Editing University of Northern Iowa

{{Short description|Public state university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, US}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = University of Northern Iowa
 | image                  = University of Northern Iowa Seal.svg
 | image_size             = 160px
 | former_names           = Iowa State Normal School (1876–1909)<br />Iowa State Teachers College (1909–1961)<br />State College of Iowa (1961–1967)
 | motto                  = ''Lux'' ([[Latin]])
 | mottoeng               = ''Light''
 | type                   = [[Public university]]
 | accreditation          = [[Higher Learning Commission|HLC]]
 | parent                 = [[Iowa Board of Regents]]
 | academic_affiliations  = [[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program|Space-grant]]
 | established            = {{start date and age|September 6, 1876}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scua.library.uni.edu/university-archives/articles/uni-fact-sheet#Institut|title=UNI Fact Sheet}}</ref>
 | endowment              = $163 million (2022)<ref>As of June 30, 2022. {{cite report |url=https://foundation.uni.edu/endowment |title=Endowment Management |access-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928152501/https://foundation.uni.edu/endowment |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | president              = [[Mark Nook]]
 | provost                = Jose Herrerra
 | faculty                = 639<ref name="factsheet">{{Cite web|url=https://library.uni.edu/collections/special-collections/university-archives/uni-fact-sheet#President|title=UNI Fact Sheet {{!}} Rod Library|website=library.uni.edu|language=en|access-date=November 15, 2018|archive-date=October 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028021547/https://library.uni.edu/collections/special-collections/university-archives/uni-fact-sheet#President|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | students               = 9,021 (fall 2023)<ref>{{cite web |title=UNI's enrollment tops 9,000 students, incoming freshman students up 8% |url=https://insideuni.uni.edu/campus-community/uni%E2%80%99s-enrollment-tops-9000-students-incoming-freshman-students-8 |website=insideuni.uni.edu |publisher=University of Northern Iowa |access-date=7 September 2023 |archive-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907202050/https://insideuni.uni.edu/campus-community/uni%E2%80%99s-enrollment-tops-9000-students-incoming-freshman-students-8 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 7,739
 | postgrad               = 828
 | city                   = [[Cedar Falls, Iowa|Cedar Falls]]
 | state                  = [[Iowa]]
 | country                = United States
 | coordinates            = {{Coord|42|30|54|N|92|27|38|W|region:US_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = Small city
 | campus_size            = {{convert|900|acre}}
 | colors                 = Purple and gold<ref name="UNI colors">{{cite web|url=https://uni.edu/webtools/uni-colors|title=University of Northern Iowa Web Colors|access-date=February 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214103019/https://uni.edu/webtools/uni-colors|archive-date=February 14, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />{{color box|#4B116F}} {{color box|#FFCC00}}
 | sports_nickname        = [[Northern Iowa Panthers|Panthers]]
 | sporting_affiliations  = {{hlist|[[NCAA Division I]] [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]] – [[Missouri Valley Conference|MVC]]|[[Missouri Valley Football Conference|MVFC]]|[[Big 12]]}}
 | mascot                 = TC Panther (male) & TK Panther (female)
 | website                = {{URL|https://www.uni.edu}}
 | logo                   = University of Northern Iowa wordmark.svg
 | free_label             = Newspaper
 | free                   = ''[[The Northern Iowan]]''
}}

The '''University of Northern Iowa''' ('''UNI''') is a [[public university]] in [[Cedar Falls, Iowa]], United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students.<ref>{{cite web |title=UNI’s enrollment increases for second straight year at 9,283 students |url=https://insideuni.uni.edu/campus-community/unis-enrollment-increases-second-straight-year-9283-students |website=insideuni.uni.edu |publisher=University of Northern Iowa |access-date=12 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423012345/https://insideuni.uni.edu/campus-community/unis-enrollment-increases-second-straight-year-9283-students |archive-date=2025-04-23 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The university was initially founded in 1876 as the '''Iowa State Normal School''' with the purpose of training school teachers and educators. The University of Northern Iowa is one of three public universities in Iowa, all of which are governed by the [[Iowa Board of Regents]].

==History==
The University of Northern Iowa was founded as a result of two influential forces of the nineteenth century. First, Iowa wanted to care for orphans of its Civil War veterans, and secondly, Iowa needed a public teacher training institution. In 1876, when Iowa no longer needed an orphan home, legislators Edward G. Miller and H. C. Hemenway started the Iowa State Normal School.<ref name="Northern Iowa 2000">University of Northern Iowa, Gerald L. Peterson, Aracadia Publishing, 2000.</ref>

The school's first building opened in 1867 and was known as Central Hall. The building contained classrooms, common areas, and a living facility for most of the students. It was also a home to the college's first principal, James Cleland Gilchrist. The building was the heart and soul of the school, allowing students to study courses of two-year, three-year, and four-year degrees. In 1965, a fire destroyed Central Hall, and school faculty and Cedar Falls citizens donated over $5,000 to start building Gilchrist Hall.<ref name="Northern Iowa 2000" />

The school has been known under the following names:
*'''Iowa State Normal School''', 1876&ndash;1909
*'''Iowa State Teachers College''', 1909&ndash;1961
*'''State College of Iowa''', 1961&ndash;1967
*'''University of Northern Iowa''', 1967&ndash;present
From 2014 through 2018 the UNI hosted the ''Midwest Summer Institute: Inclusion and Communication for All'', a two-day conference on [[facilitated communication]] sponsored by the Inclusion Connection and Syracuse University's Institute on Communication and Inclusion. Facilitated Communication is a discredited practice, and in 2018 UNI decided to discontinue the conference at the urging of multiple nationwide academics.

=== Presidents ===
[[File:Iowa State Normal School, Cedar Falls, Iowa.jpg|thumb|right|Iowa State Normal School, c. 1904]]
Since its founding, the university has had eleven presidents.<ref name="factsheet"/>

* James Cleland Gilchrist, 1876–1886
* Homer Horatio Seerley, 1886–1928
* Orval Ray Latham, 1928–1940
* Malcolm Poyer Price, 1940–1950
* James William Maucker, 1950–1970
* John Joseph Kamerick, 1970–1983
* [[Constantine W. Curris|Constantine William Curris]], 1983–1995
* Robert D. Koob, 1995–2006
* [[Benjamin J. Allen]], 2006–2013
* [[William Ruud]], 2013–2016
* [[Mark Nook]], 2017–present
[[File:FI0008292.jpg|center|frameless|661x661px|Lang Hall, 1907]]
==Academics==
University of Northern Iowa colleges include:
* Wilson College of Business
* Education
* Humanities, Arts and Sciences
* Social and Behavioral Sciences
* Graduate College

===Study Abroad Center===
UNI provides an opportunity for the students to study in 25+ countries and select from over 40 programs. It is also available to all students attending the university.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://studyabroad.uni.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ListAll|title=Programs > List All > Study Abroad Center|website=studyabroad.uni.edu|access-date=August 29, 2017}}</ref> The mission of the Study Abroad Center at the University of Northern Iowa is to provide service and leadership in international education to UNI students, faculty, staff, the community and the State of Iowa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uni.edu/studyabroad/about-us|title=About Us {{!}} UNI Study Abroad Center|website=uni.edu|language=en|access-date=November 15, 2018|archive-date=December 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206114739/https://uni.edu/studyabroad/about-us|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Culture and Intensive English Program===
The Culture and Intensive English Program ('''CIEP''') is an intensive program in English for non-native speakers.  It is designed to prepare students for academic work at the undergraduate or graduate degree level. University of Northern Iowa students are also encouraged to participate in the Conversation Partner Program to help foreign students with their English ability and foster cross-cultural relationships while gaining mutual understanding.

===North American Review===

The university is the publisher of ''[[North American Review|The North American Review]]'' (called the NAR), a celebrated literary magazine that began originally in Boston in 1815. Its past editors have included [[James Russell Lowell]], [[Charles Eliot Norton]], and [[Henry Brooks Adams|Henry Adams]]; while among its past contributors are [[Mark Twain]], [[Henry James]], [[Joseph Conrad]], [[Walt Whitman]], [[Kurt Vonnegut]], [[Joyce Carol Oates]], [[Guy Davenport]] and [[Margaret Atwood]]. In 1968, when the magazine was purchased by UNI, [[Robley Wilson]] was appointed editor, a position he continued in until his retirement in 2000. The current editors are Rachel Morgan, Jeremy Schraffenberger, Grant Tracey, and Brooke Wonders.

[[File:MK2 4180.jpg|thumb|UNI Teaching and Research Greenhouse]]

===Teaching and Research Greenhouse===
The '''University of Northern Iowa Teaching and Research Greenhouse''' is a [[greenhouse]] complex incorporating [[botanical garden]]s for research and education. It is located on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa in [[Cedar Falls, Iowa]].

The greenhouse contains plants from many ecotypes, including 250 tropical plants, two live birds, an extensive collection of arid climate plants, and the {{convert|1200|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Aquatic Learning Center.

=== International collaboration ===
The university is an active member of the [[University of the Arctic]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Members |url=https://www.uarctic.org/members/member-profiles/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=UArctic |language=en-US}}</ref> UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.uarctic.org/about-us/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=UArctic - University of the Arctic |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Athletics ==
{{Main|Northern Iowa Panthers}}
The school's [[mascot]] is the [[Panthera|Panther]], represented as a sibling pair of mascots known as TC (The Cat) and his sister TK. They participate in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]'s Division I (I-FCS for football) in the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference]], the [[Missouri Valley Conference]] (MVC) for most other sports, and the [[Big 12 Conference]] for wrestling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wcfcourier.com/sports/college/uni/wrestling/college-wrestling-uni-welcomes-move-to-big-conference/article_c0472144-2408-59b6-bad3-fba26e380424.html|title=College wrestling: UNI welcomes move to Big 12 Conference|first=Jim|last=Nelson|date=June 10, 2017 |access-date=August 29, 2017}}</ref> The major arena on campus is the [[UNI-Dome]], currently the home of the football team. The Dome also serves as a venue for many local concerts, high school football playoffs, trade shows, and other events. In 2006, the university opened a new arena, the [[McLeod Center]], to serve as the home for several athletic programs that had previously played in the UNI-Dome, including the volleyball and men's and women's basketball teams.

The UNI athletics program has enjoyed recent success, with the men's basketball team competing in the NCAA tournament three consecutive times in 2004, 2005, 2006, again in 2009 and 2010 and in 2015 and 2016. On March 20, 2010, the men's basketball team defeated the heavily favored, top-seeded [[Kansas Jayhawks]] to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. It was the school's first appearance in the Sweet Sixteen. The Jayhawks were favored to win the NCAA championship. Their [[Cinderella (sports)|Cinderella]] potential ended with a loss to [[Michigan State Spartans men's basketball|Michigan State]] in the Sweet Sixteen, 59–52. The win over Kansas earned them the 2010 [[ESPY Award]] for Best Upset.
[[Jacqui Kalin]] helped lead the women's basketball team to consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, as the team won back-to-back MVC Tournament titles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://godrakebulldogs.com/staff.aspx?staff=139|title=Drake University Athletics - Jacqui Kalin - Staff Directory|website=godrakebulldogs.com|access-date=August 25, 2020|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413225718/https://godrakebulldogs.com/staff.aspx?staff=139|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="DI">{{Cite web|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2019/D1.pdf|title=Division I Women's Basketball Records|website=NCAA.org}}</ref><ref>[https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1357&context=amg ''2008-09 University of Northern Iowa Women's Basketball Media Guide Guide,''] University of Northern Iowa.</ref><ref name="UK">{{Cite web|url=https://wcfcourier.com/sports/college/uni/womens_basketball/unis-kalin-named-to-jewish-sports-reviews-all-america-team/article_8aced604-80f0-11e0-ab2a-001cc4c03286.html|title=UNI's Kalin named to Jewish Sports Review's All-America team|date=May 17, 2011|website=Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier}}</ref><ref name="JK">{{Cite web|url=https://unipanthers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/jacqui-kalin/1139|title=Jacqui Kalin - 2012-13 - Women's Basketball|website=UNI Athletics}}</ref> In 2010-11 she was named the [[Jackie Stiles]] MVC Player of the Year.<ref name="JK" /><ref name="UK" />  In 2012-13 she led the league in scoring (19.5 ppg; a school record), had the fourth-highest season free throw percentage in NCAA Division 1 history-and the highest of any senior (95.5%), and was again named the Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year.<ref name="DI" /><ref name="JK" /><ref name="UW">{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/uniathletics4/docs/2015_wbb_guide_f482be72a40c0d|title=2015-16 UNI Women's Basketball Media Guide|website=UNI Athletics |date=October 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uclabruins.com/news/2013/5/16/208472578.aspx|title=Thea Lemberger Named JSR All-America|website=UCLA|date=May 16, 2013}}</ref> For her career Kalin was first all-time at UNI in scoring (2,081), [[3-point field goal]]s made (265), free throws made (484), and free throw percentage (.920) the NCAA Division 1 career record.<ref name="DI" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://siouxcityjournal.com/sports/basketball/kalin-excited-about-next-chapter/article_4f044897-3107-591d-8579-fd691b414a94.html|title=Kalin excited about next chapter|author=Barry Poe|website=Sioux City Journal|date=March 9, 2020}}</ref><ref name="JK" /><ref name="UW" />

The football team has been ranked in the I-AA (FCS) top 25 almost every year for the last two decades. The team appeared in the I-AA championship game in 2005, only to lose a close game to the [[Appalachian State Mountaineers]]. During 2007, the team was ranked #1 in the country by the TSN FCS poll for several weeks. The football team went undefeated in 2007 with an 11–0 record, a first for any school in the 23-year history of the Gateway conference. In 2001 and 2002 the volleyball team reached the NCAA Sweet 16 round, and in 2006 made it to the second round, and has competed in the tournament numerous times. The track team is also very successful (usually ranked in the top 25), as are the wrestling and volleyball teams.

The University of Northern Iowa [[College wrestling|wrestling]] team won the NCAA Division I national championship as ISTC in 1949 and NCAA Division II national championships in 1975 and 1978. They competed in the Western Wrestling Conference until 2012, when UNI became an associate member of the [[Mid-American Conference]] since the MVC is a non-wrestling conference. In 2017, UNI wrestling joined the [[Big 12 Conference]]. In 1977 the women's softball team won the [[AIAW]] national championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unipanthers.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26200&SPID=90714&SPSID=626925|title=Baseball - Media Guide - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics|work=unipanthers.com}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[Bryce Paup]] won the Defensive Player of Year Award by the Associated Press in 1995. In 1999 and 2001, UNI alumnus [[Kurt Warner]] was named NFL MVP by the AP.<ref>[[National Football League Most Valuable Player Award]]</ref>

During the 2014–2015 season, the men's basketball team ended the regular season ranked #11 by the AP Poll, the highest ranking in school history, and #9 by [[USA Today]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings|title=NCAA College Basketball Polls, College Basketball Rankings, NCAA Basketball Polls - ESPN|work=ESPN.com}}</ref>

==Student life==
[[File:MKX 9579.jpg|alt=|thumb|Campanile 2018]]

=== Student newspapers ===

*''Students Offering'', 1888&ndash;1889
*''Normal Eye'', 1892&ndash;1911
*''College Eye'', 1911&ndash;1967
*''[[The Northern Iowan|Northern Iowan]]'', 1967&ndash;present

===Fraternity and sorority life===
{{update|date=January 2020}}

====Fraternities====

*[[Kappa Sigma]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kappasigmauni.com/|title=KAPPA SIGMA FRATERNITY AT NORTHERN IOWA - Home|work=KAPPA SIGMA FRATERNITY <br /> AT NORTHERN IOWA|access-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818023209/http://www.kappasigmauni.com/|archive-date=August 18, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Sigma Alpha Epsilon]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iowachisae.org/|title=Sigma Alpha Epsilon|work=iowachisae.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113190949/http://www.iowachisae.org/|archive-date=November 13, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>
*[[Chi Phi]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://union.uni.edu/involvement/fraternity-sorority-life/ifc-fraternities | title=Fraternities &#124; Student Involvement & Event Services }}</ref>

====NPC sororities====

*[[Alpha Delta Pi]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uniadpiem.wix.com/uniadpi|title=Alpha Delta Pi Epsilon Mu|access-date=November 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113192407/http://uniadpiem.wix.com/uniadpi|archive-date=November 13, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Alpha Xi Delta]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uni.alphaxidelta.org/|title=Alpha Xi Delta|author=Scotch|work=alphaxidelta.org}}</ref>
*[[Alpha Phi]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alphaphiet.com/|title=Alpha Phi University of Northern Iowa - Welcome|work=alphaphiet.com|access-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806045026/http://alphaphiet.com/|archive-date=August 6, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Gamma Phi Beta]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unigammaphi.weebly.com/|title=Gamma Phi Beta}}</ref>
*[[Alpha Sigma Tau]]<ref name="AST">{{cite web |title=Alpha Sigma Tau |url=https://cgi.access.uni.edu/cgi-bin/student_orgs/student_orgs.cgi?oid=8781 |website=University of Northern Iowa Student Organizations |access-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214204807/https://cgi.access.uni.edu/cgi-bin/student_orgs/student_orgs.cgi?oid=8781 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Transportation===
UNI students may ride public transportation provided by the [[Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County]] for $0.75 a ride with a student ID.<ref>{{cite web |title=MET Transit Fares |url=http://www.mettransit.org/fares |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref> Routes 6, 7, 9, and 10 connect campus to downtown Cedar Falls, downtown Waterloo and various other destinations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mettransit.org/routes|title=MET Transit Routes|access-date=July 24, 2023}}</ref>

==Notable people==
===Alumni===
* [[William R. Clabby]], journalist and editor
* [[Brittni Donaldson]], professional basketball coach
* [[Jane Elliott]], antiracist and diversity educator
* [[David Glawe]], former [[Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis]]
* [[Chuck Grassley]] (born 1933), [[Seniority in the United States Senate|senior]] [[United States senator]] from Iowa and [[president pro tempore of the United States Senate]] 
* [[Carolyn Hunt]], First Lady of North Carolina
* [[David Johnson (running back)|David Johnson]], professional football player
* [[Jacqui Kalin]] (born 1989), American-Israeli professional basketball player
* [[Eric Keller]], college wrestling coach
*[[Jeremy Morgan]] (born 1995), professional basketball player
* [[Bryce Paup]], professional football player
* [[Chris Klieman]], college football coach
* [[Brian Meyer (politician)|Brian Meyer]], member of the [[Iowa House of Representatives]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/11/01/newly-elected-state-rep-brian-meyer-d-des-moines-takes-oath-of-office-today/article|title=The Des Moines Register|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131108191733/http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/11/01/newly-elected-state-rep-brian-meyer-d-des-moines-takes-oath-of-office-today/article|archive-date=November 8, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Carter Nordman|Carter F. Nordman]], member of the [[Iowa House of Representatives]] from the [[Iowa House of Representatives, District 19|19th]] district<ref>{{Cite web |title=State Representative |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator?ga=89&personID=30647 |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=legis.iowa.gov}}</ref>
* [[Nick Nurse]], professional basketball coach
* [[Duane Slick]], fine art painter and professor<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_9w4eXZNg4C|title=American Indians and Popular Culture: Media, Sports, and Politics|publisher=ABC-Clio|year=2012|isbn=9780313379901|series=Volume 1 of American Indians and Popular Culture|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=201–202}}</ref>
* [[Kurt Warner]], professional football player

===Faculty===
* [[Donna Alvermann]], professor
* [[Jeremy Beck]], composer and professor
* [[Harry Brod]], former professor
* [[Herb Hake]], television personality
* [[James Hearst]], poet and former professor
* [[Miguel Franz Pinto]], vocal coach, conductor, and pianist
* [[Mildred Hope Fisher Wood]], special education teacher
* [[Loree Rackstraw]], literary critic and memoirist
* [[Leland Sage]], former professor
* [[Norm Stewart]], college basketball coach
* [[Robert James Waller]], professor, academic administrator, and author
* [[Norma Wendelburg]], composer

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Portal|Iowa}}
* {{Official website|http://www.uni.edu/}}

{{University of Northern Iowa}}
{{Navboxes
|titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Northern Iowa Panthers|color=white}}
|list =
{{Colleges and universities in Iowa}}
{{Missouri Valley Conference navbox}}
{{Missouri Valley Football Conference navbox}}
{{Big 12 Conference navbox}}<!--Wrestling member-->
}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Iowa, University Of}}
[[Category:University of Northern Iowa| ]]
[[Category:Public universities and colleges in Iowa|University of Northern]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1876]]
[[Category:Education in Black Hawk County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Cedar Falls, Iowa]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Black Hawk County, Iowa]]
[[Category:1876 establishments in Iowa]]