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: Children's Medicine Champion Featuring Jerre Stead

Jerre Stead (65BBA, 11LHD) is a visionary business leader whose transformational support helped build University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Learn about how he and his family are connected to the Hawkeye Wave and give back through philanthropy, volunteering, and leadership.

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.

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The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center celebrates its inaugural crop of student, faculty, and alumni award winners. The University of Iowa recently announced the recipients of its first-ever Iowa Innovation and Entrepreneurship?Honors. Selected not only for their significant accomplishments in entrepreneurship and innovation, but their impact on communities, the award winners are: Meetup chairman Scott Heiferman (94BBA), TelePharm founder Roby Miller (10BA), Digital Diagnostics executive chairman Michael Abramoff, CartilaGen co-founder Jaison Marks (17BS, 17BSE), Peak3 Digital co-founders Andrew Austin and Nate Elsner, and SmartScripts CEO Todd Thompson (98BSPh). The honors are presented by the University of Iowa's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center. Established in 1996, Iowa JPEC is the UI's hub for entrepreneurship education and outreach. A recognition dinner in April for the honors recipients was canceled because of COVID-19. Iowa JPEC hopes to host an event recognizing these individuals before the end of the year. Scott Heiferman (94BBA) Co-Founder and Chairman, Meetup Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award Heiferman is known for being both a visionary tech entrepreneur and a passionate Hawkeye. Since graduating from the University of Iowa, Heiferman has started three successful companies. His most well-known company, Meetup, has grown into a tech application that improves individuals' real-life community connections across the world. Heiferman's first company, iTraffic, was created in 1995 and was the first-ever online advertising agency. He co-founded his second startup, Fotolog, in 2002, and this pioneering photo sharing network pre-dated Instagram and saw over 30 million people upload nearly 1 billion photos?all before the existence of smartphones. Meetup, a platform for finding and building local communities was co-founded by Heiferman in 2002. Meetup has attracted over 100 million members, with 12,000 Meetup gatherings occurring every day (during pre-COVID time). The company has offices in New York and Berlin. Heiferman served as the CEO 2002-2018 and brought the company to profitable sustainability when it was purchased by WeWork. Roby Miller (10BA) Founder, TelePharm Young Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award Just two years after graduation, Miller founded TelePharm, a telehealth?software that enables pharmacists to work at the top of their license?across multiple pharmacies. TelePharm has enabled pharmacies to open nationwide that provide much-needed pharmacy care access in underserved rural and urban areas. The company?currently supports?pharmacies in 25 states, serving millions of patients, and has created over 2,000 jobs nationwide. In less than four?years following its founding, TelePharm was acquired by Ohio-based Fortune 17 healthcare giant Cardinal Health. Since the acquisition, Miller has continued in a leadership role within the company as it expands into new states and new markets. In addition to his healthtech startup experience, Miller?co-founded Built By Iowa, an early-stage venture fund, and?has served as an angel investor?to several local and?nationwide startups.? Michael Abramoff Founder and Executive Chairman, Digital Diagnostics (Formerly IDx Technologies) Faculty/Staff Startup of the Year Award Dr. Michael D. Abramoff, MD, PhD, is a fellowship-trained retina specialist, computer scientist, and entrepreneur. Digital Diagnostics was founded in 2010 to improve quality and access and lower the cost for healthcare through autonomous Artificial Intelligence (AI). Digital Diagnostics is the first company ever to receive FDA clearance for an autonomous AI diagnostic system. Its first product, IDX-DR, diagnoses diabetic retinopathy by making a clinical decision at the point-of-care, without requiring human oversight. Digital Diagnostics has deployed its AI systems in clinics across the U.S. and has also been infiltrating the international market to help prevent visual loss and blindness in people with diabetes. Jaison Marks (17BS, 17BSE) Co-Founder, CartilaGen Graduate Student Startup of the Year Award Founded in 2017, CartilaGen, is developing an intra-articular drug injection that is capable of preventing post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). CartilaGen has the only treatment that targets the earliest stage of PTOA development by modifying the underlying disease in an easily performed, cost-effective manner. The startup has secured a license agreement with the University of Iowa Research Foundation, has been recognized and awarded funding through several startup competitions, and is currently initiating its first human clinical trial. Additionally, CartilaGen is concurrently looking to expand the indications of its therapeutic through novel preclinical research. Marks is currently a UI graduate student studying biomedical engineering and finance. Andrew Austin and Nate Elsner Co-Founders, Peak3 Digital Undergraduate Student Startup of the Year Award Peak3Digital offers technology consulting, IT, and web design services to small- and medium-sized businesses in the Iowa City and Chicagoland areas. The company was founded in 2017 when Austin and Elsner were seniors in high school. They have been active in entrepreneurial student programs during their first few years at UI and have served more than 50 businesses to date. Although run by busy full-time students, Peak3 Digital has earned over $150,000 in revenue since its establishment and currently has two employees. Austin is a UI undergraduate studying management and marketing, and Elsner is an undergraduate studying computer science and psychology. Both are members of the Class of 2022. Todd Thompson (98BSPh) CEO, SmartScripts Venture School Business of the Year Award Established in 2015, SmartScripts uses the latest technology to deliver prescriptions, vitamins, and supplements in a safe, convenient, and accurate system to their patients. This provides a convenient, low-cost option for patients who manage multiple medications. SmartScripts participated in Iowa JPEC's Venture School program during spring 2017. Since finishing the program, the company has completed their second round of funding (at $7 million), increased revenue by nearly 2,400%, opened two new locations in Iowa (Fort Worth and Iowa City), and has added over 70 full-time employees.

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