Even with a milder winter season, it's still a good time to remind UI students and employees that they will be notified through the UI's emergency notification system, Hawk Alert, if classes are canceled.

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.

The Department of Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences emphasizes scholarly research and social engagement.

Alec Soth, critically acclaimed Minneapolis-based photographer, will present a free, public lecture titled “From Here to There” as the University of Iowa Museum of Art’s annual Bette Spriestersbach Distinguished Lecture. The lecture will be held in Art Building West, Room 240, on Thursday, Feb. 7, from 7:30-8:30 p.m.

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.

UI graduate Brittany McConnell discovered she wanted to pursue a career in environmental science after taking a course at the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory last summer. Scholarships are now available for the first 50 students who apply for the 2013 summer session.

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.

Preparing for the deluge of students as they returned to campus from winter break, University of Iowa Student Health created a page devoted to care and prevention for the flu virus.

Registration is now open for spring courses through the University of Iowa Lifetime Enrichment Adult Program.

The Hawkeye softball season doesn’t start until next month when they play Lipscomb University in the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic, but coach Marla Looper’s frozen offseason is just as busy preparing for the games to come.

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.