On May 7, 2022, the Labor Center Celebrated its 70th Anniversary.

For seventy years, the Labor Center has been connecting the University of Iowa to working people across the state and around the world. Through a deep engagement with Iowa workers and their organizations, the center has brought generations of workers and their families and communities into contact with the university's teaching and research. At the same time, it has enriched the campus community through the transformative impact of workers' experiences and the expertise they bring in their own lives. 

To celebrate the Center, its history, work, and accomplishments, we brought together former educators, union leaders, community partners, faculty, and alumni from across the country to share memories, a meal, and solidarity.  We had approximately 250 people in attendance, 16 incredible speakers from coast to coast, and renewed a commitment to the Labor Center's role as an essential bridge linking Iowa workers to the research and educational resources of their public university. It is the same commitment that UI President Hancher made to the Iowa Industrial Union Council in 1952 when he spoke in celebration of the Labor Center's first year of work, affirming "that the State University of Iowa is their university, that it is the university of all the people."