From Bettendorf, Camanche, and Elkader to Jamaica and Rome, far-flung corners of the world have found their way into the names of Iowa cities and towns. At the second annual Iowa Humanities Festival, scholars from across the state will share the connections present between Iowa and the globe.

David Michael Ryfe will be the next director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Using a screening method that previously identified a compound in apple peel as a muscle-boosting agent, a team of University of Iowa scientists has now discovered that tomatidine, a compound from green tomatoes, is even more potent for building muscle and protecting against muscle atrophy.

Kaylia Duncan and Anna Lynch have contributed to the remarkable achievement of University of Iowa graduate students by each winning the 2014 Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.

Advanced patient simulators help University of Iowa College of Nursing students master clinical skills, but they can't replace the human element needed to learn consultation and teaching. That's where community volunteers come in.

The Iowa Summer Music Camps, presented by the University of Iowa School of Music, will offer four camps in 2014, focusing on piano, musical theater, percussion, and jazz. Application deadline is May 2; an early bird discount applies to applications submitted by April 18.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a free recital by Jamaican pianist Paul Shaw at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 13, in Riverside Recital Hall on the UI campus.

University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Michelle Huneven and Mona Simpson will read from their new novels at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

University of Iowa alumni can make career contacts in a new online networking series from the alumni association.

A University of Iowa Alumni Association event April 22 focuses on what children learn by watching television and other media.

Update 4/9 9:09 a.m.-Postponed. UI Facilities Management Landscape Services staff intend to conduct a prairie burn Wednesday, April 9, starting at 8:30 a.m., weather permitting. The prairie burn will occur adjacent to Hawkins Drive and west of the Ronald McDonald House.

UI alumnus and craft-chocolate maker Michael Mast will speak about his new cookbook Thursday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. The first 100 people to arrive at Shambaugh Auditorium for the presentation will receive a small sample of Mast Brothers chocolate.