Congress is showing a frustrating inability to figure out how to deal with federal spending cuts, but their behavior may not be so incomprehensible if you look at them as a bunch of people with bad teeth who need dental work.

The Get to Know series asks University of Iowa faculty and staff a few questions about their work and their outside interests. Today we visit with Mary Cohen, who administers the music education program.

UI lecturer David Gould says downtown Las Vegas is the coolest sandbox he could imagine playing in, referring to a new course he is teaching, Reimagining Downtown, with support from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, that will culminate in a hands-on project for UI students in Vegas.

David Duys, an associate professor of rehabilitation and counselor education in the UI College of Education, discusses some of the significant changes in middle childhood development on Iowa Public Radio's Talk of Iowa with host Charity Nebbe.

Marilynne Robinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and faculty member in the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, has been shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, along with writers from India, Russia, and China.

George Weiner, M.D., director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa, has been elected vice-president/president-elect of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI). His term began January 1, and he will become AACI president in the fall of 2014.

Who are our diversity champions out making a difference? The University of Iowa Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity in the Chief Diversity Office wants to know. The office is seeking nominations for the 2013 Diversity Catalyst Awards. Nominations are due by Feb. 8.

One of the most intriguing ensembles in all of music returns to Iowa City with a program that includes a work co-commissioned by Hancher.

John Manning, associate professor of tuba in the University of Iowa School of Music, will give a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, in Riverside Recital Hall on the UI campus. The performance is free and open to the public.

The University of Iowa is transitioning to new anti-virus software, which means students and employees who use Symantec on their home computers will need to switch to another product by June.

Tlaloc Rivas came to theater through activism, embracing the art for its capacity to illuminate problems and inspire change. Now a UI professor of theatre arts, he talks about plays, politics, and his more recent project—a centerpiece of the 2013 MLK Celebration of Human Rights.

University of Iowa College of Education Interim Dean Nick Colangelo, and recent UI education graduate Joey Ackerman, both comment on Iowa Gov. Branstad's education reform package, which puts teachers as its centerpiece.