Thirty years after he last donned the costume of the University of Iowa’s mascot, David Ausberger still has a connection to Herky the Hawk.

Each year dozens of Iowa faculty, staff, students, and alumni get their work published, win prizes, draw accolades, and earn awards. Here are some highlights from the many writing and writing-related programs in the 2017–18 academic year.

When the RAGBRAI pass-through towns are announced, faculty advisor and JPEC lecturer Bob Walker and his students offer them promotional assistance. They've done so for four years in a row, and this year are working with eight towns, including Templeton.

For five years, the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital has been sharing its message about bicycle safety across the state during the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), along with delivering medical care for cyclists along the route.

Thirteen current and former UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital patients have been selected to represent the hospital as Kid Captains during the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 2018 football season.

The Old Capitol Futures tennis tournament, a U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit event, takes place through July 22 at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. The first professional tennis tournament to take place in Iowa since 1986, the event was organized by Sport and Recreation Management program students.

An estimated 12,000 RAGBRAI riders will be in Iowa City Friday, July 27, for an overnight stop. The University of Iowa community is asked to help safely welcome riders and visitors to our campus from across the country and around the world.

UI President J. Bruce Harreld has named Liz Tovar, associate athletics director for Student-Athlete Academic Services, and Claire F. Fox, professor and chair in the Department of English, to co-chair the search committee tasked with selecting the next chief diversity officer.

UI faculty and students have designed a web-based game that can be played by anyone with a smartphone and a Fitbit.

After back-to-back state budget cuts by the Iowa Legislature, the University of Iowa will close several centers and eliminate more than 30 positions not directly tied to student instruction.

UI College of Pharmacy researchers have created a virtual, web-based pharmacy service that offers Iowa primary-care providers in small towns and rural areas additional help in managing chronic health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. The team is looking to expand the service in Iowa and beyond.

As a third class of Mandela Fellows attends the Young African Leaders Initiative held at the University of Iowa, 2017 YALI attendee Isaac Quaidoo is building on his experience in Iowa, taking a new, more ambitious view of his honey and bee product business in Ghana.