Iowa firsts

• 1^st  U.S. public university to admit women and men on an equal basis when doors opened in 1855
• 1^st   public university in the country to grant a law degree to a woman (Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson, 1873) and to an African American (G. Alexander Clark, 1870)
• 1^st  U.S. public university to play an African American on a varsity athletic squad (Frank Kinney Holbrook, 1895)
• Home to the 1^st daily campus newspaper west of the Mississippi (1901) and the first female college newspaper editor (1907)
• 1^st tax-supported college to establish a school of religion
• 1^st American university to broadcast television, and a pioneer in developing educational TV (1933)
• 1^st Big Ten institution to appoint an African American to an administrative vice president post (Phillip Hubbard, 1966)
• 1^st state university to officially recognize a gay student organization (1970), offer insurance to employees' domestic partners (1993), and include optional questions about sexual orientation and gender identity on the application for admission
• Iowa played in the nation’s first collegiate basketball game in 1896.
• Two UI gymnasts created the first trampoline in 1934.
• Iowa swimming coach David Armbruster invented the butterfly stroke in 1935.
• The Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the nation’s first university-sponsored program in creative writing, was founded in 1936.
• The UI granted the first master of fine arts degree in 1940.
• The UI granted the first Ph.D. in mass communication in 1948.
• The first and only international writing program in the world was founded at Iowa in 1967.
• UI alum Lilia Abron became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 1973.
• KRUI, the UI’s student-run radio station, became the nation’s first fully digital college radio station in 1995.
• Iowa was the first university outside of China to arrange for a corps of student volunteers at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

Notable alumni

• B.J. Armstrong: Professional basketball player, won three NBA titles with Chicago Bulls
• Terry Branstad: Governor of Iowa
• Tom Brokaw: Anchorman, NBC News 
• Mitchell Burgess: Executive producer, The Sopranos
• Elizabeth Catlett: African American sculptor and graphic artist
• Paul Conrad: Former editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1964, ’71, and ’84
• Diablo Cody: Academy Award–winning writer of Juno
• Simon Estes: World-famous baritone, formerly of the New York Metropolitan Opera
• George Gallup: Founder of the Gallup Poll
• Bob Gebhard: Executive V.P. and general manager, Colorado Rockies
• Charles Guggenheim: Documentary filmmaker, has won three Academy Awards and been nominated for eight others
• Mary Beth Hurt: Actress, The Big Chill and other films
• John W. Irving: Author, The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Cider House Rules
• Al Jarreau: Jazz singer, 1982 Grammy Award winner for best male pop performance
• Mark Johnson: Producer and Oscar winner for the movie Rain Man
• Alex Karras: Football player and actor
• Nile Kinnick: Naval Aviator, who also won the Heisman Trophy and All-American award
• W.P. Kinsella: Author of Shoeless Joe, later made into the film Field of Dreams
• Ashton Kutcher: Actor, That ’70s Show and movies
• Stacy May-Johnson: All-Big Ten softball player, now a Hawkeye assistant and member of Team USA
• Don Nelson: Five time NBA champion as a player, and the NBA’s all-time wins leader as a coach
• Flannery O’Connor: Novelist and short-story writer
• Eddie Robinson: Legendary football coach, Grambling State University
• Kim E. Rosenblum: V.P. and creative director, Nickelodeon Network
• Duke Slater: football player and judge, enshrined in the Football Hall of Fame, awarded All- American and All- Pro selection
• Tangela Smith: Big Ten women’s basketball player of the year, all-time WNBA leader in games played
• Richard Schultz: Executive director, United States Olympic Committee
• Keith N. Steva: Director, eBay
• Gene Wilder: Actor, Silver Streak, Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Stir Crazy
• Tennessee Williams: Playwright, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
• Mildred Wirt Benson: Author, creator of Nancy Drew series