Joffrey fundraiser in Des Moines raises $156,000 for UI School of Music, Hancher

The Joffrey Ballet took the stage of the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines in September to raise funds for the University of Iowa's flood-ravaged School of Music and Hancher Auditorium. The event raised more than $156,000, which will be split between the two UI units.

A special event at the Joffrey Towers in Chicago raised more than $17,000 for Hancher.

Read the full story here.

UI to host public forum on Voxman, Clapp and Hancher Oct. 12

The University of Iowa will host a public forum from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12 on possible replacement options and sites for Voxman Music Building, Clapp Recital Hall and Hancher Auditorium. The forum will be held in Macbride Auditorium. See news release.

Remember, Reimagine, Rebuild

Lt. Gen. Ron Dardis, adjutant general for the Iowa National Guard during last year's flood, and U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack are among several guests scheduled to give remarks Monday, June 15, during the University of Iowa's flood commemoration, "Remember, Reimagine, Rebuild."

The event, free and open to the public, will take place at the Old Capitol Museum, which will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include displays of flood-related photographs and research, audio excerpts from the StoryCorps oral history project and a musical performance. Information about flood-related research grants secured over the past year will also be made available.

A formal program begins at 12:15 p.m. on the west terrace of the Old Capitol, overlooking the Iowa River. UI President Sally Mason will give brief remarks, as will Dardis, now director of the state's Rebuild Iowa Office, who will speak on behalf of Iowa Gov. Chet Culver; Loebsack, D-Iowa; Eric Rossow, a 2009 graduate of the university who helped with sandbagging efforts during the flood; and others. The formal program will conclude with a reading by Marilynne Robinson, a member of the Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and recipient just this month of the Orange Prize for Fiction.

In case of inclement weather, the program will be held in the Senate Chamber on the second floor. More...

Reminder: UI forum on flood mitigation is Thursday

This is a reminder that the University of Iowa's Flood Mitigation Task Force and Campus Planning Committee will host an open forum at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday March 26 in the UI Libraries' Shambaugh Auditorium. The hosting groups will provide updates on the ongoing process of evaluating options and strategies for protecting the campus from future flood events. The forum will then be open to questions and comments from the audience.

All interested members of the community including UI faculty, staff, and students as well as other residents of the surrounding municipalities are welcome to attend. For more information contact Gregg Oden, 319-335-2455 or gregg-oden@uiowa.edu.

Tickets go on sale March 23 for Joffrey Ballet benefit for Hancher/School of Music

When times are tough, you learn who your friends are. Soon after the flood of June 2008 extensively damaged the University of Iowa Hancher Auditorium/Voxman Music Building complex, UI arts administrators heard from both the Joffrey Ballet and the Des Moines Civic Center, wondering if there was anything they could do to help. [more]

UI evaluates replacement for two flood-damaged building complexes

The University of Iowa next week will present the Iowa Board of Regents with its analysis of the costs to replace two major building complexes damaged in the flood of 2008. The analysis examines the costs of replacing the Art Building East complex, which houses much of the School of Art and Art History; and the Hancher/Voxman/Clapp complex, which houses the UI School of Music and Hancher Auditorium, the UI's principal performing arts venue. No site recommendations for new buildings will be made at the meeting, but that issue remains under active consideration. [more]

Campus, public invited to UI forum on flood mitigation March 26

The University of Iowa's Flood Mitigation Task Force and Campus Planning Committee will host an open forum at 7:30 p.m. Thursday March 26 in the UI Libraries' Shambaugh Auditorium. The hosting groups will provide updates on the ongoing process of evaluating options and strategies for protecting the campus from future flood events. The forum will then be open to questions and comments from the audience.

All interested members of the community including UI faculty, staff, and students as well as other residents of the surrounding municipalities are welcome to attend. For more information contact Gregg Oden, 319-335-2455 or gregg-oden@uiowa.edu.

Group invites flood victims to use writing for healing

University of Iowa faculty, staff and students affected by the flood of 2008 are invited to share their stories of the disaster and its aftermath through written expression or journaling in a safe, supportive community for six weeks starting March 26 at the Johnson County Crisis Center, 1121 Gilbert Court in Iowa City.

Hosted by the center, the "Swept Away-Brought Together" writers group is open to people with all levels of writing skill. It will meet from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on six consecutive Thursdays: March 26 and April 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30.

Group members will be invited to share their heart's needs and use poetry, prose and essays as a source of healing and recovery and as a creative way to make meaning out of life's traumatic circumstances. Participants will be encouraged to record events, describe places and belongings, and explore emotions, thoughts and beliefs that came with the waters of last June.

To reserve a spot contact Diane Yagla, flood case advocate, 319-351-0140.

UI Museum of Art to open IMU and Levitt Center galleries; receives NEH grant

The University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) -- whose former building was severely damaged during the flood of 2008 -- has received an Emergency Flood Assistance grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to help turn the Iowa Memorial Union's (IMU) Richey Ballroom into an art gallery.

This gallery is one of three on-campus spaces specifically designed for classroom use that the UIMA will open for viewing this year. Two of the new art venues will be on the IMU's third floor; the third will be in the Levitt Center for University Advancement's Stanley Gallery. [more]

Public Policy Center hosts flood symposium March 10-12

The University of Iowa Public Policy Center is hosting a lecture and symposium Tuesday, March 10, through Thursday, March 12, offering opportunities to better understand the disastrous floods of summer 2008.

"Living With Floods: From Science to Policy" is the topic of this symposium in The Forkenbrock Series on Public Policy. National experts will address topics ranging from the science of floods to the psychological impact of displacement, from flood mitigation to flood risk insurance.

Gerald Galloway will give a free public lecture "When Will We Ever Learn? The Challenge Of Dealing With Frequent Flooding" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, in Room 1505 of the Seamans Center. Galloway is research professor, Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering, University of Maryland author of the "Galloway Report." prepared in response to the flood of 1993.

The symposium continues Wednesday, March 11, and Thursday, March 12, in the Richey Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union. Sessions on the first day of the symposium will focus on flood prediction and the social, economic, and environmental impacts of flooding. Sessions on the second day will focus on flood mitigation strategies, flood risk management and insurance, and community planning. News release

UI organizes flood clean-up project over spring break

Hundreds of homes in Cedar Rapids remain in poor condition after the June 2008 floods, and the University of Iowa community's help is needed to clean out and refurbish these structures over spring break. The University of Iowa is organizing alternative spring break service project to do post-flood cleanup in Cedar Rapids, joining volunteers from across Iowa and the rest of the nation.

UI alumni, faculty, staff, students and community members are encouraged to participate in the flood clean-up effort, which begins Saturday, March 14, and continues through Friday, March 20. The cleanup dates coincide with the official UI spring break. Commitment is left to the discretion of individual participants, who may volunteer for the entire week or any days they are available. Shifts for the cleanup are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and transportation to and from Cedar Rapids will be provided if necessary.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own tools, if possible. Volunteers should register at http://osl.webtest.iowa.uiowa.edu/springbreak09. The registration deadline is Monday, March 2. Any special construction skills should be noted, but are not required. Student volunteers can earn hours toward a free concert ticket at http://www.10000hoursei.org.

Once the number of volunteers and their skills are determined, volunteers will be assigned to work in groups of up to 10 in flood-affected areas of Cedar Rapids, said Sue Driscoll of the United Way of Eastern Iowa. The East Central Iowa Volunteer Center is coordinating several flood clean-up projects in Cedar Rapids.

UI volunteers will join hundreds of high school and college students and church groups from around Iowa and the rest of the nation to help with flood recovery in Cedar Rapids over spring break, Driscoll added. She expects groups from the UI College of Law, Iowa State University, Grinnell High School in Iowa, as well as groups from Scranton, Pa., and Stout, Wis., to help.

Among those planning to assist in the cleanup are UI President Sally Mason and her husband, Ken, as well as Tom Rocklin, interim vice president for student services and dean of students.

"My husband Ken and I very much look forward to helping our neighbors in Cedar Rapids who were affected by last year's flood. I encourage members of the UI community to spend a little or a lot of time over spring break helping people get back on their feet in this important way," Mason said.

"I was amazed, but not surprised, by how the UI and Iowa City communities came together locally as we battled the flood last summer, and I hope as many of us as possible can extend that spirit of mutual support to those in need in Cedar Rapids. It's a great and caring way to spend some time off of work or school," she said.

The UI effort began after John Laverty, associate director in the UI Office of Admissions, contacted UI Civic Engagement Program and later the Office of Student Life to form groups of interested UI staff and students to organize the project.

"I remembered hearing about UI students going on spring break to help victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast, and wondered if there were any efforts underway to do something to help the local flood victims this spring break," said Laverty, who saw the flood devastation as a Cedar Rapids resident.

For more information about the Cedar Rapids flood cleanup, contact the Office of Student Life at 319-335-3059.

There are several other alternative spring break options available for UI students, including some sponsored by UI Student Government. Opportunities include the Pay It Forward Tour to do service projects in several different states, two Hurricane cleanups in New Orleans, and a School of Social Work trip to Philadelphia to assist a welfare rights organization.

Campus Christian Fellowship is also offering its "Beach Reach" event in Panama City, Fla. For more information on these programs visit http://www.asbiowa.org or email asb.iowa@gmail.com; scholarship opportunities are also available.

UI Division of Continuing Education and the UI Chicago Center are offering a Spring Break Service Learning Course in Chicago." This course is a six-day trip, March 15-20, to the southwest side of Chicago, where students will get hands-on experience working to improve the library system located at Thomas Chalmers Elementary Specialty School. Students will get hands-on experience working with children as they help organize their school's library system. For more information on this event visit http://www.uiowa.edu/chicago/events/index.html.

The Division of Continuing Education is also offering several credit courses as alternatives to the stereotypical spring break retreat. Courses offered through UI Recreational Services include scuba instruction in Florida, mountain biking in Utah, backpacking through national and state parks, ballroom dancing, introduction to bouldering, and a new course this semester, salsa dancing. For more information and a detailed listing of these spring break courses enter keyword "spring break" on ISIS at http://isis5.uiowa.edu/isis/courses/search.page.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa News Services, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 371, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500

MEDIA CONTACTS: Scott Ketelsen, University Relations, 319-384-0018, scott-ketelsen@uiowa.edu; John Laverty, UI Admissions, john-laverty@uiowa.edu, 319-335-0097; George McCrory, University News Services, 319-384-0012, george-mccrory@uiowa.edu; Writers: George McCrory and Megan McIntyre

FEMA announces financing options for flood-damaged UI buildings

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will finance either the replacement or restoration and mitigation of two major University of Iowa building complexes damaged in the flood of June 2008, UI President Sally Mason announced today. Those buildings include Hancher Auditorium, Voxman Music Building and Clapp Recital Hall and the Art Building East complex.

"It is important to understand that FEMA is not directing the university to replace the Hancher/Voxman/Clapp complex or the Art Building East complex," Mason said. "The university, with proper campus consultation, will examine the costs and benefits of both options and make a recommendation to the Board of Regents as soon as possible." Additional background information on the FEMA determinations will be provided to the Board of Regents at its meeting on Feb. 3 in Ankeny. [Full Story]

NOTE: Listen to an mp3 audio file of today's media briefing on the flood recovery. Or watch it when UITV broadcasts the briefing at 6:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. today, Monday, Jan. 26; 12:45 a.m., 10 a.m. and 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27; and 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28.

University Housing to return Parklawn residence hall to apartment complex

After seven years as a single-student residence hall, Parklawn Hall at the University of Iowa will return to serving families and others as an apartment complex beginning in July.

Built in 1955, the building served as apartments for married students and families through 2002. During the summer of 2002, Parklawn was designated as a residence hall in response to a record number of incoming freshmen requesting housing. Parklawn's re-designation is in response to the loss of 76 apartments at Hawkeye Court during the June 2008 flood and the opening in August 2009 of a new wing at Burge Hall that will include additional beds, said Von Stange, director of University Housing. [Full Story]

Media Advisory: UI to hold flood recovery briefing Monday

University of Iowa President Sally Mason, Senior Vice President and Treasurer Doug True and Iowa Board of Regents President David Miles will provide information and answer media's questions in regard to the latest developments relating to flood recovery at a briefing 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26 in 2520D of the University Capitol Centre. [Full Story]

Law school program to examine Cedar Rapids flood, update city's status

The University of Iowa College of Law will provide a status report of Cedar Rapids' efforts to recover from last summer's floods with a program on Thursday, Jan. 29. "Anatomy of a Disaster: The Cedar Rapids Flood and its Aftermath" begins at 12:40 p.m. in Room 245 of the Boyd Law Building. Admission is free and open to the public. [Full Story]

University of Iowa Museum of Art collection will return to home state

An intra-state alliance will soon bring the University of Iowa Museum of Art's (UIMA) collection back to Iowa.

The Figge Art Museum, Iowa's oldest art museum, has offered the UIMA significant space for display and storage of its permanent collection, Museum of Art-organized exhibitions and traveling shows in its three-year-old, state-of-the-art museum building in Davenport, Iowa.

"The Figge Art Museum is honored to partner with the University of Iowa Museum of Art," said Figge Director Sean O'Harrow. "Having the UIMA at the Figge will allow Iowa residents and tourists to visit the banks of the Mississippi and appreciate two great collections from two great institutions. The Figge is looking forward to hosting our new friends and celebrating art in Eastern Iowa." [Full Story]

University Theatres celebrates return to Theatre Building with 'As You Like It'

The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts will celebrate its return to the Theatre Building with a University Theatres Mainstage production of Shakespeare's sunny romantic comedy "As You Like It," opening at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, in the David Thayer Theatre. Additional performances will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 6-7 and 11-15, and at 2 p.m. Feb. 8 and 15.

The play includes some of Shakespeare's most famous lines -- including "All the world's a stage," "too much of a good thing," "for ever and a day" and "sweet are the uses of adversity" -- and comic devices that are familiar to Shakespeare's audiences: gender-bending disguises, mistaken identities, games of make-believe and the contrast between the simplicity and hardships of the natural world and the intrigue, deceit and artifice of human society. [Full Story]

Graduate students help UI upgrade Studio Arts building for second semester

If you want renovate a building, talk to the people who use it.

That's what Steve McGuire, head of Studio Arts for the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History, did for the new Studio Arts Building. Prepared in only 30 days last summer to replace studios lost to the June floods, the Studio Arts Building is in the location of the old Menard's store at 1375 Highway 1 West in Iowa City.

But turning a big-box retail space into classroom space for art isn't easy.
"When we moved in we recognized that there are some things that can't be done in 30 days," McGuire said. "All of our programs were accommodated, but the space was not as productive as it needed to be, especially for the graduate programs in studio arts."

Knowing the building needed to be improved for the graduate students to achieve their potential, the School of Art and Art History held a "charette" -- a collaborative session to solve a design problem -- with the students, architects and designers.

"We wanted to find out what needed to be in place for the work of the graduate students in studio arts," McGuire said. "The input of the students was critical to the success of the plans for upgrading the facility to make it more suitable for graduate programs. This involved such issues as lighting, layout of space and opportunities for students to see each others' work."

That work has now been completed for the beginning of the second semester. "With these improvements in place, we feel the building will be much more suitable for the studio classes in the arts," McGuire said. "It is very important for us to be attentive to art students' needs so as to be consistent with our standing as one of the top graduate programs in the country."

For UI arts information and calendar updates, visit http://www.uiowa.edu/artsiowa. To receive UI arts news by e-mail, go to http://list.uiowa.edu/archives/acr-news.html and click the link "Join or Leave ACR News," then follow the instructions.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Arts Center Relations, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 351, Iowa City, IA 52242-2500

MEDIA CONTACT: Peter Alexander, 319-384-0072 (office) 319-541-2846 (cell), peter-alexander@uiowa.edu

UI sponsors Jan. 15 program on collaboration during the flood crisis

The University of Iowa will present a public program, "Lessons from the Flood: Collaborating in a Crisis," at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 in Meeting Room A at the Iowa City Public Library. A public reception will follow at the Englert Theatre.

Featured speaker Michael Lombardo, Iowa City city manager, will discuss his experience working across the community and the campus to address problems left by the flood.

Barbara Eckstein, a UI professor of English and associate provost, will share her perspective on pollution in the Iowa River in her talk, "Before the Flood: An Endangered River Runs Through Us."

Gregg Oden, a UI professor of psychology and computer science, will present "After the Flood: Co-Chairing the UI Flood Mitigation Task Force."

The event is sponsored by the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies and the Graduate College. Co-sponsors are the UI Center for Teaching, UI Civic Engagement Program, the City of Iowa City, the Women's Resource and Action Center and the Associate Provost for Diversity.
For more information, call 319-335-4034 or visit http://www.uiowa.edu/~obermann/.