Tag Archives: University of Northern Iowa

Welcome UNI President Dr. William Ruud

As the leader of one of the largest institutional employers in the Cedar Valley, the president of UNI plays a key leadership role in the development and promotion of the Cedar Valley economy. The Alliance & Chamber looks forward to the opportunity for Cedar Valley leadership to introduce the Ruud’s to our economic and civic interests, and emphasize the importance of business/community/education collaboration.

Dr. William N. Ruud began serving as the 10^th president of the University of Northern Iowa on May 31, 2013. He previously served as president of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania since 2007.

President Ruud, Bill, as he prefers, began his career in higher education at the University of Toledo in 1981. He taught business and ethics courses, was selected to coordinate the MBA program, served as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and was appointed Interim dean of the College of Business Administration. In 1993, he was named dean of the College of Business and Economics at Boise State University and was promoted in 1998 to Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

In 2000, Bill was selected to serve as the Chief Education Policy Advisor for the Office of Governor Dirk Kempthorne, State of Idaho. In 2004, he was named Vice President for Development/University Relations at California State University at Stanislaus.

President Ruud has a wealth of varied leadership experiences at public universities. He has successfully led the completion of the reaccreditation process, cultivated and developed major gifts for universities, and oversaw increases in faculty research programs and grants, student enrollment and graduation rates. He is known for his business acumen and has consulted organizations on educational assessment and economic development issues. He continues to conduct research on institutional leadership and organizational behavior topics.

President Ruud received his Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Hospital Administration from the University of North Dakota. He received his Master’s degree in Business Administration and his Doctorate degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He has served on numerous advisory panels, governance and chamber boards, and literacy councils. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, and he and his wife of 36 years, Judy, reside in the UNI President’s House with their Cockapoo, Fuzzy.

Vermeer CEO to speak at UNI

Vermeer CEO to speak at UNI

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Mary Vermeer Andringa, president and CEO of Vermeer Corporation in Pella, Iowa will speak at the University of Northern Iowa at 2 p.m., Thursday, April 11, in the University Room, in Maucker Union. Andringa is part of UNI’s distinguished guest lecture series featuring top corporate leaders. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Andringa became president of Vermeer in 1989 and sole CEO in 2009. Andringa is the immediate past chair of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the nation’s largest manufacturing association. She was the first female to chair the NAM. Andringa is also one of 18 private sector members of President Obama’s Export Council, where she represents the manufacturing sector on important trade matters. She also serves on the Ex-Im Bank Advisory Committee and is a member of the US-Brazil CEO Forum.

“It’s a great honor to have Mary Vermeer Andringa on our campus to share her successes, innovation, and challenges working in a global society,” said UNI President Ben Allen. “Our campus and community will have an enriching opportunity to learn about the skills needed in today’s global world.”

Vermeer is an international, family-owned agricultural, construction, environmental and industrial equipment manufacturing company with more than 3,250 employees worldwide. Its products are used in more than 60 countries.

University of Northern Iowa and Hawkeye Community College to Introduce Covey’s 7 Habits

Leader Valley, an initiative of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, is excited to announce two new opportunities for area educators lead by University of Northern Iowa and Hawkeye Community College education faculty.

On April 20, 2013 all pre-service teachers from both UNI and HCC are invited to attend a 7 Habits introductory session. Led by Catharine Freeman from HCC, and Teri Lasswell and Mary Beth Rygh from UNI, the college students will be introduced to the world of Covey’s 7 Habits.

Additionally, June 26-28, a 7 Habits Signature Session will be offered for Leader Valley educators at Hawkeye Community College. UNI Grad credit will be offered for the three day session.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Leader Valley Talent Initiative is an effort to make the Cedar Valley a better place for students to excel and become well prepared for citizenship and their future careers. This is achieved through high levels of community collaboration. Through Leader Valley, strong partnerships amongst Cedar Valley businesses, area school district administrators and school boards, parents and the community are being built. Leader in Me is a program of the Leader Valley Talent Initiative being implemented in schools throughout the region. More information can be found at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com/LeaderValley or by contacting Leader Valley Program Director, Melissa Reade by calling the Alliance & Chamber at 319-232-1156 or by email at mreade@cedarvalleyalliance.com.

Creating The Place to Start A Business.

By: Steve Dust

The Cedar Valley economic area thrives on successful businesses that began one day when its owner said, “I can do that – better.” Some of these former startups are still identified with the owner – while others have grown into international business powers.

All over the Cedar Valley there are examples of people who are passionate about something, determined that no one can do it any better than they, and opened a business to prove it – people like the Bertch family, the Far Reach Technologies partners, or Van Miller’s growing-every-day-into-something-different VGM, or the CBE Group, or Mudd Advertising, or….

As their business grew, each of them discovered the value of our government relations, information, education, and networking resources, the market growth spurred by ongoing promotion, and all the other things your professional team does to make the Cedar Valley a vibrant place for business startup and growth.

An observer of business startup and growth trends in the US, Brad Feld, recently wrote, Startup Communities – Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City. Based on his decades of starting businesses, becoming an early stage venture capitalist, and now known for his highly (some would say outrageously) successful Foundry Group in Boulder, CO, Brad eloquently writes about the role of organizations like the Alliance & Chamber in creating and sustaining that Entrepreneurial Ecosystem mentioned in the title.

The very best role the Alliance & Chamber can play to foster a robust Startup Community – that encourages a faster rate of business startups and attracts more people with the desire to take the entrepreneurial plunge is: Cheerleader and Feeder. In other words, Support.

Work on economic vitality – grow the market! Create a place where startups have the best chance of success: work on infrastructure like broadband, and amenities to create a vibrant, economic base
Make connections – directly, to new sales or service opportunities, or indirectly with exposure to customers and vendors and service providers through networking events, and to other feeder organizations – like UNI’s Center for Business Services and SCORE.
Inform them – with inexpensive access to high quality service providers in educational sessions on topics of interest to new businesses – like healthcare reform, social media tools, or the like – delivering info those new business owners will use to increase business results and avoid pitfalls.
Work with local and state government to keep them out of the way of business startup and success. Though almost always well intentioned, government gets in the way of startups and growing business with the increased cost of complying with or being constrained by this rule or that

policy/ordinance/statute.

Be the gathering place for startup community leaders. The leaders of our start up community must be people who have recently started their own businesses. As busy as they are, other owners of startup businesses are the best to relate to and offer actionable advice on the startup experience. The Alliance & Chamber is the platform – the roost – for emerging entrepreneurs to gather, and share their own experiences. It’s also great feedback for the Alliance & Chamber to build its Cedar Valley Start Up action agenda.

Believe me: there’s a lot of competition among places for business startup activity. We, and they, understand the economic power of startups, and the culture it engenders for addressing social as well as economic issues. Your Alliance & Chamber is motivated and equipped and working to ensure that the Cedar Valley economic area is an attractive place to take that giant step – the one taken by every person when they’ve uttered the words, “I’m starting a business.”

Digging in . . .Two Weeks In.

Week two is now behind us, and the Legislature is settling into the hard work of the session. Budget work has begun in earnest and major policy proposals, like the Governor’s education reform package, have begun to be deliberated in committee.

New legislators are beginning to find their routines and the Capitol is abuzz morning, noon and afternoon with the many groups and associations coming to Des Moines to educate policymakers on their issues and jockey for support.

Yes, it is late January in Des Moines.

So far the 85th Iowa General Assembly has been relatively smooth. But now they are starting to dig into the big issues and the new Assembly will be tested quickly on whether or not it will be different than the past two years where bipartisan agreement was hard to come by. Only time will tell.

There are, of course, a lot of issues for legislators to come together and support.

Education reform is at the top of the Governor’s list and has the attention of legislators from both chambers and both parties. Iowa’s schools have not kept up with the rest of the country. Our time on top has passed, and now we dwell in the middle of the pack. Real reform is critical, and the proposals coming out of the reform task force are a very positive step forward to help our children be prepared for the future and to help ensure Iowa’s workforce is strong and relevant.

Property taxes are again a major topic – as they should be with the past two sessions seeing much discussion, but no agreement on reforming Iowa’s uncompetitive commercial/industrial property tax system. The Governor has a new proposal on the table that will guarantee local governments will not lose revenue as a result of rolling back business property taxes. 2013 may well be the year to address this important issue that has been a hindrance to Iowa businesses and economic growth for decades.

Economic development issues are always lively under the Rotunda. Last year there was a fight over tax increment financing (TIF). This year, tax credits are under scrutiny as a response to some of the larger tax credits awards in Iowa history being involved in securing two of the biggest capital investments in Iowa history. Iowa’s economic development activity is on a major upswing, creating thousands of jobs. The Legislature needs to restore tax credits to their previous level of $185 million, rather than being critical of them. Direct incentives warrant proper funding as well.

There are several opportunities for the Legislature and the Governor to come together to help advance Iowa’s economy. The Iowa Chamber Alliance will be in the mix, advocating for economic growth and sound public policy. Check www.iowachamberalliance.com for updates.

For questions, please contact Iowa Chamber Alliance Executive Director, John Stineman, at john@iowachamberalliance.com

UNI graduates fare well in today’s economy

The University of Northern Iowa hosted its annual fall Commencement Saturday, Dec. 15. As hundreds of UNI students graduate and begin to look for employment opportunities, the December job outlook is more important than ever.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook for 2012, the overall top B.A. degrees in demand by employers this year are finance, accounting, and computer and information sciences, followed by electrical and mechanical engineering. UNI has a number of majors that align with these needs.

According to Matt Nuese, associate director of UNI’s career services office, UNI graduates seem to be faring well in today’s economy. Nearly 84 percent of last year’s graduates secured jobs or were continuing their education upon graduation, according to the 2011 Career Services Graduate Report.

It appears that many UNI graduates are staying within the state. During the last three years, three-fourths of all UNI graduates were employed in Iowa. The top employers of UNI students include Wells Fargo, John Deere and Waterloo Community Schools.

For more information, contact Bob Frederick, director of career services, at 319-273-6857 or robert.frederick@uni.edu.

UNI to launch Iowa’s virtual food waste reduction center

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Through the University of Northern Iowa’s Business and Community Services, the Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) is set to launch a new food waste reduction project on Tuesday, Jan. 1. The goal of the project is to launch a new educational campaign and a website that will act as a virtual food waste reduction center.

The new campaign seeks to provide the public with new resources and educational materials. Project goals include educational workshops, materials and webinars on different food waste reduction topics. The project is funded through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Alternative Program.

The IWRC assists small businesses in complying with environmental regulations through free education and consultation. The center also conducts research and develops technologies for more efficient and environmentally friendly production processes.

For additional information, contact Joe Bolick, communications and grants specialist at the IWRC, at 319-273-6577 or mjbolick@uni.edu.

‘Dream Big Grow Here’ receives Mid-American EDC economic development award

‘Dream Big Grow Here’ receives MAEDC economic development award

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The University of Northern Iowa’s Dream Big Grow Here program received first place in the Mid-America Economic Development Council’s 2012 annual Economic Development Awards’ online marketing category in the small market division.

Dream Big Grow Here was started by the UNI Regional Business Center through MyEntre.Net, Iowa’s online community for Iowa entrepreneurs and small business. The contest is a way to award grants to deserving small businesses and entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses in Iowa. In 2012, hundreds of Iowa companies from nearly 60 different communities competed in one of 10 regional Dream Big Grow Here contests for $5,000. The regional award winners then compete for a $10,000 grand prize.

The Mid-America Economic Development Council is dedicated to enhancing economic developers’ knowledge, capabilities and opportunities through multi-state networking, education and site selector interaction. For many years, it has sponsored the annual Economic Development Awards competition to recognize and stimulate the creative use of quality marketing by economic development organizations throughout the 10-state Mid-America region in promoting their respective communities. MAEDC’s awards partner is Site Selection magazine, and all first-place winners will be highlighted in an ad in the January issue of Site Selection magazine.

For more information about MAEDC, please visit www.maedc.net.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, in partnership with UNI’s Small Business Incubator and Regional Partners, hosted the 2012 and 2013 Cedar Valley Dream Big Grow Here contests. More information can be found at http://cedarvalleyalliance.com/cms/238/Cedar_Valley_Innovation_Day.

GCVAC Work the Valley Talent Tells All Event to Help Employers See What They Are Missing.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is bringing together a panel of recent college graduates and young professionals to share ideas for how the Cedar Valley employers can become more engaged with the local, YP population.

CEDAR VALLEY of IOWA (December 3, 2012)—On Friday, December 7^st from 10 am-12pm, the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber (GCVAC) will host a panel discussion to help Cedar Valley employers improve their recruitment practices. This event, titled Talent Tells All, part of the GCVAC’s “Work the Valley” program, will feature approximately six, young professionals who chose positions in communities outside the Cedar Valley. The goal of the event is to provide candid feedback in order to make Cedar Valley employers more competitive and attractive to college graduates and young professionals. All Cedar Valley business leaders and HR professionals are encouraged to attend the event to be held at Hilton Gardens Inn & Conference Center, 7213 Nordic Dr., Cedar Falls, IA.

“We are always looking for better ways to attract and retain talented young professionals. Work the Valley events help us highlight the outstanding opportunities the Cedar Valley has to offer. We believe the fresh perspectives and frankness of the Talent Tells All conversations will help Cedar Valley employers increase their competitiveness in the race to secure highly skilled talent,” said Steve Dust, CEO of GCVAC.

Talent Tells All, made possible by a partnership with UNI Career Services, is part of the GCVAC’s focus on workforce development for the Cedar Valley. Having more young professionals choose local opportunities over those in outside communities, is a key to business growth and innovation says Britt Jungck, Director of Business Services for the Alliance and Chamber, “Our goal is to increase the contact between our top employers and the emerging talent in this community. We want our young professionals to see the career opportunities and become inspired to get invested in our community, and we want our businesses to get access to fresh ideas through this impressive generation of rising professionals.”

Employers interested in attending the event or desiring more information on GCVAC workforce initiatives can contact Brittany Jungck, Director of Business Services at the GCVAC office: (319) 232-1156.

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Grow Cedar Valley