Distinguished Alumni Award


Katherine A. Halmi 61BA, 65MD, 69R, 73R

2011 Achievement Award

Katherine A. Halmi, 61BA, 65MD, 69R, 73R, is internationally recognized for her pioneering studies and treatment of eating disorders, which have greatly heightened understanding of these complex and devastating illnesses.

With her rare breadth of research, clinical, and teaching skills, Halmi has altered forever the medical community's approach to eating disorders—and her passionate devotion to patients has improved the lives of thousands who suffer from the crippling effects of these diseases.

A board-certified pediatrician and psychiatrist, Halmi received her medical degree from the University of Iowa in 1965 and launched her career there, serving on faculty as an assistant and then associate professor of psychiatry. At the UI, she received her first National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) grant to study behavior modification and drug therapy for anorexia nervosa. She would subsequently receive many more grants to comprehensively investigate all aspects of eating disorders, including both the psychiatric and biological underpinnings of their manifestation.

Also while at the UI, Halmi established a clinical and research eating disorders program. She eventually moved on to Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York, and, using her Iowa model, created an internationally recognized research and treatment program that has served patients for 30-plus years. A tenured professor of psychiatry at Weill-Cornell Medical College since 1986, Halmi is also a DeWitt Wallace Senior Scholar, a designation given to very few members of the school's senior psychiatry faculty.

Colleagues credit Halmi for putting eating disorders "on the map" by taking a collection of poorly understood patients and symptoms and organizing them in such a way that they could be scientifically evaluated and studied. In total, Halmi has received more than $4 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health—which she has applied toward decoding the basic science of eating behavior, metabolism, psychopharmacology, and the mechanisms of illness. Her discoveries have led to new and effective, behaviorally focused treatment strategies for anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

"It would be rare to participate in a discussion about eating disorders and not have Dr. Halmi's name mentioned," says Philip J. Wilner, executive vice chair of the Weill-Cornell Medical College's Department of Psychiatry. "As I travel to different programs and introduce myself, I'm frequently asked, "Isn't that the place where Kathy Halmi has her eating disorders program?' She is an enormous source of pride for us."

Despite her busy research and clinical schedule, Halmi still makes it a priority to mentor younger clinicians, always taking time to chat at conferences and introduce up-and-comers to older colleagues. She has appeared at more than 300 invited lectures, can claim more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, and has authored a "Curriculum for Primary Care Providers" to assist them in their interactions with patients with eating disorders.

In addition, she is the recipient of the College of Medicine's Distinguished Alumni Award, the Research Career Award from the NIMH, and the American Academy of Child Psychiatry Eating Disorders Scientific Achievement Award. Also widely recognized by her field's major professional societies, Halmi has served as president of the American Psychopathological Association, the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and the Eating Disorder Research Society.

With her incisive mind, endless energy, and passion for service, Katherine Halmi has earned the widespread admiration of her peers—and her patients.


About Distinguished Alumni Awards

Since 1963, the University of Iowa has annually recognized accomplished alumni and friends with Distinguished Alumni Awards. Awards are presented in seven categories: Achievement, Service, Hickerson Recognition, Faculty, Staff, Recent Graduate, and Friend of the University.


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L.A.-based artist Charles Ray to receive CLAS Alumni Fellow award, give talks this month. Unpainted sculpture by Charles Ray, 1997, fiberglass and paint, 60x78x171 inches. Photograph by Josh White and courtesy of the Matthew Marks Gallery. Charles Ray (75BFA) was walking through the UI physics and astronomy department one day when he came across an inspiring scene. Ray, an art student whose curiosity extended far beyond the studio, hoped to hitch a ride out to the observatory for some evening stargazing. Instead, he found a group of students constructing a satellite bound for a space mission. "It just blew my mind," recalls Ray. Just as mind-blowing were the sculptures Ray was creating across the river, years before he would establish himself as one of the world's most important artists. For one physics-defying piece, he fashioned a 2,000-pound slab of concrete atop a slender tree trunk. For another, he dropped a massive wrecking ball onto a crumpled steel plate, as if Sputnik had just crashed outside the old Art Building. Charles Ray "It was such a formative experience for me," the Los Angeles-based sculptor says of his time in Iowa City. "It did something to my soul and my brain. Even though I was young, the university and my mentors gave me a great deal of independence. My curiosity was endless." A professor emeritus at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, Ray returns to campus this month to speak and receive the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Alumni Fellow award. Rather than just waxing nostalgic about his time at Iowa, Ray has organized a three-day lecture series April 16-18 with two fellow art scholars. Iowa native Graham Harman, a philosophy professor at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, will open the series by discussing his theory of aesthetics known as object-oriented ontology. On the second day, Ray will speak about the nature of sculptural objects. And Richard Neer, an art historian at the University of Chicago, will bookend the series by lecturing on the question of provenance, or art's origin. Ray will also give a separate public lecture April 17 in Art Building West titled "My Soul is an Object." Recognized as one of the leading artists of his generation, Ray is known for his strange and enigmatic sculptures so loaded with nods to the past that they've been called "catnip for art historians." His 2014 Horse and Rider, for example, is a 10-ton solid stainless steel work in the tradition of a war memorial, but depicts the artist slouch-shouldered atop a weary nag. Ray is also famous for his wry re-imaginings of familiar objects, like the 47-foot-long replica of a red toy fire truck that he parked in front of New York's Whitney Museum of American Art for a 1993 biennial exhibition. Ray and his studio team often spend years working on a given piece, which can fetch as much as seven figures at auction. His sculptures can be found at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among other major U.S. museums. Ray is currently preparing for a retrospective show in Paris next year?one of several upcoming international exhibitions. Isabel Barbuzza, UI associate professor of sculpture, describes Ray's work as beautiful and witty, while using scale in unexpected ways. Ray's 8-foot-tall Boy with Frog?commissioned for a prominent spot in Venice, Italy, then removed after some controversy (a version now stands outside the Getty Museum in Los Angeles)?is among Barbuzza's favorites. "His sculptures have a presence you can only see when you're in front of the work," she says. "They're very moving, and to me it's interesting what happens with scale?the viewer relates to the piece in a very profound way." Steve McGuire (83MA, 90PhD), director of the School of Art and Art History, says few others have contributed more to contemporary art than Ray. "This is a big deal for us to be able to celebrate his career," McGuire says of presenting Ray with the alumni fellow award. "I think it's pretty meaningful to him, and of course it's really meaningful for our school." A Chicago native, Ray arrived at Iowa as a gifted artist but hardly a model student. Ray's dyslexia made schoolwork a chore, and his parents had sent him to military school with the hopes of straightening out his academics. It was at the UI, however, where he finally found his language in the studio and, in turn, his footing in the classroom. "Through the syntax of sculpture, I could express myself intellectually for the first time," Ray says. "That gave me a kind of confidence." Ray studied under UI art school pillars like Wallace Tomasini, Julius Schmidt, and Hans Breder. But it was his bond with Roland Brenner?a South African professor and former pupil of sculptor Anthony Caro?that proved to be the most influential. Ray still remembers his first sculpture in Brenner's class, a steel configuration with long stems and discs at the end. Its bouquet-like resemblance didn't sit well with Brenner. "That showed me you made something, but didn't want to discover something," Ray recalls Brenner telling him. "Don't ever do that in my class again." The two would become lifelong friends. Iowa City is a different place today than the 1970s, particularly the transformation of the arts campus after the flood of 2008, Ray says. Still, his visits back to campus over the years always remind him of those crisp and clear Iowa nights at the observatory and gazing out the studio window while exploring the frontiers of sculpture. "It feels like you can see right through the galaxy when you look up," Ray says. Handheld bird by Charles Ray, 2006, painted steel, 2x4x3 inches The UI is home to six pieces by Ray, all found in the Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building and displayed through the university's Art on Campus program. Among them is Handheld bird, a tiny but ornate piece depicting a creature in an embryonic state. Lunchtime Lecture Series What: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences fellow Charles Ray and two guest art scholars?Graham Harman and Richard Neer?will deliver a series of public lectures this month at the UI. When, where: 12:20 p.m. April 16?18 at Art Building West, room 240, 141 N. Riverside Drive, Iowa City More information: events.uiowa.edu/26915 My Soul is an Object: Artist Talk with Charles Ray What: A public lecture by renowned sculptor and UI alumnus Charles Ray When, where: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 17, at Art Building West, room 240, 141 N. Riverside Drive, Iowa City More about Ray: charlesraysculpture.com/ Support the UI School of Art and Art History

Iowa alumni with shared connections are invited to join an affinity group. Some of these organizations are an extension of student interests, like Alumni Band or Dance Marathon Alumni Group.

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