On Sept. 16, 2008, leaders of The Fraternal Order of Eagles, the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa Foundation announced a $25 million gift commitment from the Eagles to fund diabetes research at the UI.

The partnership began at the 2006 convention in Grinnell, Iowa, when then Grand Worthy President-elect Bill Loffer proclaimed to John Stokes, MD, a physician-scientist studying and treating kidney disease with UI Health Care, that the Eagles should fund a diabetes research center.