.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} National business publications have been telling the rest of the world what we’ve known for a long time – that Des Moines is a great place in which to build a career and raise a family – and the University of Iowa is happy to have contributed to the city’s rising profile.

Magazines such as Forbes and Money have placed Des Moines on all kinds of best-of lists lately, as a great place in which to build careers, start businesses and raise families. More than 13,000 University of Iowa graduates who live and work in the region can attest to that firsthand.

At the Tippie College of Business, we’re proud that more than 3,200 of our undergraduate alumni have settled in Polk County.

The Tippie College plays a direct role in the city’s business and corporate livelihood by providing access to one of the country’s strongest part-time graduate management education programs. The M.B.A. for Professionals and Managers (MBA-PM) was recently ranked as one of the 20 best public university part-time M.B.A. programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report, the only such program in Iowa to be ranked. More than 700 Tippie M.B.A. alumni live in Polk County, helping to manage the region’s economy.

This year, the MBA-PM moved to the heart of downtown and began offering classes in the university’s John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center, helping the impressive revitalization of the city’s core. Starting in January 2011, the Tippie Executive M.B.A. (EMBA) will be offered there, too.

Additionally, the university is bringing Des Moines and its many career opportunities to the attention of undergraduate students on our Iowa City campus. The Marvin A. and Rose Lee Pomerantz Career Center has established strong relationships with Des Moines employers to build a pipeline for undergraduates from Iowa City to Central Iowa. The center – named for the longtime Des Moines business and civic leaders and generous UI benefactors – serves more than 20,000 undergraduates, connecting them with jobs, internships and educational opportunities across Iowa.

The Pomerantz Center has forged intern partnerships with companies and organizations in Des Moines. Its Consider Iowa initiative gives students the opportunity to visit Iowa employers to explore career paths and industries.

The center’s innovative Des Moines Center Internship Program lets University of Iowa undergraduates live in Des Moines for a full semester while working at internships. The program introduces students to Des Moines’ rich career and cultural opportunities, and has already led several alumni to build their careers there.

Thanks to programs like these, more than 20 percent of the university’s Class of 2009 graduates who stayed in the state chose to live in the Des Moines region.

William “Curt” Hunter is dean of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa.