Coming to campus after a relaxing summer can be a lot to handle. This list will help you start a new year ready to take advantage of all that the University of Iowa has to offer. Here are eight tidbits to quickly digest:
- You can now pay for parking with your phone.
- Two new STEM majors in fast-growing fields are now available to students.
- There are six new counselors—and a new counseling location will open soon.
- New shared governance leadership took the reins this summer.
- Eat better, lose weight, get fit—don’t overlook free health coaching.
- Job fairs, college fairs, internship fairs, and more are coming up soon.
- Cambus routes have changed, and road construction continues.
- Grad students, HR, and recruiters have new resources.
1. Pay for parking from your phone
The UI and the city of Iowa City partnered last spring to bring a mobile parking service, PassportParking, to Iowa City. The downloadable app allows drivers to pay for parking at meters on campus and around the city using smartphones, tablets, or other electronic devices—at no additional charge. Signs on or near parking meters identify the 2,800 locations in Iowa City where drivers can pay using the app. To learn more about PassportParking, go to https://transportation.uiowa.edu/ParkingApp.
2. New STEM majors in fast-growing fields
This fall, the UI will offer Iowa’s first Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree in environmental engineering. The major will prepare students to address the complex food, energy, and water issues of the 21st century. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates significantly higher-than-average job growth in environmental engineering until 2024. According to Forbes Magazine, environmental engineering is the fifth most valuable college major.
Last year, the UI founded the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences now will offer a Bachelor of Science (BS) in neuroscience. The interdisciplinary major will provide students with broad exposure to the study of neuroscience, from molecules and cells to behavior and cognition, and undergraduates will have honors research opportunities to work with top neuroscience researchers across campus. Neuroscience majors who want to continue their studies in graduate (PhD) or medical (MD) school will be prepared to do so through this integrated curriculum.
3. Six new counselors join the UI, and a new counseling location is open
Six new therapists joined the University Counseling Service (UCS) team this summer. In keeping with a model expanding across Big Ten university campuses, the UI has placed five counselors in offices closer to where students spend their time. Counselors are embedded in Catlett Hall, the College of Dentistry, and the Department of Athletics. In addition, UCS has opened an eastside campus location in University Capitol Centre to complement its westside location in Westlawn.
Call 319-335-7294 or visit https://counseling.uiowa.edu for information on how to make an appointment
4. Meet the new shared governance leadership
The new academic year brings new leadership to many of the UI’s shared governance bodies. John Laverty, senior associate director of search and prospect development in the Office of Admissions, is the new president of UI Staff Council. The vice president and president-elect is Michael Hesseltine, support services manager at the UI Patient Appointment Center.
The Faculty Senate’s new president is Peter Snyder, vice chair for faculty advancement and professor of internal medicine and molecular physiology and biophysics. The vice president is Russel Ganim, professor and director of the Division of World Languages.
The UI Student Government president is Jacob Simpson, a fourth-year student majoring in economics. The vice president is Lilián Sanchez, a fourth-year student majoring in ethics, public policy, and political science.
The Graduate and Professional Student Government president is Tejavsi Sharma, a fourth-year PhD candidate in mechanical engineering and a second-year MBA candidate in business analytics. Grant Jerkovich, a third-year graduate student in the College of Pharmacy, is the GPSG vice president.
5. Eat better, lose weight, get fit: Free health coaching
The UI’s liveWELL program offers employees the chance to work with a professional health coach to meet health and wellness goals in areas such as fitness, nutrition, weight loss, and stress/time management. Employees can meet with a coach at multiple campus locations or via phone, Skype, and email. This free service can help you get a healthy start to the new semester. To schedule a meeting with a health coach, contact liveWELL.
6. Job fairs, college fairs, food fairs, and more
The fall semester brings with it career, internship, college, and food fairs. Go to events.uiowa.edu and search for “fair,” and you’ll see a list that stretches into the spring. Here are a few fairs good for any student looking to get ahead:
Sept. 17: Discount Business Wear Event
Sept. 19: Study Abroad Fair
Sept. 27: Job and Internship Fair
7. Cambus changes and reminders about North Dubuque Street construction
UI Student Government partnered with UI Parking and Transportation to expand weekend Cambus access. Beginning Aug. 19, the Interdorm route will be added to Weekend Academic service and will operate between 8:30 and 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The Blue, Red, and Hawkeye Interdorm routes will begin 30 minutes earlier on academic weekends, with an 11 a.m. start time; the Bionic Bus will expand its operating hours, beginning service at 8:30 a.m.
Faculty, staff, and students can expect delays when using North Dubuque Street to access Interstate 80 as Gateway Project road construction continues. Traffic is narrowed to one lane traveling in either direction between Foster Road and Park Road, and construction has altered pedestrian walkways along the street as well as reduced parking available at Mayflower Residence Hall. Construction is scheduled to continue until 2018.
8. New resources for HR, grad students, and recruiters
To support the important relationship between productive careers and balanced personal lives, the new Build a Career, Build a Life website connects prospective and current employees with local resources, including relocation and housing, transportation, diversity and inclusion, dual-career employment, and children and family resources. The website aims to provide one-stop access to resources to help recruit and retain employees.
Graduate and Professional Student Government has also created a new website called the UI Guide for Graduate and Professional Student Life. It provides prospective, incoming, and current UI students with resources to help manage their professional and personal lives, including housing and utilities, services, professional resources, upcoming events, local entertainment, and more.