Higher Ed

Start small, reward yourself, University of Iowa prof advises

With a rich history in teaching and producing top-tier writing, the University of Iowa has gotten creative not just in the texts its students publish but the tactics its educators take to train them – turning from traditional textbooks for inspiration and education to society and culture, including pop-culture.

The two men have a combined total of 141 patents. Asked to choose a favorite invention, one of the men said that would be like choosing a favorite child.

The University of Iowa is planning to close its 50-year-old Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies and its Department of American Studies — both of which are replete with the kinds of courses and content that have been the target of Republican regent and lawmaker ire, directives, and legislation in recent months.

The University of Iowa has denied an appeal from a fraternity it placed on interim suspension in November for alleged hazing -- rejecting the organization’s argument that only two members were responsible and those two have been kicked out.

Two weeks after receiving a progress update on its public universities’ efforts to comply with 10 directives to scale back or eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on campus, the Board of Regents in late November issued an 11th DEI mandate.

“There's much more demand than five or six years ago for delivery, which is part of why looking for efficiency is really important. Because how many trucks do you want in your downtown, circling around, looking for parking?”

After evaluating campus feedback to a trio of finalists under consideration to become the next University of Iowa College of Law dean, UI leadership has determined “none of the candidates was the right fit for the position.”

More than 4,100 students across Iowa’s three public universities are slated to graduate this weekend in fall ceremonies that, while smaller in size and hype than spring commencement, are no less momentous on a personal, professional, and workforce level.

The University of Northern Iowa in fiscal 2024 contributed $6.3 million from its main campus’ general fund to its Athletics Department — the most in program history — indicative of an evolving college athletics landscape and analogous to budget issues facing similar programs, officials said.

Nearly a year after crews began work on the first new road on the University of Iowa campus in more than a decade — pouring pavement and removing 126 trees to make space for the 1,500-foot artery — a roundabout portion of the project is complete and began welcoming traffic Wednesday morning.

Upending a Polk County District Court ruling and reinforcing precedent for wage discrimination cases in Iowa, the state Supreme Court has found a former and long-time Iowa State University professor could recover damages going back more than a decade for being paid less than her male colleagues.