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Iowa's three regent universities might do well to boost recruiting efforts in California. The University of California Board of Regents today approved a plan to raise undergraduate fees — the equivalent of tuition — 32 percent by next fall, to help make up for steep cuts in state funding, according to an article in the New York Times. The state allocation for California's 10-campus system was cut $813 million, or 20 percent, this year, leading to a hiring freeze, furloughs ...

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Iowans for Tax Relief, a Muscatine-based lobbying organization, says Iowa should combine its regent universities under one administrative umbrella. Iowa could follow Wisconsin's state university system model in creating a new Iowa University System, Iowans for Tax Relief President Ed Failor Jr. said today.  It's not a suggestion to close the University of Iowa, Iowa State University or the University of Northern Iowa, he said, but rather to combine the administrative systems of the three so they operate under one administrative ...

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A second animal rights and green activist from Minnesota has been called to testify before a grand jury in Davenport, Iowa, according to a group support blog for the two. Scott DeMuth has been subpoenaed to the federal grand jury in Davenport for Nov. 17. DeMuth said on the blog at www.davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/ that he plans to resist the grand jury and refuse to testify. He was subpoened on Nov. 9 while leaving his house in Minneapolis. DeMuth and a previously subpoened activist, ...

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Two of the four finalists to become the University of Iowa's new vice president for strategic communications have been announced. The finalists are visiting campus this week, with one-day visits through Thursday. The first two finalists to visit are Sandra Conn, chief creative officer and vice president for external affairs at the University of Alberta, and Paul Allvin, associate vice president for communications at the University of Arizona. UI President Sally Mason is adding the new vice president to her ...

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Some Republican legislators are questioning plans by University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to send some employees to the Disney Institute for customer service training. It's bad form in this time of 10 percent state budget cuts, the lawmakers said in a statement today. UI Hospitals leaders have worked with the Disney Institute for at least a year, bringing training specialists to the Iowa City hospital. This upcoming trip to Orlando for hospital leaders, administrators, doctors, nurses and medical assistants ...

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The Downtown Association of Iowa City has urged University of Iowa leaders to relocate flood-damaged Hancher Auditorium and related music buildings downtown. Leah Cohen, president of the downtown group, says the board of directors unanimously support rebuilding a flood-damaged Hancher Auditorium and connected Voxman Music Building and Clapp Recital Hall downtown, one of two location options under consideration by UI officials. The downtown group sent a letter recently to UI officials stating that support. At a campus forum in October about Hancher/Voxman/Clapp, music ...

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There's been a recent push by fans to paint the water tower that looms over Kinnick Stadium at the University of Iowa. UI Spokesman Tom Moore on Tuesday said officials have discussed the idea, but no decision is expected in the near future. To read my story, go here.

University of Iowa officials want to replace the flood-damaged Art Building East complex at a new site on River Street, at a project cost of about $60 million. Money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would cover most of the cost, with the rest coming from insurance proceeds, academic building revenue bonds and UI funds. UI officials will seek permission from the state Board of Regents next week to proceed with project planning at the new site. The regents meet Wednesday in ...

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University of Iowa faculty set a record for external grants and funding received in 2008-2009, with $429.5 million. That's a 10.3 percent increase over the previous year. The jump in external funding came despite a slumping economy and a record flood that halted or slowed some UI research last summer.  To view the UI power point presentation about the research funding record, go here.

An update on the boyhood home of James Van Allen, noted UI astrophysicist for whom the Van Allen radiation belts are named: The boyhood home of famed astrophysicist James Van Allen will get a new lease on life. The 147-year-old home in Mount Pleasant was auctioned off last month after a local non-profit group could no longer afford to operate it as a museum. Neighbor Lee Pennebaker purchased the property for $40,500 and had planned to raze the house. But after the sale, area ...

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State Board of Regents President David Miles met with the editorial board of The Gazette Monday afternoon. He talked about budget cuts, program duplication and fall enrollment. He said the board will look at program duplication among the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa in making budget cuts. But Miles doesn't think much unneeded duplication still exists after regent efforts in the past 10 or 20 years to eliminate it. He also noted that ...

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By Diane Heldt   The Gazette IOWA CITY — Male student athletes at the University of Iowa had lower rates of arrest and citation than members of UI fraternities every year for the past five years. The arrest and citation rate in Iowa City of male athletes during the 2008-09 academic year — 10.5 percent — was nearly the same as the rate for male students living in residence halls, 10.1 percent. Overall, 8.3 percent of the UI’s male undergraduates were charged with one or ...

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University of Iowa officials have narrowed to two sites their options for replacing flood-damaged Hancher Auditorium. The "west site" is just north of the current Hancher, in the parking lot and green space between Hancher and the Levitt Center. The "east site" is a two-block area south of Burlington Street in downtown Iowa City. It's bordered by Clinton, Madison and Court streets. The west site was the option favored overwhelmingly by the more than 20 people who spoke tonight at a ...

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Sunday, July 6th is the 74th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet. University of Northern Iowa officials  announced some time ago the Dalai Lama had agree to visit campus in Cedar Falls. I spoke today with Kate Guess, UNI director of public relations, and she said the visit is still planned for sometime in 2010. In fact, UNI officials hope to announce the date and a few details about the visit by the end of this month.

 Iowa Public Radio will cut nine positions this year in an effort to save money as part of a reorganization, officials said today. They said no programming will be changed or cut, and maintaining quality for listeners is a top priority. Four of the nine positions are vacant and will remain unfilled. Of the remaining five, two people qualify for early retirement and one employee will be moved to a different position. The other two will be laid off. The ...

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Michael Gartner of Des Moines, a member of the state Board of Regents, writes an opinion column about gay adoption in Iowa for the Des Moines-based Cityview publication. Read it here.

I have a story in today's Gazette, updating how things have gone for police officers at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa since they started carrying firearms about 19 months ago. The number of times police have actually drawn and fired the weapons at the three campuses is very low. But officers say it makes a difference knowing they have that tool on their belt. Read my story here. And to read the annual report ...

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Iowa State University ranks ninth on the list of U.S. universities with the most digital piracy in 2008. ISU ranked 26th on the list in 2007, but jumped to ninth in 2008 with 719 total instances of piracy. The report was released by Bay-TSP, a California company that offers tracking applications for copyrighted works. The company's annual report says MIT ranked first, with 2,593 instances of piracy and infringement of media owned by the company's clients.  According to the Chronicle of Higher ...

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Iowa City officials and University of Iowa leaders are discussing a program aimed at restoring a better balance to the mix of rental properties and owner-occupied houses in certain Iowa City neighborhoods near campus. The historic Northside neighborhood is one example used in the proposal. The mix in the Northside used to be about 50 percent rentals and 50 percent owner-occupied, about 15 years ago. But that has swung to about 2/3 rentals now. That trend is a concern to residents, ...

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State Board of Regents met today in Ames. The big news was talk about the 2009-2010 budgets at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. The universities will get $80 million in federal stimulus money to cover $86 million in state budget cuts for Fiscal Year 2010, which starts July 1. But the real concern is about Fiscal Year 2011, which starts next July 1, since those stimulus dollars are one-time funds and the ...

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I'm a big fan of the TV show "How I Met Your Mother." The suit-wearing shark of a businessman on that show, Barney, has a rotating supply of fake motivational posters in his office that say things like "Awesomeness." Kenneth G. Brown, an associate professor of management and organizations in the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, researched the effectiveness of those (often cheesy) motivational posters as part of his study "Giving Goodies in Training: Are There Benefits?"  Whether ...

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It's hard not to feel a little warm and fuzzy when you cover a citizen naturalization ceremony. I covered my first today, at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch. The ceremony was for kids (under 18) who have already become citizens through either 1) adoption, or 2) their foreign-born parents becoming naturalized citizens. They signed citizen certificates and got little U.S. flags. It was pretty cool.  Here's the story: WEST BRANCH — A few weeks ago, 9-year-old Shabnam Schmidt ...

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The University of Iowa is searching for a new Vice President for Strategic Communication, a position the university used to have (or a position that was similar) but hasn't had in a few years. Re-structuring of a few positions was announced today as part of that search. Effective today: n      Jude West will serve as Interim Vice President for Strategic Communication and will manage the Office of University Relations, Hancher Auditorium, the UI Alumni Association, UI Television and the UI Office of Strategic ...

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University of Iowa officials are considering no other sites for a new Hancher Auditorium other than the eight general areas around campus and the city already identified. UI officials will discuss with the state Board of Regents next Thursday the sites under consideration to replace flood-damaged Hancher/Voxman/Clapp and the Art Building East complexes, on the west bank of the Iowa River. The meeting information was released this morning, but it contained few additional details about the possible sites. Doug True, UI senior ...

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The University of Iowa has the green light to rebuild flood-damaged Hancher Auditorium at a new site. Now the question is, where? The state Board of Regents meets in Ames Wednesday and Thursday next week, and UI officials will bring more details about Hancher sites they are considering for discussion with the regents. But it's unlikely UI officials will make a site recommendation at this time. The agenda and supporting documents for the regents meeting will be released tomorrow, after ...

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