University of Iowa Diploma: State Capitol’s Second Life in Education
The University of Iowa is a public, research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, with its campus on the Iowa River. The institution was established February 25, 1847, shortly after Iowa became a state, and grew up with the communities it was created to serve. Its history is the convergence of several disparate traditions: literary education, scientific discovery, professional training and public service. For further details, explore the University of Iowa’s official historical timeline.
One of the clearest links between the university and the early history of Iowa is the Old Capitol. The building was once home to the state government before becoming a landmark for the university. When the university moved to Des Moines in 1857, its first permanent home was the capital. The classrooms, administrative offices and early collections occupied spaces used for government business. A library was opened there in 1857 and a natural history museum followed in 1858.
The university also played an early role in expanding access to education. Its archives show that in 1860 it was the first state-supported institution of higher learning in the United States to admit women and men on equal terms. The establishment of academic departments and professional schools are among such developments that are part of its institutional history. For graduates, a University of Iowa Diploma marks the completion of their studies at an institution with a long history of public education
Workshop and Literary Tradition
Writing became one of Iowa’s most famous academic traditions. In 1897, for example, an early course in “Verse-making” was offered, decades before the Iowa Writers’ Workshop was formally founded in 1936. The Workshop introduced poetry and fiction into graduate education, giving creative work a place in university scholarship. The development of this method of instruction for writing came through the close reading, discussion, and criticism of students’ manuscripts.
Scientific research brought a different kind of recognition. Physicist James Van Allen was largely responsible for the discovery of radiation belts around the earth . Instruments aboard Explorer 1, the first United States satellite, launched in 1958, provided evidence that opened new directions in space research. The discovery linked the university to one of the seminal scientific discoveries of the early space age.
In another way, university research and everyday life are connected through health care. University of Iowa Health Care intertwines patient care with education and research, positioning the institution as more than a place of learning. Its medical work links training of health professionals to the needs of patients and communities.
These overlapping histories create a unique sense of place for Iowa. The former state house, the writing workshop, the laboratory, and the teaching hospital each represent a different aspect of a university informed by both public responsibilities and intellectual inquiry.