UNI alum gives $1 million to Dome renovation

Former football player gives back as Our Tomorrow campaign nears $200 million mark

In early December, 2022, Brad Baumler found a way to give back to a place he called home not that long ago.

Baumler, who graduated from UNI in 1993, donated $1 million toward renovations to the UNI-Dome. The extensive project calls for a total of $50 million in donations to make it possible.

His history with UNI is what he himself calls “extensive.” Baumler was recruited to play football for the Panthers right out of high school, but the influence of his family and UNI’s degree options sealed the deal for him.

“My mother was a pretty big influence on my decision to go to UNI, just because my brothers went there, and even though I had some other opportunities to play football at some of the other schools in the state, that was the one that she was influencing me toward,” he said.

He certainly didn’t regret his decision. After a successful college football career, Baumler graduated from UNI double-majoring in business and construction management. Today, he is the proud owner of his own construction business in central Iowa, Concrete Technologies, Inc.

When it comes to talking about his donation, Baumler said that it truly was a case of the right time and the right circumstances.

“With the degrees I’ve earned, what I’ve learned from football and just the whole package coming out of UNI, I just thought it was the right thing to do and the timing was good,” he said.

Aside from wanting to give back to his alma mater, the Dome renovation project also spoke specifically to what

Baumler wants to see for the future of UNI.

“The athletic landscape has changed a lot in the last several years, and now is the time that UNI needs it. I want to see them try to be as competitive as possible,” he said.

Guest speaker Leo Lambert on keeping the heart in education

students are hungry to hear from their professors. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, President Lambert sat down with faculty and staff from UNI and Wartburg to discuss the importance of building relationships and having authentic two way conversations with undergrad- uate students in the classroom.

In a study conducted by President Lambert for his book, “Relationship Rich Education,” students that have concrete relationships with their professors tend to have a higher graduation rate and tend to look back on their time in undergraduate school with fondness.

President Lambert also believes that relationships with faculty proves to be one of the reasons students stay at a four year institution, as many students are “one conversation away from deciding to stay.”

“High level messaging about connections should be an institutional value. A college education without these connections is overall a poorer experience.” President Lambert describes the connections that undergraduate students have as “constellations.” He encourages educators to “forget about turnstiles” and think about how students might fit into their classroom and their syllabus, and instead learn how to be a part of a student’s constellation.

Being forthright and having genuine connections strays away from the typical “transactional” model of relationships to a more “relational’”model of relationships. Instead of simply having interactions with students on a need-only basis, interacting with students about their interests and personal lives. President Lambert noted one of his peers’ tradition of bringing in a recent graduate to a freshman lecture class on the first day of class in the semester to discuss the importance of good relationships with professors. “Obviously, not every student will have that kind of relationship with every faculty member, but it shows an example of some-

Sports

Darta Dalecka excels on the UNI tennis team, thousands of miles from home.

SPORTS PAGE 7

Students explore the WRC’s “Free Week”

This week, the Wellness and Recreation Center (WRC) is hosting its annual “Free Week” where group fitness classes are being offered for free to UNI students. Students can try out different classes throughout the week to see what types of classes they may be interested in taking. Free Week has taken place at UNI for over 25 years now, and is a great way for students to start healthy habits for the new semester.

Some of the many classes available include: multiple Cycling options, Body Pump, Cardio HIIT, Fighter Body, Women on Weights and Butts and Guts.

Christopher B. Denison, who is the Director of Recreation Services at the WRC, shared that there will be some new classes as well.

Correction

In the last issue of the Northern Iowan, a story titled “Remembering Julie Ann” reported that Julie Ann Beddow served as a librarian at Rod Library. She instead held the role of assistant librarian.

thing to strive for with your educators.”

“One of my colleagues, Dr. Steve Grande, the Director of Community-Service Learning at James Madison University in Virginia said this once: ‘Before I go into work I try to raise my consciousness on how my words impact my students.’” One thing that President Lambert stresses in his writing and in speaking to the faculty and staff is humility and intentionality when interacting with students.

FREE WEEK continued from page 1

“We also have a couple of new classes this semester including willPower (a mix of balance and cardio), Breathe and Flow Yoga, and RAD (Self Defense). The RAD class will be taught by Lt. Dally (UNI Police) and is offered for free. There will be two options, one before spring break and the other after. Spots are limited in this class,” he said.

Along with new classes, the WRC has added new areas for students to explore. “We installed outdoor fitness equipment on the west side of the WRC, next to the sand volleyball court. We look forward to seeing students using this equipment,” he said. “We also built a boxing center in racquetball court 5 and that has been a big hit for those that are using it.”

Denison shared his joy at the current success of Free Week, and also mentioned for

Heart In Education

continued from page 1

President Lambert also acknowledges how COVID19 may affect a student’s ability to reach out and create that connection. He implores educators to re-explain the rules of engagement in the classroom, because “you can’t expect students to learn through osmosis,” and stress people over content. “Yes, students need to learn content but their wellbeing and personhood is far more important,” elaborated President Lambert. He also encourages educators to swap office hours for “student hours,” which students to keep their eyes open for future “Pop Ups” where the WRC will take fitness activities to other parts of campus, such as cycling at the Campanile and having yoga in GBPAC.

Students can expect each class to have an average size of 12-15 students with the maximum at 20. The WRC currently has 13 instructors teaching, some of which are students. The WRC is always constantly looking for staff, so students who have a possible interest in becoming a student instructor can contact Christopher B. Denison either by his email, denison@uni. edu or stop by room 101 in the WRC.