Louis and Dorothy Laubenthal Memorial Scholarship awarded to four UI students

IOWA CITY, IA, July 13, 2018 —A scholarship that honors an Emmetsburg, Iowa, family’s commitment to higher education has been awarded to four University of Iowa doctoral students.

The Louis and Dorothy Laubenthal Memorial Scholarship, which provides annual financial assistance to first-year doctoral students in the UI Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, was awarded to:

• Gillian Feller, of Waverly, Iowa, who holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Wartburg College.
• Jennifer Hoke, of Tempe, Arizona, who has an undergraduate degree in exercise science from Northern Arizona University.
• Jace Modrell, of Moville, Iowa, who holds an undergraduate degree in athletic training from Simpson College.
Emily Steffanus, of New London, Wisconsin, who has an undergraduate degree in biology from Saint Norbert College.

Louis and Dorothy Laubenthal were born and raised in Emmetsburg, Iowa, where they had very limited educational opportunities in the early 1900s. Though both were academically gifted, family considerations required them to enter the workforce and forego higher education.

Chris Laubenthal established the scholarship fund in 2011, in memory of his grandparents, Louis and Dorothy Laubenthal. The scholarship recognizes and memorializes the Laubenthals' belief in the importance of academics.

The Laubenthal family has deep ties to the university and the UI Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, which is currently ranked sixth nationally by U.S. News & World Report. Chris Laubenthal's father, Nick Laubenthal (70MA), and stepmother, Karla Laubenthal, both built successful careers in the UI health care system and mentored numerous students within the department. Chris Laubenthal received his BA and MBA degrees from the UI and shares his grandparents' belief in the value of education.