UNI Center for Violence Prevention to be renamed in recognition of Northeast Iowa couple’s gift
In conjunction with its 10-year anniversary, the University of Northern Iowa Center for Violence Prevention will be renamed the Patricia A. Tomson Center for Violence Prevention in honor of her decades of work on behalf of survivors of abuse.
Patricia and her husband O. Jay Tomson together have announced a $2 million gift to the center in support of its mission to build the capacity of Iowa’s schools, victim service agencies, law enforcement and other institutions to systematically implement best practices in bystander-based prevention education. The endowed gift will provide operational support as well as sustained funding for the Tomson Scholars program, which since 2016 has funded student internships with violence prevention organizations and agencies providing direct services to survivors of abuse.
