History

The earliest recorded gathering of Iowa alumni was at a banquet, where Rush Emery, Class of 1863, was elected alumni president. The alumni decided that university graduates would be eligible for membership "during their good behavior."

Articles of incorporation for the Alumni Association were drawn up on June 30 in University Chapel.

Membership dues were established at $1.

Dated December 15, the first issue of Iowa Alumnus appeared.

Convinced of the need for an alumni register, volunteers formed a bureau of information to acquire statistics on Iowa's graduates.

The Alumni Association formed the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory Association for the purpose of raising money to purchase land on the shores of Lake Okoboji, where a biological research station opened that summer.

The Alumni Bureau invited graduates to return for Iowa's first Homecoming celebration November 23. Also in this year, a campaign to organize S.U.I. Clubs across the state of Iowa was begun.

The Alumni Association launched a life membership campaign to endow the organization. Alumni, who paid $1 annually to receive the magazine and $1 for membership in the Association itself, were urged to purchase a lifetime affiliation for $25.

The Chicago chapter of the Iowa Alumni Association sponsored a college song contest. The winner was W. B. Law's "On Iowa."

The Alumni Association adopted the Memorial Union project as it primary activity.

In December, the last issue of Iowa Alumnus was published.

Long managed by volunteers and members of the faculty, who were also expected to teach and do research, the Alumni Association found itself in a state of some disorganization. President Walter Jessup withheld the university's annual appropriation to the organization.

An office for the Alumni Association was provided in Old Capitol.

In his report to the annual meeting on June 3, Executive Secretary Frederic G. Higbee noted that collection of dues during a "bank holiday" resulted in the lowest receipts in five years. Some 463 alumni paid dues in 1933 and another 199 were life members of the Association, while nearly 800 paid annual dues in 1932.

Looking to the centennial celebration of the university in 1947, the Alumni Association board established a ten-year, ten-point program of alumni activities. The board wanted to increase membership, assist in student recruitment, provide job placement assistance for graduates, organize active alumni clubs in each of Iowa's 99 counties, fund more scholarships, and develop an organized way to obtain gifts for the University of Iowa.

President Virgil Hancher appointed Loren Hickerson as Iowa's first full time paid alumni secretary, dues were raised to $4, and the first issue of the Iowa Alumni Review was published in December.

A new constitution was adopted and on June 10 the Alumni Association became a corporation.

Two changes illustrated the Alumni Association's growing interdependence: the organization's offices were moved out of the Old Capitol and to a house at 130 N. Madison, and the Alumni Association began to bank its fund separately from the university's.

Headed by a seven-man council, the Alumni Association's Old Gold Development Fund, established in 1950, began encouraging annual alumni giving.

In chartering the Hawkeye Specials—trains that carried enthusiastic Iowa fans across the continent to the Rose Bowl—the Alumni Association began the tradition of transporting fans to big games in interesting places.

Together with the music department, the Alumni Association founded the Old Gold Singers.

Iowa's first alumni tour took 43 travelers to five European countries in 26 days.

Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented for the first time.

The Alumni Band was inaugurated as part of Homecoming festivities.

With the formation of the Old Capitol Club, it became possible for alumni to elevate their membership to new heights.

The Alumni Center, built to house both the Alumni Association and the UI Foundation, was completed.

The Volunteer Alumni Counselor program, which was renamed ASIST (Alumni Seeking Iowa Students) in 1988, was developed to put prospective students in touch with Iowa alumni.

The Student Alumni Ambassadors were organized. Finals week "Survival Kits" and the Career Information Network were outgrowths of the program's involvement with students.

The Alumni Association board of directors voted to fund an endowed chair in liberal arts and to provide scholarships for some of Iowa's best students.

After a hiatus of many years, local alumni organizations—now called Iowa Clubs—were formed across the state and nation.

The UIAA launched its first student member campaign, inviting current students at the University of Iowa to join the Alumni Association.

The University of Iowa Alumni Association earned recognition as the best overall alumni program in the country by CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

Donna Clay, a 1982 pharmacy graduate, was the grand prize winner of the Association's first car raffle.

The Student Alumni Ambassadors initiated Make-A-Wish Gameday, inviting terminally ill eastern Iowa children to a special Saturday of Hawkeye football.

Alumni members came out in force for the first Member Appreciation Day tailgate at the Finkbine Pavilion.

In an historic agreement, the UI Alumni Association and Iowa Black Alumni Association joined forces to promote membership in both organizations.

With help from four College of Business Adminstration students, the UIAA made its debut on the World Wide Web.

The Dental Hygiene Alumni Association became the first academic-oriented alumni constituency group recognized by the UIAA.

The Alumni Association invited all graduating students to celebrate their accomplishments at the University of Iowa at the inaugural Alumni at Last Barbeque.

Staff of the Alumni Association moved into the new Levitt Center for University Advancement on the north edge of the campus near Hancher Auditorium.

In March, the Alumni Association marked a milestone when membership rolls exceeded 50,000 for the first time in history. Since then, even more alumni have chosen to affiliate with the University of Iowa through the UI Alumni Association.