As the 50th anniversary of the civil rights "Freedom Summer" approaches, the University of Iowa Alumni Association pays tribute to Iowans who risked their lives to help end discrimination.

See the PERSON, NOT the disability" is the theme of the University of Iowa Disability Awareness T-shirt Campaign, one of several initiatives and activities planned as part of October, National Disability Awareness Month.

A unique partnership centered on STEM education and careers and involving the University of Iowa, Kirkwood Community College, and the Grant Wood Area Educational Agency will begin to take shape at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, with a groundbreaking at the UI Research Park.

When Matthew Beck, an elementary school counselor in Erie, Ill., dove in to create a welcoming, safe environment for all kids when he observed students using words like "gay" in a derogatory way, the issue went from inside the building all the way to CNN and a national award for Beck.

Rebalancing Health Care in the Heartland, the sixth in an ongoing series of forums designed to support Iowa policymakers in their efforts to improve health care for Iowans, takes place Tuesday, Oct. 15 in Des Moines and will focus on public-private sector strategies and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on business.

Former Iowa Writers’ Workshop faculty Margot Livesey will present a free reading at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Glenn Schaeffer Library, adjacent to the Dey House.

Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduates Robert Fernandez and Mary Hickman will read from their poetry at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, 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.

John Freeman will be in conversation with Marilynne Robinson to talk about his new book, "How to Read a Novelist," at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The discussion also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

New Vice President for Strategic Communication Joe Brennan places a priority on telling the institutional story clearly and proactively, to help people outside the UI campus "understand better who we are and what makes this place wonderful." And he's a cycling enthusiast—and that might be putting it mildly.

Political philosopher Larry May will give a series of lectures on the University of Iowa campus Oct. 16-18 as an Ida Cornelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor.

The UI will host the American Conference for Irish Studies Thursday Oct. 10 through Saturday Oct. 12 at the Iowa Memorial Union. The conference draws upon Irish literature and its scholars to explore themes such as psychology and mental health, women, masculinity, and child labor.

Scientists from the University of Iowa and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have discovered—by studying the genetics of two families severely affected by eating disorders—two gene mutations, one in each family, that are associated with increased risk of developing eating disorders.