The U.K. House of Commons has long used vellum, made of calfskin, to record its acts—but some parliamentarians believe it’s finally tree time. Professor Timothy Barrett, a University of Iowa expert on European paper, says well-made paper stored somewhere cool with low humidity will survive for centuries, if not millennia.

The UI Office of the Provost announced Friday, May 5, the final candidate for the position of dean of the UI College of Nursing. Julie Johnson Zerwic, executive associate dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will visit campus May 8–9.

Mousa Abuissa first saw the UI campus when he was on a vacation with his parents and sister, who had traveled from Syria to visit his uncle in Iowa City. Nearly eight years later, and after also completing a BA in music, he’s receiving a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

A team of University of Iowa researchers has discovered a new connection between two regions of the brain that may help explain how motor skills develop. Working with infant rats, the scientists found that the hippocampus and the red nucleus, part of the brain stem, synchronize during REM sleep.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, joining the military, and working as an intelligence analyst, Lindsay Danielson came to the University of Iowa to earn a JD—and with a husband and kids in tow. Now graduating from Iowa Law, she already has a job lined up.

Fred Wollinsky, the John W. Colloton Chair in Health Management and Policy at the University of Iowa College of Public Health will receive an honorary doctorate from Friends University in recognition of his continued academic work and contributions to his field of study.

For the sixth year in a row, the University of Iowa recognized the impact of philanthropy with a spring celebration facilitated by the UI Foundation, the university’s designated fundraising organization.

Death notices for current and retired UI employees. Links to online obituaries provided when available.

The University of Iowa Celebrating Excellence: Discovery and Innovation Awards Ceremony, held April 24, honored faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, undergraduates and graduate students, and mentors who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in their fields.

During construction on Catlett Residence Hall about 10 a.m. Wednesday, a gas line was hit resulting in a gas leak. Catlett Residence Hall is a new building, currently under construction, and is not occupied by students.

For the third year in a row, orthodontic residents at the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry won first place in the Resident Case Display Program at the annual meeting of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) April 21–25 in San Diego, California.

The University of Iowa will award honorary degrees to personal computer pioneer Ted Waitt and corporate health and wellness innovator Martín-José Sepúlveda during spring 2017 commencement exercises May 12 and 13.