A Message from our President
Jan Tracy, President 2024-2025
Happy New Year, University Club!
We have entered our 108th year as a club of amazing women forging lasting friendships and caring about each other. Happy New Year is a simple, time-honored greeting signaling a new opportunity to start again. With the priceless gift of a new year, we look forward to new possibilities while honoring the past, sharing gratitude for the opportunity, and experiencing joy for the taking!
I hope you are having a wonderful summer filled with new adventures, visiting parks and farmer’s markets, and enjoying s’mores around a fire. Perhaps you had a fun evening with Ins and Outs, or a great bike ride with the UC bicycle group or played an exciting round of bridge. Many of our Interest Groups meet year-round so we can enjoy our friendship 365 days a year! Many thanks to the Interest Group chairs who often welcome new members as their first point of contact. We’re planning to feature Interest Groups this year and extend open invitations to increase participation.
The Board has used the summer to plan a wonderful array of events starting with the Fall Fair open house, chaired by Rose Meyer, our new President elect. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” will be held on September 10th so mark your calendar and drop in to say hi! This will be an opportunity to pay dues if you haven’t yet (but why not do that today online?), pick up your yearbook, learn more about the UC sponsored scholarships, and explore new Interest Groups, as well as meet old and new friends. Please consider bringing a neighbor, colleague, or friend. It’s a casual event to socialize and reconnect any time between 11AM and 1PM.
Luncheons return in October with Beth Goetz, the U of I’s first female Athletic Director appointed in January 2024, as a featured speaker. Her energy is palpable and her plans for innovation will be shared. The semi-annual business meeting will be held immediately following her presentation. In November we’ll celebrate women in the military and Veteran’s Day so mark your calendars! Find registration forms here in the Clarion.
We will conclude 2024-25 by hosting the Big Ten conference in Iowa City from June 6-8, 2025. Guests will stay downtown at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is within walking distance of the annual Arts Fest that weekend, and be entertained with the help of our volunteer members. Stay tuned for ways you can participate and help us show our “best wave” to the representatives from other Big Ten schools.
Your membership matters and I hope you will consider sharing some of yourself with University Club. The work being done is being powered by a phenomenal group of volunteers, some of whom celebrate decades of membership and others who are newcomers. They all share their giving spirit, knowledge and experience plus the gift of time! Please see the listing of the University Club board members and thank them when you see them!
I so appreciate all they do to keep us energized! I don’t know about you, but I have found that when I volunteer, I often get more out of it than I put into it. Whether raising money for our scholarships, building with hammers, or serving in countless other ways of giving back, service to others feels good and provides connection. Thanks for all you do.
I look forward to serving alongside you. Happy New Year!
Jan Tracy, UC President 2024-25
Jan Tracy President
The University Club
2024-2025