Another sign of program’s excellence

The Gazette

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The accolades keep coming for The University of Iowa's outstanding Writers' Workshop.

This time, it's Poets & Writers magazine calling the school's Master of Fine Arts programs in poetry, fiction and non-fiction the best in the country.

It's only the latest confirmation that the 75-year-old Workshop, the country's oldest and most prestigious graduate writing program, still is in a class of its own.

And it's an example of just how invaluable such marks of excellence are to our state's reputation in the country and around the world.

The Poets & Writers ranking, published in the magazine's September/October 2011 issue, ranked the country's top 50 MFA programs, using a combination of hard data from the programs and taking into account other factors that emerging writers say are important to them in considering a postgraduate program.

It's true that we live in the age of “Top 10” - when it seems every city, program, product or person tops some organization's ranking list at one time or another. Still, in reviewing the process used to compile the ratings, the Poets & Writer's list is meaningful.

The national magazine considered a broad range of factors - available funding, admission and job placement rates, cost of living, teaching requirements and others - to give their readers and potential MFA applicants a comprehensive overview of their choices.

And of all the programs surveyed, the UI emerged as a clear leader. That's something all Iowans can be proud of.

It's also evidence that Writers' Workshop faculty and students aren't content to just rest on their laurels, but are actively working to keep their place at the head of the pack.

And while few Eastern Iowa residents ever will directly be involved with the program, we all benefit from their efforts.

The Writers' Workshop was key to Iowa City's designation as only the world's third UNESCO City of Literature. It's frequently cited by many of those other lists of best places to live, work or visit.

And, increasingly under the leadership of Director Lan Samantha Chang, the Writers' Workshop is making a practical difference locally, including projects that take students and faculty into communities to spread the participants' love of

reading and writing.

So, congratulations to the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the UI Writers' Workshop.

This most recent No. 1 ranking is more evidence of a reputation of excellence that is well deserved.

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