With 70 years of association with the University of Iowa—as an undergraduate student, a graduate student, a faculty member, an administrator, and a volunteer—the late communication studies professor Sam Becker more than earned the unofficial, honorary title of Mr. University of Iowa.

When Sarah Fisher Gardial began her tenure as the Tippie College's new dean, Gardial had hit the ground flying, traveling to Hong Kong to congratulate the graduates of the International Executive MBA-Hong Kong program. Back home, staff and faculty members were making arrangements for her first months on campus.

When students complete a degree in accounting at the University of Iowa Tippie College they are armed with knowledge, experience, and a practical business foundation to prepare them for a career that lies ahead.

The University of Iowa will confer an estimated 1,500 degrees at three December commencement ceremonies Friday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 15, to honor students graduating at the end of the fall semester.

Jessica Reed, who earned her Master of Science degree in chemistry from the UI in 2012, won this year's Sims Award for her research on hydrogen gas storage for use as fuel. Reed's work with magnetic microparticles substantially increases the hydrogen storage capacity of palladium and other metals used in hydrogen fuel cells.

Nicholas Colangelo, who founded and directed the University of Iowa College of Education's Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, is stepping down at the end of this month after 25 years as an advocate for gifted education.

Two colleges at the University of Iowa have received a total of $50,000 in grants from State Farm to promote business and technology education curriculum and training.

Five University of Iowa College of Education faculty members gave a glimpse into their ongoing research at the first University of Iowa College of Education’s Research Colloquium Nov. 13 featuring Faculty Research Award recipients.

Shreya Ahuja and Emily Wechsler, 16-year-old high school students at The Hockaday School in Dallas, received an intensive two-week introduction to neuroscience at the University of Iowa last July. Melissa Duff, faculty member in the UI’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, hosted the students in her laboratory as part of this pilot program.

Don McLeese teaches classes for the new UI Master of Arts in Strategic Communication offered in downtown Des Moines and to distance learners via a virtual classroom with a focus on helping students stay afloat in a flood of information via Facebook, Twitter, and other online media.

Margaret Crocco, dean of the University of Iowa College of Education, was among several experts who shared insights in a story on the growing emphasis in Iowa of attracting top-notch students such as UI student Rachel Revelez to the field of education.

Members from both Indian Hills Community College and the University of Iowa signed an articulation agreement Thursday for the engineering program at the UI, where students working towards an engineering degree can begin working on a Bachelor of Science degree starting at the community college.