116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Vanessa Miller
I’ve covered lots of beats over my decades as a reporter, and one reason I really enjoy higher education is because it touches on them all. One day I’m writing about science and interviewing University of Iowa NASA researchers, the next I’m writing about health care, or agriculture, or a new Iowa State-supported business, or athletic budgets, or criminal justice, or the Legislature and potential bills affecting Iowa’s university and college campuses. I also love that I get to investigate and dig deep on some stories, report hard news, and then also share incredible and sometimes harrowing tales of survival or discovery. When I’m not working, I’m playing with my kids or following them around to wrestling tournaments. Get the news delivered right to your inbox.
Latest Articles by Vanessa Miller
Higher Ed Jun. 13, 2022 4:21 pm1285d ago
“As plaintiff continued to observe defects, it was required to undertake mitigation efforts to protect its patients, guests, employees and the general public from potential life safety issues associated with the defective conditions, specifically the potential for falling glass,” according to the lawsuit.
Higher Ed Jun. 13, 2022 6:00 am1285d ago
Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa have resurrected their fully in-person orientation programs this summer — including offering students the chance to spend the night in a residence hall. The University of Iowa is offering a hybrid model.
Higher Ed Jun. 10, 2022 12:33 pm1288d ago
Given its long history training educators, University of Northern Iowa — called the Iowa State Teachers College from 1909 to 1961 — is working to address the shortage, including through a new “fully online teacher preparation program” that allows working paraeducators with associate degrees to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, with a special education minor.
Higher Ed Jun. 10, 2022 6:15 pm1287d ago
The University of Iowa is suing the contractors who installed 900-some windows in its 14-story Stead Family Children’s Hospital, many of which have proven faulty and flawed, with cracks and dilapidation already showing just five years after the hospital’s opening.
Higher Ed Jun. 7, 2022 6:57 pm1290d ago
The University of Iowa over its first year with Follett didn’t impose enough checks and balances to ensure it’s getting what it’s owed, according to a June 2022 internal audit presented last week to the Board of Regents.
Higher Ed Jun. 6, 2022 2:50 pm1292d ago
The state Board of Regents has agreed to settle a complaint with a University of Northern Iowa student who accused the institution and its employees of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Higher Ed Jun. 6, 2022 6:29 pm1291d ago
State executives Monday agreed to pay more than a half-million dollars to reimburse the University of Iowa for pipe damage its 65-year-old Medical Research Center suffered during an arctic snap in early 2018 that set records and burst pipes across the community.
Higher Ed Jun. 5, 2022 6:00 am1293d ago
In the aftermath of the pandemic, higher education challenges remain — and in some cases are more prevalent — although COVID, with all the discomfort it brought, might have forced to the forefront one potential solution: online education.
Higher Ed Jun. 3, 2022 1:31 pm1295d ago
Both University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson and Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen are getting 8.3 percent pay raises this summer — bumping up their annual base pay from $600,000 to $650,000.
Higher Ed Jun. 1, 2022 5:57 pm1296d ago
Continuing what has become annual University of Iowa Health Care cost increases, the Board of Regents on Wednesday approved a 6 percent rate hike — which officials said could have been higher given current economic conditions.
Higher Ed Jun. 1, 2022 5:46 pm1296d ago
Although social media has proved beneficial in many ways, Iowa’s public universities are facing a surge in mental health needs – like other campuses nationally following the COVID-19 pandemic – and they’re looking at social media as contributing to the problem.
Higher Ed Jun. 1, 2022 3:01 pm1297d ago
Over the next 30 years, Iowa State University is planning to renew or replace 2.3 million square feet of buildings on its Ames campus and build 700,000 square feet of new construction, according to a facilities master plan presented to its governing Board of Regents on Wednesday.
Higher Ed Jun. 1, 2022 6:00 am1297d ago
Contributions to the American Association for Cancer Research have seen a sharp decline in recent years — dropping 57 percent from $65.9 million in 2019 to $28.3 million in 2021 — and organizers of the Iowa City-based Courage Ride say such trends make their annual event all the more imperative.
Higher Ed Jun. 1, 2022 8:04 am1297d ago
Systems are not in place on the University of Northern Iowa campus to ensure compliance with the 32-year-old federal Clery Act – which governs higher education crime reporting and security mandates – leaving the Cedar Falls-based university at risk of hundreds of thousands in fines and safety breaches, according to an internal audit.
Higher Ed May. 29, 2022 10:04 am1300d ago
Over the next 24 years, if nothing changes, Kirkwood Community College is on track to spend nearly $40 million maintaining its 97,094-square-foot Iowa City campus – which has a current classroom-use rate under 40 percent and saw a 75-percent enrollment decline between 2016 and 2021.

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