UI students are helping Iowans better understand their ancestry and their DNA. Under the supervision of faculty adviser Bryant McAllister, associate professor in the UI Department of Biology, the students participate in monthly meetings to educate those in the community interested in ordering a DNA test or interpreting results.

UI Opera Theatre and the UI Symphony Orchestra are bringing Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” to the Hancher stage. “We really wanted something that everybody could come to,” says Bill Theisen, associate professor and director of opera. The operetta will be UI Opera Theatre’s inaugural Hancher performance.

The homestretch of your college career can be a busy and emotional time, and sometimes important details just slip through the cracks. As you’re getting ready to graduate, here’s a list of things to help you wrap up and prepare for your next adventure.

Sheri Salata, University of Iowa alumna and former executive producer of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” comes to campus April 27 for a Life with Phil Talk, part of the UI Foundation’s Phil Was Here program. Salata says the UI has a “small-town feeling with big university opportunities.”

Acclaimed conductor and UI alumnus Gerhardt Zimmermann and pianist Garrick Ohlsson will join the UI Symphony Orchestra in a concert honoring the late James Dixon, the symphony’s former director and Zimmermann’s professor. “Iowa Now” recently sat down with Zimmermann to talk about his career and teacher.

The Office of Sustainability invites you to celebrate Earth Month at the University of Iowa. This year’s theme is “Sustainability Connects Us All,” which reflects on how sustainability is integrated in all facets of our campus, our community, and our planet.

Ahead of their Free Speech Day: Challenges of the First Amendment in Modern America event, “Iowa Now” sat down with Jasmine Mangrum and Josh Schoenfeld, vice president and president, respectively, of UI Graduate and Professional Student Government, to get their take on free speech issues on college campuses.

Former UI President David Skorton, now secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, will return to campus March 30 to present the talk “Education and What We Value: How STEM and the Liberal Arts Nourish Each Other.”

Choreographer Jessica Lang and architect Steven Holl, who designed both the UI’s Art Building West and Visual Arts Building, have teamed up to produce the dance “Tesseracts of Time,” which Jessica Lang Dance will perform at Hancher on March 23.

The annual “Cancer in Iowa” report issued by the State Health Registry of Iowa, based at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, will be released March 22 at a 10 a.m. presentation. After formal remarks and a Q&A session, the presenters will be available for one-on-one interviews.

University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld encourages UI students, faculty, and staff to attend Lincoln Project forum taking place on March 9.

The University of Iowa graphic design program is about to take center stage as computer software giant Adobe descends on campus with its unique Creative Jam series. During the high-profile design event, UI students will have an opportunity to compete, collaborate, and showcase their talents for peers and local professionals.