A ‘Heart and Soul’ For Iowa
Submitted photos
Bernice "Bunny" Weede Havlicek, Jane Roth, and Frank Havlicek
Frank Havlicek (48BSPE) and Bernice “Bunny” Weede Havlicek (40GN) thought the world of the University of Iowa.
Frank Havlicek was an assistant men’s swimming coach and athletics business manager who, in 1948, spearheaded efforts to create Iowa’s first mascot—which became known as Herky. Bunny Havlicek went to school alongside Nile Kinnick (40BA) and became an orthopedic nurse at what is now known as University of Iowa Health Care.
Their daughter, Jane Roth, of Leesburg, Virginia, feels a deep connection to the Hawkeye State and Iowa City because of her parents.
“Iowa is the heart and soul of who I am,” says Roth. “All is right with the world when I’m in Iowa City because that’s where everything started—where my parents met and went to school, and it’s where I was born.”
Roth lived in University Heights until the family moved to the Twin Cities when she was 6 years old. After going to Rockford College in Illinois, Roth worked on Capitol Hill for nearly 20 years as a congressional aide and retired in 2020 after three decades at software company Ellucian—where she was most recently senior director of global real estate and corporate travel.
While Roth’s career took her to the East Coast, she’s not forgotten her Iowa roots and the impact the university had on her parents.
PHOTO: Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com
Jane Roth sits with some of the original drawings of Herky the Hawk at the University of Iowa Main Library. Roth has donated the drawings, which were created by artist Dick Spencer, to the library's special collection.
“It’s important to me to honor my parents’ memory,” says Roth. “It’s equally important for me to give back and help others.”
That’s why Roth created the Bernice Weede Havlicek Scholarship, which supports aspiring nurses in the UI College of Nursing. She’s supported 15 nursing students to date, including Kaitlyn Pfaffle (21BSN), who is now a nurse in the intensive care unit at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Pfaffle says that scholarship support allowed her to focus on her studies without the worry of accruing overwhelming student loans.
“I am tremendously grateful for Jane and her contributions toward my education,” says Pfaffle. “Jane taught me the value of understanding your history and how keeping in touch with your roots can provide you with many meaningful connections. Her commitment to helping others is an inspiration, and I feel very fortunate to have met her.”
Through additional outright gifts and a bequest in her estate plans, Roth is furthering her contributions to nursing students and supporting two additional funds—the Jane H. Roth Libraries Special Projects Fund, which will promote research and scholarship with the UI Libraries, and the Frank J. Havlicek Marching Band Fund, which will provide annual internships to deserving students in the Hawkeye Marching Band.
She’s also gotten more involved on campus—serving on the UI College of Nursing Campaign Advisory Board and the UI Libraries Advancement Council, as well as donating more than 50 early drawings of Herky that her father had received from the artist, Dick Spencer III (43BA), who was an instructor in the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“It’s not enough for me to write a check,” says Roth. “Everyone at Iowa can tell you that I want to be involved—meet students and know what they’re doing. I really like to be at the table.”
