Iowa is a founding member in the STARS College Network, whose schools engaged with more than 700,000 students from rural areas and small towns in its inaugural year.

The University of Iowa has been awarded a $6 million, four-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to lead a multistate collaboration with universities, local governments, health care providers, and other experts on a project that will help Midwest agricultural communities grappling with effects of severe weather, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves.

External funding to support research, scholarship, and creative activities at the University of Iowa totaled $683.8 million in fiscal year 2024, which ended on June 30, 2024. This is a 22% increase over the previous year’s $561 million.

A Federal Transit Administration grant will replace aging Cambus buses with battery-electric buses and expand and modernize the Cambus Maintenance Facility.

Executive Vice Pesident and Provost Kevin Kregel has named Amanda Haertling Thein, associate provost for graduate and professional education and dean of the Graduate College, and Todd Pettys, the H. Blair and Joan V. White Chair in Civil Litigation, as co-chairs of the committee.

The University of Iowa has awarded P3 funding for fiscal year 2025 to several projects that will enhance student success, support research, and improve campus infrastructure. Up to $15 million from the UI Strategic Initiatives Fund will be distributed to aid the implementation of two projects and provide ongoing support for educational infrastructure and other initiatives that promote the strategic plan.

Construction of a new road connecting Newton Road to the University of Iowa Health Care university campus is underway. The south end of the road will extend between Hospital Parking Ramp 1 and the General Hospital pavilion, ending at the site of the current fountain entrance.

Over the next year, a University of Iowa review committee will be charged to engage the community regarding the use of Macbride Nature Recreation Area (MNRA). The UI currently leases MNRA from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the lease expires in 2029.

The Iowa City Pride celebration took place Saturday, June 15, in downtown Iowa City. Thousands of people, including many members of the University of Iowa community, took part. Events included a parade, music, food, art, and vendor booths.

A play written by University of Iowa alumnus David Adjmi has won five Tony Awards, including Best Play, after becoming the most Tony-nominated play in history, with 13 nods in 10 categories.

The Iowa Board of Regents has approved a tuition increase for University of Iowa students to address inflationary costs and continued support of student success initiatives.

Growing up in Boulder, Colorado, Sam Young yearned for life on the road as a rock drummer. For more than 10 years, he followed that path, playing in front of thousands while touring in rock bands DeVotchKa and The Samples. Now, after another decade of work as a composer, university instructor, and occasional studio drummer (that’s him on a vintage drum kit in the Paddington movie soundtrack), Young has found a home at the University of Iowa.