We must build our future at the University of Iowa on our heritage of strengths. That is particularly true for our mission of teaching and learning—how we provide the highest-quality educational experience for our students and how we most effectively train tomorrow’s teachers and educational leaders.

The University of Iowa has a long tradition of excellence and innovation in the classroom. We created the country’s first permanent, college-level department of education in 1872, established the first chair of pedagogy at a U.S. university in 1907, developed the Master of Fine Arts degree in the 1920s and '30s, pioneered the field of educational testing and measurement, and offered the nation’s first doctoral degree in mass communication. 

Today, we’re still breaking new ground. We have a fresh, innovative curriculum for our Doctor of Pharmacy students; immersive TILE classrooms across campus that enhance our students’ learning experience in original ways; first-year seminars that effect rich, one-on-one interaction between the newest members of our community and our world-renowned faculty; and team-taught “Big Ideas” courses, which challenge students to collaborate on perennial—but essential—questions, like “What is the nature of life?”

Now, sustainability issues infuse our curriculum, from our undergraduate sustainability certificate, to wind energy programs in the College of Engineering, to David Collins’ course on marketing and sustainability in the Tippie College of Business. We’re also in the early stages of Iowa’s Large Lecture Transformation Project, an effort to rebuild large classes in a way that incorporates more personalized and engaged learning.

But as we applaud campus leaders past and present, we must continue to innovate. Our academic leaders across this institution have impressed me with their vision and their commitment to defining the cutting edge of teaching and learning. This month, for example, I had the opportunity to tour the College of Education’s next-generation N110 Lindquist Center. This is a contemporary space housing the college’s Teacher Leader Center, Education Technology Center, Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research (ICATER), and I-SERVE (Support, Education, and Resources for Veterans and Enlisted). The newly renovated space on the first floor of Lindquist Center North is welcoming and highly functional, and it promotes collaboration and learning across the college and campus. This center will provide our new educators with the experience and resources they’ll need to excel at teaching future generations.

I am impressed with the imaginative pedagogy and leading-edge technology emerging all across our campus, and I am excited for what the future holds for our students as we continue to push the boundaries of excellence and innovation in the classroom—here at the university and all across the state, nation, and world. Go Hawks!