The University of Iowa Libraries has announced the establishment of the Jack B. King University Librarian Chair. Sue Curry, interim executive vice president and provost, has appointed university librarian John P. Culshaw to hold the new endowed chair.

The University of Iowa and the Facilities Management Landscape Services Tree Crew were recently honored with the 2017 Tree Campus USA award at the 28th Annual Community Forestry Awards Luncheon in Des Moines.

Kathleen V. Jameson, former president and CEO of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the second finalist for the next director of the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. She will visit campus Wednesday and Thursday, April 18 and 19.

Catherine M. Hale, director and curator of Creative Campus Galleries at Sheridan College in Mississauga, Ontario, and former curator of African and non-western art for the UI Stanley Museum of Art, is the first finalist for the UI Stanley Museum of Art director. She will visit campus April 16–17.

Alexis Madsen, along with seven other student employees and supervisors, will be honored for their work during the 2017–18 National Student Employment Week, April 9–13.

In a message to the campus community, University of Iowa President J. Bruce Harreld and Senior Vice President for Operations Rod Lehnertz discuss an upcoming construction moratorium and cuts to programs and services that the university will be forced to enact after the most recent state funding cuts.

University of Iowa President J. Bruce Harreld has appointed Rachel Williams university ombudsperson in the Office of the Ombudsperson. Williams will replace Susan Johnson, who will retire this summer after eight years in the position. Williams’s first day will be July 1, 2018.

As director of diversity programs and K–12 outreach in the University of Iowa College of Engineering, Tracy Peterson looks for ways to increase STEM learning opportunities for minority children. A citizen of the Navajo Nation, he also helped revitalize the annual UI Powwow, an event spotlighting Native American culture.

The versatile Herald Stark Opera Studio in the Voxman Music Building can transform from a classroom to a rehearsal space to a performance venue.

Five MFA students in the famous Iowa Writers’ Workshop came to the UI as teenagers to attend the Iowa Young Writers Studio, a summer camp for high school student writers. They talk about the experiences that have stayed with them.

Faculty, staff, and students in the UI School of Music and Department of Chemistry teamed up to turn physics and chemistry equipment into musical instruments—a project that culminated in a unique and impressive performance.

As experimental filmmaker and UI professor Christopher Harris begins work on his most ambitious project yet, he says he’s fortunate to have found a university community that embraces him and his work.