IOWA, STATE UNIVERSITY OF, an institution of higher learning, situated in Iowa City, Ia. It was organized by an act of the legislature in 1847. Instruction was begun in the spring of 1855, but the first regular collegiate session did not open until the autumn of 1856. Because of financial reasons, the university maintained only a normal department during the two years 1858-6o. Since that time new departments, schools and colleges have been added to the original college of liberal arts. The law department was established in 1868, the medical department in 1870, the dental department in 1882 and the department of pharmacy in 1885. All these are now colleges. The graduate college was added in 1900 and the college of engineering in 1905. The school of education, created in 1907, became the college of education in 1g13 ; and a school of commerce, established in 1914, became the college of commerce in 1921. In addition to these nine colleges now functioning, a preparatory department was main tained from the organization of the university until 1879; a homeopathic medical department, later a college, from 1876 to 1919; and a college of fine arts from 1911 to 1915. With= _s the college of liberal arts is the school of fine arts, the school of let ters and the school of journalism. Within the college of medicine is the school of nursing. A summer session, begun in 1900, has become an important part of the university. The extension di vision was organized in 1g13 ; the Iowa Child Welfare Research Station in 1917 ; the division of physical education in 1924 and the Institute of Hydraulic Research in 1931.
The university is the capstone of the public school system of the State. It is under the direction of a State board of educa tion of nine members appointed by the governor, with the ap proval of the senate, for a period of six years. The faculty con tains more than 500 men and women and the student enrolment for 1935-36 was 10,208. Funds are derived to some extent from the sale of lands originally donated for its support by the U.S. Government, but the greater part of its support comes from the appropriations made biennially by the general assembly. For the biennium 1935-37, the amount set aside for the university was $3,924,000.
The central building of the university campus is the beautiful Old Capitol, which was begun in 1839 and served as the capitol of Iowa from 1841 until 1857, when Des Moines became the capital of Iowa and the capitol building was turned over to the university. Around this building are grouped more than 85 buildings on a campus of over 385ac. lying on both sides of the Iowa river. The latest additions to the material equipment of the university are the fine arts and dramatic arts buildings and the botanical labora tories at a cost of approximately $11,500,000. Iowa Union is the centre of university social activities. The university libraries con tain more than 430,000 volumes. Closely associated with the work of the university is the State Historical Society of Iowa, with a library of over 84,970 titles. (E. A. G.)