Read stories of Hawkeyes making a difference in Iowa and around the world.

Get involved and join the University of Iowa community. Choose from a variety of programs, events, and groups—on campus and off—to fit your Hawkeye experience.

Your gift to the University of Iowa makes a difference. By giving to your Iowa passion, you help change the lives of our students, our community, and the world.

The University of Iowa Center for Advancement helps UI friends and alumni stay connected, get involved, and give back.

Home Life With Phil Talk Archives

Philanthropy Talks Video Archive

Each spring and fall, an Iowa alum or friend returns to the University of Iowa to share their story about how they give back and empower others. These programs inspire students and the broader campus community to incorporate philanthropy into their lives. Learn about other student philanthropy opportunities available on campus.

Hawkeyes Give Back: Combating Climate Change

Through research, education, and advocacy, Hawkeyes are responding to a growing environmental crisis. Watch the video of this previously recorded virtual event to hear how University of Iowa professors Gregory Carmichael and Jerald Schnoor are giving back to combat climate change.

Hawkeyes Give Back: Philanthropy for Social Change

Hear how community engagement manager Brett Burk (14BA), social impact executive Jonathan Chaparro (08BA), underserved populations program supervisor RaQuishia Harrington (05BS), and political activist and writer Stacey Walker (10BA) are using philanthropy for social change.

Fran and Margaret McCaffery

Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery and his wife, Margaret, want to help find a cure for cancer. Learn more about their work with the American Cancer Society and Coaches vs. Cancer—and their role in creating a new cancer center for adolescents and young adults at Iowa. Watch their fall 2019 lecture.

Dave Dierks

Dave Dierks (70BA) is one of the most influential members of Iowa’s philanthropy community. Dierks began his career at the University of Iowa Foundation (now the University of Iowa Center for Advancement), where he has worked to garner support for Iowa for more than 45 years. Watch his spring 2019 lecture.

Kathy Dore

Media industry innovator Kathy Dore (72BA, 84MBA) is the senior advisor of vision and strategy for consulting firm Proteus Inc. Dore previously served as president of broadcasting at Canwest Media and president of entertainment networks for Rainbow Media, overseeing cable networks AMC, IFC, WE, and Bravo. She is vice chair for University of Iowa Center for Advancement Board of Directors and has given back to the University of Iowa’s Department of Communication Studies and the Henry B. Tippie College of Business. Watch her fall 2018 lecture.

Mark Kaufman

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Mark Kaufman (86BS) is the founder and president/CEO of Athletico, one of the largest physical therapy franchises in the nation. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training and Physical Education from the University of Iowa in 1986. After earning secondary degrees from the University of Arizona and Northwestern University, Mark opened the first Athletico clinic in August 1991. Watch his spring 2018 lecture.

Andy Code

Entrepreneur Andy Code (80BBA, 81MBA) is the founder and chairman of Promus Capital and Promus Equity Partners, a multifamily office created in 2008, with a concentration in alternative assets such as private equity, impact investing, hedge funds, managed futures, and real estate. He also established CHS Capital—a $2.9 billion private equity fund—in 1988 and was a partner there for 24 years. Watch his fall 2017 lecture.

Sheri Salata

Media powerhouse Sheri Salata (80BBA) is the former executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show and the former president of Harpo Studios and the Oprah Winfrey Network. Salata’s latest professional venture is the launching of STORY, a media company that produces print, television, film, and digital content. Watch her spring 2017 lecture.

Ted Waitt

Sioux City native Ted Waitt (17LHD) is the founder and chairman of the Waitt Foundation. At 22, he co-founded Gateway 2000 Inc., where he helped revolutionize the direct marketing of personal computers, and he became a Fortune 500 CEO and member of the Forbes 400 by the time he was 30. Since his retirement from Gateway in 2004, he has gone on to form multiple business and philanthropic enterprises. Watch his talk from fall 2016.

P. Sue Beckwith, M.D.

Renowned physician and philanthropist P. Sue Beckwith (80BS, 84MD, 15MBA) shared her personal and professional journey and spoke about why she is deeply committed to supporting the University of Iowa. Watch her talk from spring 2016.

John Pappajohn

John Pappajohn (52BSC, 10LHD) is a leading philanthropist and nationally celebrated entrepreneur and business leader. He and his wife, Mary, have contributed millions of dollars to state, educational, and fine-arts endeavors in Iowa and beyond. Among the Pappajohns’ many significant Iowa contributions include naming gifts for the Pappajohn Business Building, the Pappajohn Pavilion at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, the John and Mary Pappajohn Clinical Cancer Center, the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, and the Pappajohn Biomedical Institute in the John and Mary Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building. Watch his fall 2015 talk.

Jerre Stead

Jerre Stead (65BBA) is a visionary business leader who has enjoyed a long and illustrious career leading high-tech and information companies. A native of Maquoketa, Iowa, he started out in the business world with the Honeywell Corporation and, during his 21 years with the company, rose from production control planner to head of the firm’s Homes and Buildings Worldwide group. In 1987, Stead left Honeywell for the Square D Company, where he ultimately became chairman, president, and CEO. Watch his spring 2015 lecture.

Henry B. Tippie

Henry B. Tippie (49BSC, 09LHD) is one of the University of Iowa’s most accomplished and generous alumni. Throughout the years, he and his wife, Patricia, have supported important university programs and made a tremendous impact on the university, its students, and faculty. In 1999, in recognition of the Tippies’ visionary giving, Iowa renamed its business college the Henry B. Tippie College of Business. Watch his spring 2014 lecture.

Janice Ellig

Janice Ellig (68BBA) is the co-CEO of Chadick Ellig Executive Search Advisors in New York City and co-author of two books. She also serves as chair of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement Board of Directors. Watch her spring 2013 talk.

Join an Alumni Network

Make a Gift

Join our Email List

Iowa Magazine

Explore the latest stories from Iowa Magazine.

Read

In celebration of the university?s 175th anniversary, here are some rousing facts from its past and present that every loyal Hawkeye should know.

Old Gold: How Iowa Research Made the Moon Landing Possible

Before they could make one giant leap for mankind, Apollo 11's astronauts had to fly through the radiation belts discovered by James Van Allen. PHOTO: F.W. Kent Collection of Photographs, University Archives A journalism student interviews professor James Van Allen in the early 1960s. Editor's note: In Old Gold, University archivist David McCartney looks back at the UI's history and tradition through materials housed in University Archives, Department of Special Collections, University of Iowa Libraries. Old Gold is no mathematician. This of course comes as no surprise to his friends. The fact was established early on, at age 9, when he was unable to "get" long division in fourth grade. Eventually, he learned the protocol. Let's just say, though, that Old Gold was never destined to appreciate the intricacies of differential equations and leave it at that, shall we? PHOTO: F.W. Kent Collection of Photographs, University Archives. A graduate student in the Department of Physics reviews data from Explorer IV in 1959 in the basement of what is now MacLean Hall While clueless with complex variables, Old Gold has been a bit of a science nerd for most of his life. Such interest blossomed 50 years ago this summer thanks to the highly anticipated Apollo 11 lunar landing. At age 13, Old Gold was?as we say in Iowa?just dang giddy about the historic manned space mission. So many elements of it fascinated him: Crossing a new frontier, waiting about two seconds for a usually instant radio transmission to be completed, and a dose of bragging rights and Cold War-era patriotism?"We got there first!" Old Gold still has his tape recordings of CBS television's coverage of that momentous event of July 20, 1969, including news anchor Walter Cronkite's pronouncement of "whew, boy!" when the Eagle landed. Nervous NASA employees and millions of viewers were suddenly both thrilled and relieved by the occasion. While Old Gold was thrilled, he admittedly didn't sense relief, as he failed to appreciate the possibility of real danger to the astronauts at the time. Indeed, the danger was revealed about a decade before, when State University of Iowa professor James A. Van Allen (36MS, 39PhD) of the Department of Physics released data gathered from the unmanned Explorer I mission confirming the presence of radiation belts encircling the earth at various altitudes but less than 25,000 miles from the earth's surface. Physicists determined the radiation contained in these belts could be a barrier to manned and unmanned space exploration unless proper precautions were taken: protective shielding for the spacecraft, protective suits for the astronauts. They also determined that, to keep exposure to radiation at a minimum, any spacecraft traveling through the Van Allen belts would need to attain a certain velocity. Imagine jumping through a fiery hoop, as though such a daring feat could be done safely. Despite this barrier, the goal to send a man to the moon?regrettably, women were not considered for admission at the time?was stated by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space program in this period will be more impressive to mankind." Within the scientific community, there was considerable disagreement over whether NASA should devote resources to manned space flights. Many, including Van Allen, advocated for unmanned missions which could, in their view, gather data from new sources more efficiently. According to Abigail Foerstner's fascinating book, "James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles" (University of Iowa Press, 2007), Van Allen hailed the accomplishments of the first generation of astronauts, but also expressed doubts on JFK's goal as early as October 1961. Such "blunt goals," he said, could undermine scientific competence in the quest for more meaningful data harvesting and research. The Mercury and, later, Apollo missions nonetheless moved forward. They did so, ironically, thanks to Van Allen's significant findings. The radiation belt data culled from Explorer I and subsequent unmanned missions supervised by Van Allen allowed NASA to plan its missions accordingly. NASA determined that an astronaut's exposure to radiation would be less than five percent of the level considered allowable by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The front page of the Daily Iowan on July 19, 1969, in anticipation of the Apollo 11 landing to occur the next day. The mathematical breakdown: OSHA's standard for radiation safety allows exposure of up to 300 rads (the unit of measurement for absorbed doses of ionizing radiation) in an hour. NASA determined that a spacecraft could travel through the radiation belts in 52 minutes with exposure of only 13 rads, based upon Van Allen's findings. This was determined to be well below the OSHA threshold and considered to be completely harmless. Until 1969, however, it was untested. James Van Allen led research that made possible one of science's greatest accomplishments. Old Gold appreciates the milestone?not to mention the many NASA scientists who have done the math. Read more University of Iowa history stories in our Old Gold archive.

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Statement unless you have disabled them in your browser.

Careers

Update Your Information

Privacy Statement

NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity that works to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its .