Research by Nicholas A. Bowman, director of the University of Iowa Center for Research on Undergraduate Education, shows that admission officers at selective colleges are more likely to offer spots to low-income students if they have a better understanding of the high schools those students attend.

Marilynne Robinson, professor emerita at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, will be honored at the Library of Congress with a special event titled Fiction, Faith and the Imagination on Monday, April 3. The event will be live-streamed on the Library’s YouTube site at youtube.com/libraryofcongress.

Four University of Iowa faculty members have won the 2017 President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence in recognition of their years of outstanding teaching. The recipients are Meenakshi Gigi Durham, Julie Jessop, Russell Larsen, and Thomas Oetting.

Haley Wikoff, a graduate student in the College of Education, and Meredith Rausch, an alumna of the College of Education, were the co-recipients of a $500 grant from ALGBTIC.

This year, 200 Hawkeyes used their spring break to volunteer in 12 communities across the U.S., packing medical supplies in Atlanta, helping at a community garden in Denver, making breakfasts at an HIV/AIDS service organization in Dallas, and assisting at a Milwaukee homeless shelter. See how you can get involved.

The UI College of Dentistry’s Geriatric and Special Needs Certificate Program trains dental students to attend to the unique needs of elderly patients. The college has also partnered with the College of Nursing to improve care for seniors by adding a social worker and nurse practitioner to its geriatric team.

Kevin Kregel, University of Iowa acting executive vice president and provost, has appointed Keith Mueller interim dean of the College of Public Health, effective April 1. Current dean Sue Curry is stepping into the role of UI interim executive vice president and provost.

The Office of Outreach and Engagement awarded four grants to support projects and initiatives making a significant impact in Iowa communities.

Ahead of their Free Speech Day: Challenges of the First Amendment in Modern America event, “Iowa Now” sat down with Jasmine Mangrum and Josh Schoenfeld, vice president and president, respectively, of UI Graduate and Professional Student Government, to get their take on free speech issues on college campuses.

President Harreld discusses the important research that public universities contribute to the world and raises concerns about what happens when institutions like the UI lose public support.

MFA student Robby Scott was born near Oakland, California, into a family with quick tempers, abusive tendencies, mental illness, and unfortunate affections for drugs and alcohol. Now married and planning to stay in Iowa to teach art, Scott says his craft helps him put his life in perspective.

With spring soon bringing cyclists back to the roadways, “Iowa Now” sat down to talk with Cara Hamann, an associate in the University of Iowa College of Public Health who’s using her bike safety research to influence public policy and keep riders from getting hurt.