UI to create new business program

The University of Iowa will create a new program in the Tippie College of Business starting in August.

The state Board of Regents’ information packet said the proposed program would offer students an opportunity to focus on business leadership. The program would be offered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as well as the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center in the business school.

According to the packet, the business-studies track was implemented in the spring of 2006 as part of a three-year pilot program in the Interdepartmental Studies Program. After the program was reviewed in the fall of 2012, officials said it would be beneficial to create a separate major.

Projected enrollment for the program would be 60 students in the first year, eventually increasing to 300 students by the seventh year of implementation, the packet said.

The regents will meet via telephone on Aug. 6 at 11 a.m.

New program for biology

The UI seeks to create a new program in the Biology Department this coming academic year.

According to the regents’ information packet, the program would be highly selective and require a lab component, meaning students would be expected to work in faculty research labs in the first or second year of studies. According to the packet, the number of students interested in the sciences and health professions has risen nationally during the last two decades. The UI has seen similar growth in that the Biology Department, which now has more than 650 majors.

The program expects to enroll 25 students in the first year and 120 by the seventh year.

UI eyes River Landing space

The Iowa River Landing might see more of a university presence in the upcoming year.

The UI will request approval to lease 45,532 square feet of space on the second floor of a building at 920 E. Second Ave. for 10 years. According to the regents’ packet, the lease would begin on Sept 1 and end on Aug. 31, 2024, with two additional five-year extensions.

The UI would pay roughly $61,000 per month for the first year, as well as all utilities.

Officials believe the arrangement would alleviate space concerns on the Health Sciences Campus and allow staff easy access to both buildings for to both buildings for cross-coverage.

— by Jordyn Reiland