Higher Ed

A year after a swell of top medical schools boycotted the U.S. News & World Report rankings for their reliance on reputation and other potentially-biased metrics, the publication has re-calibrated its process and released new grouping-style med school standings -- putting the University of Iowa in a second tier of four.

With a new increase in state appropriations — after lawmakers withheld one last year — paired with a strong enrollment outlook and recently-approved tuition bumps, all three of Iowa’s public universities are anticipating a total revenue boost in the new budget year.

Propelled by a 27-percent spike in women’s basketball income, a favorable home football schedule paired with ticket “price adjustments,” and a first-ever revenue line item for its new women’s wrestling team, University of Iowa Athletics is projecting another year of record-setting revenue.

The University of Iowa has agreed to “settle fully and finally all differences” with its former College of Liberal Arts and Sciences senior human resources director by reassigning her and continuing to pay her until the end of the year or until she finds another job -- whichever comes first.

The last 12 months have brought massive change across University of Iowa Health Care – from its name and brand to its expanding footprint to its leadership, with at least seven of the growing enterprise’s top administrators either joining the executive team or being invited to since Aug. 1, 2023.

For the first time in several years, the University of Iowa’s Health Care operation has made gains in the oft-touted U.S. News & World Report “best hospital” rankings, with the 2024-25 edition released this week.

After years of declining or stagnant enrollment, aggravated by the 2020 pandemic, Kirkwood Community College is reporting a summer rebound and encouraging signs for a strong fall showing.

Having spent nearly 40 years of his professional career serving Kirkwood Community College as a coordinator, director, dean, and recruiter, Doug Bannon is adding another title to his Kirkwood resume after being appointed Tuesday to replace retiring chair Jim Mollenhauer on the board of trustees.

The Domestic Violence Intervention Program on Wednesday announced it has hired as its new program director for sexual assault services Shell Feijo, an author, instructor, and trained victims advocate who is listed as an adjunct faculty member with UI, where she earned a doctorate of interdisciplinary studies — specifically race, class and gender.

University of Iowa experts say their research suggests state cursive standards could be a good thing — to the extent that a focus on cursive gets kids focused on handwriting.

Propelled by high-impact research — including one project targeting extreme wind events, like the storm that blasted Iowa on Monday — Iowa State University on Tuesday announced a third straight year of record research funding that for the second straight year topped $300 million.

In a hypercompetitive higher education landscape — where colleges and universities are vying not just for top students but the best and brightest faculty and staff — Iowa State University has entered a new partnership with employment-centered social media platform LinkedIn aimed at making it “an employer of choice regionally and across the world.”