Tawny Tibbits, who currently serves as associate director in the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), has accepted an offer to become its next director following a nation-wide search. Tibbits’ appointment as director will begin on July 29. 

“We are thrilled that Tawny will now lead this central campus resource for connecting students with mentored faculty experiences,” said Marty Scholtz, vice president for research. “The unit fulfills key components of the UI strategic plan – to support student involvement in research and creative work, expand mentoring opportunities, and promote high-impact educational opportunities for students.”

At Iowa, nearly one in three undergraduates participates in some form of mentored research, scholarship, or creative activity.

“Tawny brings a wealth of experience to the role, which includes mentoring students as a tenure-track faculty member, pursuing her own research interests, and directing a planetarium, not to mention serving as associate director of OUR since May 2023. Her incredible enthusiasm coupled with her knowledge of OUR and UI will ensure a seamless transition in leadership,” said Mike Weaver, program manager in the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Tibbits, a native of Centerville, Iowa, has firsthand experience as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Iowa. While pursuing bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and geoscience, Tibbits worked with Tiffany Adrain, collections manager of the UI Paleontology Repository; participated in anthropology professor Thomas Charlton’s excavations at Plum Grove Historic Site; and measured degassing of volcanoes with Mark Reagan, now an earth and environmental science professor emeritus.

After pursuing her master’s in anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Tibbits returned to Iowa City to earn her PhD in geoscience. Last May, she joined the OUR from Chadron State College in Nebraska, where she was an associate professor and director of the Veath Planetarium. There, she developed a research lab of her own, serving as faculty mentor to eight undergraduates exploring interdisciplinary questions relating to geochemistry of hard rocks and water quality in the High Plains Aquifer. 

While OUR associate director, Tibbits helped develop a network of campus partners to co-fund and increase the impact of undergraduate research fellowships. At the 2024 Spring Undergraduate Research Festival, Tibbits implemented a new exhibit hall to showcase undergraduates whose research and scholarship resulted in physical objects. During the 2023-24 academic year, OUR saw record numbers of students applying for research fellowships, travel awards, and supply grants.

Since 2006, the office has served as a central hub for undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity on campus. The unit was formerly named the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates. 

Starting in the 2025 fiscal year, the office will receive a new stream of funding related to the institutional rural health initiative. This funding will support the involvement of undergraduate researchers in projects to impact rural health in Iowa’s underserved communities. 

Tibbits replaces the outgoing director, Bob Kirby, who has served in the role since the office’s inception in 2006. The OUR is a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research.