One year of making history as the David W. Wilson College of Business
One year of making history as the David W. Wilson College of Business
It’s been one year since David W. and Holly Wilson made history at the University of Northern Iowa, with a $25 million donation to UNI — the largest gift to the institution to date. The announcement arrived on campus greeted by a sunny Friday morning, October 20, 2023 — leading into a weekend of celebration and Homecoming festivities.
To mark the anniversary of this generous contribution to support business ethics, education and future students, here are the impacts we can continue to celebrate for the path toward tomorrow.
David W. Wilson College of Business
Business education at UNI will forever pay homage to David Wilson’s generosity, as the college was renamed the David W. Wilson College of Business to honor his contribution. This is the first named college in UNI history. The Wilson College of Business has a longstanding reputation of excellence, including holding accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an honor reserved for the top 5% of business schools globally, and being recognized by the Princeton Review as “A Best Business School” for more than a decade.
Inaugural Wilson Scholar awarded full-ride scholarship
As a native of Tama County, Wilson wants to see more students from his home county majoring in business at the University of Northern Iowa. To encourage this enrollment, Wilson established the David W. Wilson Scholars Endowed Fund Scholarship. This scholarship covers tuition, fees, and room & board after all grants and other earned scholarships are applied for high school graduates from Tama County who are enrolling at UNI. Jenna Meyer, a freshman human resource management major who graduated from South Tama High School, is the inaugural recipient. Soon, four Wilson Scholars will receive these scholarships annually.
Two faculty members named Wilson Ethics Fellows
Two Wilson Ethics fellows have been named in the philosophy department. Together, they are already expanding ethics across the UNI curriculum. Robert Earle, associate professor of instruction, was named the inaugural Wilson Ethics Fellow in fall 2023. He coordinated an ethics teaching workshop for UNI faculty this summer. Nicholas Sars joined Earle as a fellow this fall. He is now teaching a brand-new applied ethics course.
Wilson Chair in Business Ethics
The Wilson Chair in Business Ethics, established in 1999 through a donation from Wilson, aims to educate students and the community about social and ethical issues in business and promote discussion on ethical practices. Since 2021, Professor Russell Guay has advanced these goals through his teaching, research, and service. In 2023-24, key achievements include incorporating ethics into leadership and management courses, developing an ethics module for the Professional Readiness Program, conducting research on leadership values, and hosting an Ethics Case Competition with 25 UNI students.
Early Founders Program
Funding from the Wilson Endowment supported the College’s innovative Early Founder’s Program, coordinated by the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) on campus. The program is designed for a select group of student entrepreneurs who dedicate the summer months to immersing themselves in their ventures' foundational development and growth. The students, known as Early Founders, receive individualized assistance from the JPEC team and work throughout the summer to grow revenue for their business while learning skills that will support their long-term success. Five Early Founders were supported this past summer.
Wilson Ethics Summer Workshop
The first offering of a three-day workshop led by Robert Earle, Wilson Ethics Fellow, and John Preston, assistant adjunct professor, took place over the summer. More than 10 faculty members, spanning disciplines such as chemistry, business, history, biology and more, shared ethics lessons from their courses and discussed ways to incorporate ethics teachings more broadly.
It’s exciting to see so many initiatives at work in the Wilson College of Business that benefit today’s students and tomorrow’s business leaders. We can’t wait to build on what we’ve started and continue to elevate business education at the University of Northern Iowa.
