When Matthew Beck, an elementary school counselor in Erie, Ill., dove in to create a welcoming, safe environment for all kids when he observed students using words like "gay" in a derogatory way, the issue went from inside the building all the way to CNN and a national award for Beck.

Former Iowa Writers’ Workshop faculty Margot Livesey will present a free reading at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Glenn Schaeffer Library, adjacent to the Dey House.

Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduates Robert Fernandez and Mary Hickman will read from their poetry at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

John Freeman will be in conversation with Marilynne Robinson to talk about his new book, "How to Read a Novelist," at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The discussion also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

New Vice President for Strategic Communication Joe Brennan places a priority on telling the institutional story clearly and proactively, to help people outside the UI campus "understand better who we are and what makes this place wonderful." And he's a cycling enthusiast—and that might be putting it mildly.

Political philosopher Larry May will give a series of lectures on the University of Iowa campus Oct. 16-18 as an Ida Cornelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor.

The UI will host the American Conference for Irish Studies Thursday Oct. 10 through Saturday Oct. 12 at the Iowa Memorial Union. The conference draws upon Irish literature and its scholars to explore themes such as psychology and mental health, women, masculinity, and child labor.

North Liberty is home to one of 10 radio telescopes in the Very Long Baseline Array, or VLBA, spread across 5,351 miles from Hawaii to the Virgin Islands, which, when used together, are 100 times more powerful than any other dedicated instrument, says UI astrophysicist Robert Mutel.

A student writer, who is Chinese, seeks advice on feeling "at home" in America from current and emeritus faculty who first came to the U.S. as students.

The Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa has been ranked the number one nonfiction writing program in the country for the fifth year in a row by the magazine Poets and Writers.

Phuong Nguyen-Hoang, assistant professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, examined the impact of school district income tax on property tax revenue in the State of Ohio. The data show that increases in school district income tax are not associated with proportionate decreases in property taxes.

A conference examining racial injustice in Iowa’s legal system titled "Racial Justice and Disproportionate Minority Incarceration" will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in the Lindquist Center on campus thanks to a partnership between community groups and the University of Iowa.