholarly and cultural resources of the UI.

  • What are the group’s goals? Do they align with the university’s goals?
  • Can an existing group or university entity accomplish these goals?
  • How is the group different from other alumni affinity groups?
  • Is there sufficient interest among alumni to support the new group?
  • Is this a viable short-term and/or long-term organization?
  • How would this group offer value to the university?
  • What affinity are you interested in connecting in support of the UI?
  • Are there current students on campus who can continue your group’s legacy with a similar interest or identity?

The primary leader (president, chair, or co-chair) of an affinity group is expected to:

  • Act as the main contact between the UI and the alumni community members and maintain regular contact with the staff liaison. In most cases that means at least monthly communication.
  • Respond in a timely manner (usually 48 hours) to inquiries or requests from the UI and alumni.
  • Follow the community’s governing documents and bylaws including holding elections as specified.
  • Maintain the alumni community's good standing with the UI.
  • In most cases, devote 3-6 hours per month to this leadership position (may require more time during busy event seasons).
  • Act as a positive representative and chief ambassador for the UI.
  • Establish an alumni community board of at least four people to help guide the mission and decisions when necessary.
  • Serve as an active participant in regular board meetings providing positive leadership and direction to the group’s board.

  • Keep the interest of the alumni community and/or UI foremost in mind when providing assistance and avoid all conflicts of interest.
  • Adhere to Iowa Volunteer Network Guidebook and Volunteer Code of Conduct and ask for clarification if you do not understand them.
  • Serve as a positive university representative and conduct yourself in an appropriate, professional manner.
  • Strive to achieve the highest quality and effectiveness in both the process and products of volunteer work without promoting any self-interest.
The UI values its volunteers and works to create services and programs to support and enhance their involvement. However, UI volunteers conducting themselves in a manner inconsistent with the university’s mission, or these expectations, may be removed as alumni community leaders.

Contact alumni.engagement@foriowa.org to learn more and start the process of becoming an alumni community.


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An Illinois couple's matching gift boosts UNI Dance Marathon's support of epilepsy treatment and research at UI Stead Family Children's Hospital. PHOTO: Meghann Litton Nathan Tross, fourth from left, presents a matching gift to UNI Dance Marathon leaders in February in Cedar Falls. Ean began having nightly seizures, some lasting up to 15 minutes, when he was six years old. Medications didn't help, and doctors couldn't find a cause. Eventually, pediatric specialists at University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital discovered that Ean had cortical dysplasia, an abnormality in brain development that causes epilepsy. They performed an operation to disconnect the right side of his brain in order to stop the seizures that were damaging his body. Since then, he's been seizure free. The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Dance Marathon organization wants to help even more pediatric epilepsy patients such as Ean. That's what motivated the student-led group?which began in 2011 and raises money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals?to donate more than $522,000 from its most recent fundraising event in February 2020 to UI Stead Family Children's Hospital. UNI Dance Marathon is investing in pediatric epilepsy at Iowa as part of a giving challenge from Nathan (82BA) and Beth Tross, of Highland Park, Illinois. The Trosses are doubling donations made to any UI epilepsy fund throughout the next three years, up to $1 million. This means they will match the recent UNI Dance Marathon gift to pediatric epilepsy, as well as any other epilepsy-related contributions. The UI is a world-class leader in epilepsy treatment and research, and the Trosses hope to ensure that its top faculty always have the financial means necessary to advance Iowa's knowledge. The couple has a deep personal commitment to this cause because Beth is one of the 50 million people across the globe who have the neurological condition. "Beth's experiences have shown us that effective treatments can control epilepsy, and we want to ensure that no avenue of discovery for improving treatments or finding a cure goes unexplored due to lack of resources," says Nathan, who is president and chief investment officer of Tennyson Capital. According to Alexander Bassuk, MD, PhD, director of the UI Division of Pediatric Neurology, five percent of Iowa children will experience a seizure and about one percent will go on to have repeated seizures. For about one-third of these patients, existing medications don't work. "That's why there is a real need for better treatments and research for new cures for seizures and epilepsy," says Dr. Bassuk. The joint gift from UNI Dance Marathon and the Trosses will help Dr. Bassuk's division acquire a state-of-the-art incubator and ventilator for studying seizures and epilepsy in premature babies. The support also will allow clinical and basic-science research teams to bring new medications and treatments for FDA approval faster than ever before. Prior to their most recent matching challenge, Nathan and Beth established the Beth L. Tross Epilepsy Professorship in 2009, which allowed the university to recruit Gordon Buchanan, MD, PhD, a renowned academic physician who studies sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. "We believe that Iowa is home to brilliant researchers and physicians who are leading the way in this field," says Nathan Tross. "With the right resources, the UI will continue to be a leader in the world of epilepsy treatment."

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