Q&A with UI President Sally Mason: DI Reader, July 25

Q&A: UI President Sally Mason

The Daily Iowan sat down with President Sally Mason on Tuesday.

 DI: In June, the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement filed an ethics complaint against Regent Bruce Rastetter, and it calls for his resignation or dismissal from the board. Do you believe the actions of state regents directly reflect the regent universities?

President Sally Mason: The only thing I am going to comment on here is that I have tremendous respect for all of our regents. They do a tough job; it’s not like they get paid to do it. They do it, really, as citizen volunteers. For me it’s always a pleasure to work with the regents. They care about these institutions; that’s what I care about. I really can’t comment on anything else because I just don’t have any information that is relevant.

Read more here.

UI Busch contract could fund alcohol-free events

University of Iowa President Sally Mason said the money provided to the UI from Anheuser-Busch could be used to fund Alcohol Alternative Nights and other sober events on campus.

The contract, which was renewed in June, allows the Tigerhawk logo to share space on products with Anheuser-Busch logos with the phrase “Responsibility Matters.”

University students and employees — particularly members of the of the Partnership for Alcohol Safety — believe the deal is counterproductive to the UI’s responsible drinking efforts and will only reinforce a party-school image.

“I think [Tom Rocklin] is going to use those dollars to Alcohol Alternative Nights that we have,” Mason said.

“…The contract has been in place for a long, long time. I’m not sure if it’s had much of an effect; I’m not sure if it will have much of an effect going forward.”

Read more here.

Mason: UI will continue to build ties in Asia

President Sally Mason says that while University of Iowa officials are not planning to increase student enrollment, the university will continue to pursue international relations and make connections with alumni and prospective students overseas.

“I think if we wanted more international students, we probably could,” she told The Daily Iowan. “See, right now, we are trying to hold enrollment stable. So we aren’t really growing those numbers. Clearly, there is great demand for American higher education. While the young people I saw clearly were interested in the University of Iowa, an opportunity to study anywhere in the United States is highly valued by the Chinese students.”

Mason traveled to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Taipei, Taiwan, from July 1-9. A handful of UI officials accompanied Mason on the trip, including Dean of International Programs Downing Thomas and UI Foundation President Lynette Marshall.

A total of 1,737 Chinese students studied at the UI in the fall of 2011, and another 98 came from Taiwan. China is home to the largest international population at the UI.

Read more here.

Expert says local bat populations at risk

Despite their reputation as blood-sucking, disease-carrying, “flying rodents” — myths perpetuated by popular culture  — one Midwestern bat expert says “bats are our friends” and play a vital role in the health of our ecosystems. But they’re in trouble.

That was the message from Sharon Peterson, a bat expert from the bat education group Incredible Bats who spoke at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday evening to a standing-room-only crowd.

The purpose of her presentation was to dispel the myths about bats and teach Iowans why bats are necessary for the healthy balance of our ecosystems.

“Bats are finally getting the recognition they deserve as being pollinators and seed dispersers," Peterson said.

But one thing people may not know is that bat populations throughout the state of Iowa are under severe threat.

White-nose syndrome has been steadily spreading West since its discovery in 2006, devastating entire cave populations of bats since then. Despite the precautionary measure of closing Iowa’s Maquoketa Caves to visitors from 2010 to 2012, random testing of hibernating bats positively identified white nose fungal spores on one of the bats this past winter— indicating an infestation of the Maquoketa Caves.

Read more here.

Locals: Molly's Cupcakes will benefit other businesses

Jamie Smith, the owner of Molly’s Cupcakes, 14 S. Clinton St., cannot wait to share her cupcakes with downtown Iowa City. The new sit-down bakery, located between McDonald Optical and the Summit, will hold its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. July 29. 

Local business owners say the new eatery may benefit their stores as well.

“I just want to share the amazing products with everybody,” Smith said.

She said she has worked on getting funding and finding a location for her branch of Molly’s Cupcakes for two years. 

“It takes a while to get everything together,” she said.

Smith was awarded a $35,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Iowa City City Council on May 1. The Iowa City location will be the third branch of Molly’s Cupcakes, which also has stores in New York and Chicago.

Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek, who was on the economic-development committee that recommended Molly’s Cupcakes for the grant, said he thinks the store will lead to an increase in diverse businesses.

“[The economic-development committee] was impressed with the business plan, the foresight, and the owner,” Hayek said.

Read more here.

Prime Time League Championship: Culver's/Ready Mix win 113-102

The Prime Time League champions are the same players who never won a regular season game.

Culver’s/Ready Mix entered the postseason 0-5, but Iowa’s duo of Eric May and Aaron White and William Penn’s Keith Steffeck led head coach Ron Nove’s team to a semifinal win. 

And then to another win in the finals. 

Culver’s beat Jill Armstrong of Skogman Realty, 113-102, in the team’s highest-scoring game of the season to claim the Prime Time title. 

It took the squad an entire season to get the chemistry together, but once the players did, Culver’s became unstoppable. 

Read more here.

Column: Kuntz: Time for a third party

Earlier this month, Jill Stein was formally nominated as the Green Party of the United States’s presidential candidate, and she chose Cheri Honkala as her running mate. 

Though it’s unlikely that a third-party candidate can actually win the presidential election, the true significance of having a third-party candidate on the ballot at all is the opportunity to allow for community-based democracy, and the chance for Stein to influence the national debate.

However, the Green Party is not automatically granted political standing in Iowa, so the Johnson County Green Party is working hard to get the signatures required to get Stein on the ballot this year.  

Read more here.