College of Liberal Arts & Sciences to honor Green, Milosch, Wickham as 2016 Alumni Fellows

Distinguished CLAS alumni return to campus to share experiences
Monday, September 5, 2016

NASA's top space explorer, the official rules keeper for the U.S. House of Representatives, and a top U.S. diplomat walk into the Old Capitol Museum. No, this isn't the beginning of a joke—it's the 2016 Alumni Fellows Celebration of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

CLAS will honor James Green, the Director of NASA's Planetary Space Division; Mark Milosch of the U.S. Helsinki Commission; and U.S. House Parliamentarian Thomas Wickham as the 2016 class of Alumni Fellows on Wednesday, September 14, at 4:30 p.m. in the Old Capitol Museum Senate Chamber. The event, co-sponsored by the UI Alumni Association, is free and open to the public. The honorees will receive awards from CLAS Dean Chaden Djalali, make comments, and participate in a panel discussion about their UI experiences, their careers, and the value of liberal arts education.

The CLAS Alumni Fellows program is made possible by funds from the UI Alumni Association Dean’s Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences. Each year, distinguished CLAS alumni are honored as Alumni Fellows and invited to campus to speak to classes, meet with small groups of faculty and students, and make a public presentation based on his or her experiences since leaving the University.

Below is biographical information about the Fellows, as well as the time and location of their public lectures.

Dr. James GreenJames L. Green
Director, Planetary Science Division, NASA

BA 1973, PhD 1979
Department of Physics & Astronomy

Dr. James L. Green received his Ph.D. in Space Physics from the University of Iowa in 1979 and began working at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, where he developed and managed the pioneering Space Physics Analysis Network. His positions at NASA include serving as head of the National Space Science Data Center at Goddard Space Flight Center, Chief of the Space Science Data Operations Office, and Chief of the Science Proposal Support Office. In August 2006, he became the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. Over his career, Dr. Green has received numerous awards, including the Arthur S. Flemming award for outstanding individual performance in the federal government, and Japan's Kotani Prize in recognition of his international science data management activities. He has written over 100 scientific articles in refereed journals involving the Earth's and Jupiter's magnetospheres, and over 50 technical articles on data systems and networks.

Public presentation: “The Search for Life Beyond Earth in Space and Time”; Thursday, September 15, 3:30-4:30 p.m.; Lecture Room 2, Van Allen Hall

Mark MiloschMark S. Milosch ​
Chief of Staff, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

PhD 2002
Department of History

Dr. Mark S. Milosch is the Chief of Staff of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (an independent agency of the federal government also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission). He was appointed Chief of Staff by Commission Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) in 2011. In this position, he is responsible for directing Commission staff in achieving the Chairman’s goals, and serving as a liaison with commissioners, other Members of Congress, the executive branch, foreign governments, and intergovernmental organizations and NGOs. He also advises the Chairman and other commissioners on foreign policy toward the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the organization’s 57 participating states, as well as OSCE partner states. Additionally, he serves as Chairman Smith’s principal advisor regarding the Commission’s program of hearings, briefings, special events, and advocacy on human rights, commercial, and security issues connected to the OSCE.

Public presentation: Thursday, September 15, 4:00 p.m.; UCC 1117 (International Programs Commons, Old Capitol Centre)

Tom WickhamThomas J. Wickham, Jr.
Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives

BA 1990, Political Science
JD 1994

Thomas J. Wickham, Jr., serves as the Parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Wickham, who has worked in the Office of the Parliamentarian since 1995, was appointed to that position by Speaker John Boehner in 2012. The Office provides the House and its 435 Members with nonpartisan guidance on parliamentary practice and procedure based on the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice, and the standing rules of the House. As Parliamentarian, Mr. Wickham, who was once a managing editor of the Iowa Law Review, serves as the editor of the House Rules and Manual, House Practice, and other publications that constitute the precedents of the House. Mr. Wickham is only the fifth person to be appointed Parliamentarian of the House since the formal establishment of the office in 1928.

Public presentation: "An Iowan in the People’s House:  Advising our nation’s leaders through life lessons in the Midwest”; Friday, September 16, 12:00-1:30 p.m.; Old Capitol Museum Senate Chamber

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.