Jeff Schott
Program Director
(319) 335-7586
jeff-schott@uiowa.edu
(biography)

Julie Collins
Program Assistant
julie-collins@uiowa.edu
(319)335-4520
Fax: (319)335-4401

The Institute of Public Affairs is proudly located at the former home of Gustav and Leola Nelson Bergmann.

Gustav Bergmann was born in Vienna, Austria in 1906, and received his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1928. In 1931, he worked in Berlin, Germany, where he assisted Albert Einstein on some of the more complex mathematical problems Einstein encountered with his work in physics. In 1935, Dr. Bergmann, who was Jewish, received a law degree from the University of Vienna. He practiced law in Vienna until 1938 when he was forced to flee Nazi occupied Austria. After immigrating to the United States, his interests in both psychology and philosophy flourished. In the early 1940's, Dr. Bergmann came to The University of Iowa as a temporary lecturer in the Department of Philosophy. By 1950, he was a full professor of both Philosophy and Psychology. He retired in 1974, but continued writing and researching in philosophy until his death in 1987. Within the field of philosophy, Dr. Bergmann remains well-regarded for his work in ontology.

Leola Nelson Bergmann was born in South Dakota in 1912. During her Midwestern childhood, she displayed a strong gift in music. While an undergraduate at St. Olaf College, she sang in the celebrated St. Olaf Choir. After receiving a bachelor's degree in English from St. Olaf, she came to The University of Iowa (then the State University of Iowa), where she received a Master's in English in 1939 and a Ph.D. in American Civilization in 1942.Leola Nelson married Dr. Gustav Bergmann in 1943, and together they raised daughter Hanna. During the 1940's and 50's, Mrs. Bergman wrote prolifically. Her works include: Music Master of the Middle West: The Story of F. Melius Christiansen and the St. Olaf Choir ; Americans From Norway ; The Negro in Iowa ; and a forward to the book Outside In: African-American History in Iowa, 1838-2000 . In the 1960's, Mrs. Bergmann pursued her interest in the visual arts. After completing coursework in drawing and painting here at The University of Iowa, Mrs. Bergmann discovered her preferred medium: printmaking. With the assistance of her faculty mentors, she developed a unique monoprinting process. Her prints have been praised and displayed at many galleries throughout the state. In 2003, Mrs. Bergmann moved from the Bergmann House to the Oaknoll Retirement Community, where she currently resides. Today, we work in 124 Grand Avenue Court with great reverence for the accomplishments of both Gustav and Leola Nelson Bergmann.