Regents History: June 17, 1981
Board Membership
- S.J. Brownlee, President, Emmetsburg
- Peg Anderson, Bettendorf
- Percy Harris, Cedar Rapids
- Ann Jorgensen, Garrison
- John McDonald, Dallas Center
- June Murphy, Des Moines
- Arthur Neu, Carroll
- Fred Nolting, Waterloo
- Peter Wenstrand, Essex
Meeting Highlights
The Board deferred action on the appointment of James W. Johnson as the University of Iowa’s first Director of Information Technology. UI Vice President for Finance and University Services Randall Benzanson made his case to the Board that the university required a newly-created department to oversee “computing, telephones, word processing, information networks and video” and that Johnson should lead it. Benzanson noted that the university was “finding that the proliferation of technology requires coordination.” This went undisputed, however the Board was weary to create new administrative positions during the economic climate of the time. Action on Johnson’s appointment and the official organization of an IT Department at UI was deferred to July, where it was approved unanimously without discussion. Today, the IT Department at UI – and every other university – remains a vital part of university operations.
The Board approved the renaming of the South Pavilion of UI Hospitals as the John W. Colloton Pavilion. Colloton was then the Chief Executive of UIHC and served as such from 1971 to 1993 when he was appointed UI vice president for statewide health services. He was inducted into the UI’s National Varsity Club as an honorary letter winner in 1998. Colloton died in 2025 and is remembered through the pavilion for more than 40 years of service to UI.
