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Information for Alumni

Traditions and History of Iowa State

The purpose of the college was to give the sons and daughters of the working farmer an education. Higher education had traditionally been denied women. The college’s second president, A. S. Welch, summarized the purpose of the college memorably in his inaugural speech on March 17, 1869:

"The Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, the nation’s first land-grant college, opened its doors in 1868. Its first class of 26 students graduated in 1877. The college was renamed the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1898, and became the Iowa State University of Science and Technology in 1959."

Iowa State University boasts some of the most successful and distinguished alumni in the United States. Many alumni have gone on to successful careers in a variety of fields and received recognition for their achievements.

Loomis Lecture Series

The Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology is pleased to host this lecture series, which was launched in the fall of 2009 and is named in honor of Walter E. and Helen Parke Loomis. The Walter E. and Helen Park Loomis Fund was established by the Loomis family in 1981 in memory of Walter and Helen Loomis in the hope of helping to preserve Walter Loomis’s tradition for current and future generations of plant physiologists.

GDCB Alumni Newsletter

Periodically, GDCB publishes a newsletter with information about the department that might be of interest to alumni. We hope you enjoy these past issues:

GDCB Newsletter, Vol 1, No 1, Spring 2005

GDCB Newsletter, Vol 1, No 2, Spring 2006

GDCB Newsletter, Vol 1, No 3, Summer 2007

Making a Difference

We are grateful and honored that numerous alumni and friends have had the foresight to establish bequests or other planned gifts that provide long-term and lasting benefits to the mission of the department. For more information about making a gift to the Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, please contact the ISU Foundation's Gift Giving Office.