The installation ceremony for the University of Iowa’s 22nd president, Barbara Wilson, will take place at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, at Hancher Auditorium.
The event is part of the university’s 175th anniversary celebration.
The ceremony will include musical performances and remarks by Ted Abel, director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute and professor in the Carver College of Medicine.
Abel will highlight the presence President Wilson has had, from her first days meeting with campus leaders and visiting classrooms and labs, including the Iowa Neuroscience Institute.
“It is tremendous that she has engaged the community and has listened to the community," says Abel. "She shares our sense of purpose, not just academically, but also socially, that we are here to support the well-being of everyone in our university, our students, our faculty, and our staff.
Abel also will highlight President Wilson’s impact, such as her leadership in ultimately helping secure a $70 million gift from the Richard O. Jacobson Foundation to support a new patient care tower for University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics—the largest gift in the 175-year history of the UI.
“She is a president who drives these kinds of gifts. With someone who can advocate with us, we can build a community that can connect to Iowa and the world. From day one, she has been seeking ways to be transformative at Iowa,” says Abel.
Other remarks will be delivered by shared governance leaders; Board of Regents President Michael Richards; Iowa Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg; and Wilson.
A reception will follow in the Hancher Auditorium lobby. Free parking will be available in the lots adjacent to Hancher.
Wilson became Iowa’s next leader on July 15, 2021, after the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, announced her as its unanimous selection on April 30 after a months-long search.
Since 2016, Wilson served as executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs for the University of Illinois System, which enrolls more than 90,000 students across three main campuses and includes a 462-bed hospital. Before that, she served one year as interim chancellor for the Urbana-Champaign campus, a top-ranked land grant research institution with more than 45,000 students and nearly 2,000 tenure-track faculty.
Wilson’s other administrative roles at Illinois included two years as the university’s Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, two years as executive vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, three years as vice provost for academic affairs, and seven years as head of the Department of Communication.
Wilson’s research interests include the social and psychological effects of the media. She is co-author or co-editor of four books and has authored more than 80 research articles, book chapters, and technical reports.
A native of Appleton, Wisconsin, Wilson earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, a Master of Arts in communication arts, and a PhD in communication arts, all from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
She is married to John Lammers and they have two grown daughters.