IOWA, UNIVERSITY OF

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. It comprises colleges of Business Administration, Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Education, Engineering, and Liberal Arts and schools of journalism, music, and social work. There is a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs offered. The Iowa City campus is home to the internationally renowned Writer's Workshop and International Writing Program. Other campus facilities include Weeg Computing Center, the Center for New Music, and the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research. Total enrollment is approximately 27,000. The University of Iowa, founded in 1847, is Iowa's oldest public institution of higher learning. When the university opened for classes in 1855, it was the first public university in the United States to admit men and women on an equal basis. Its law school was the first west of the Mississippi River. The university was also the first institution of higher learning in the nation to award advanced degrees for creative works in pursuits such as writing, theatre, and music. Painter Grant Wood, poet W.D. Snodgrass, playwright Tennessee Williams, and short-story writer Flannery O'Connor are among the many artists who have been associated with the University of Iowa.