Six-time Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and UI graduate Al Jarreau returns to his alma mater for a public discussion Thursday, Sept. 18, in advance of his Sept. 19 performance at the Iowa Soul Festival. Listen to the live stream at 3 p.m. CT Thursday, Sept. 18, or watch the archived video of the discussion later.

"Iowa Now Minute" is a 60-second roundup highlighting recent UI activities, research, public engagement, and campus life. Look for a new video every Thursday in Iowa Now.

UI doctoral student Mary Huff has come a long ways since growing up in Greenfield, Iowa. The Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program scholar is the recipient of a prestigious award which allows her to conduct cutting-edge research that will help treat people with serious memory-related disorders.

Doug Litwiller (aka Professor Therm), University of Iowa associate director of energy conservation in Facilities Management, will give a special presentation that gives audiences a light-hearted look at "All Things Energy" Thursday, Sept. 25, in the Biosphere Discovery Hub in the UI Museum of Natural History.

The UI College of Public Health has named William H. Foege the recipient of its 2014 Richard and Barbara Hansen Leadership Award and Distinguished Lectureship. Foege is a global health luminary who helped conceive and lead the worldwide campaign to eradicate smallpox. He will visit campus on Oct. 1 and 2.

The University of Iowa’s Hancher will co-present Hoba Hoba Spirit with Legion Arts at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 26, at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hoba Hoba Spirit blends influences, rhythms, and languages to create music with wide appeal.

UI College of Education students come together with first-year students in the UI REACH program to learn about teamwork and communication.

Members of the media are invited to cover the kickoff of the International Buddies program at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at the UI Tippie College of Business. This is a unique program pairing UI students from the U.S. with UI students from other countries.

Playwright Samuel D. Hunter, who received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in 2007, has been named a winner of a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the “genius grant.”

The Iowa Board of Regents approved an extended timeline Sept. 10 for reviewing the eight remaining administrative business cases, providing a full month for faculty and staff engagement.

The University of Iowa College of Public Health and Grinnell College have developed a new cooperative degree program that allows Grinnell students from any major to earn both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Public Health degree in five years, rather than the customary six.

A University of Iowa and Washington University study of neurological patients finds that brain damage to hub locations produces much greater cognitive impairments than damage to other locations.