The annual Hawkeye Caucus Day at the State Capitol in Des Moines highlights University of Iowa people and programs making an impact across the state.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a guest recital by John Hines, associate professor of voice at the University of Northern Iowa, at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 7, in the University Capitol Centre recital hall. The performance is free and open to the public.

Robin Hemley’s memoir goes beyond a remembrance for a sibling consumed by a passion for finding and understanding God; it's also a quest to understand what people choose to reveal and conceal, and an examination of the enormous toll mental illness takes on a family. The book is finding new life via the University of Iowa Press.

UI Theatre is sorry to announce that the Holly Hughes Gay Marriage Performance Workshop (April 2-5) and the Holly Hughes performance (April 6) have been cancelled due to the artist’s illness. UI Theatre plans to reschedule the workshop and performance during the 2013-2014 season.

A University of Iowa research team led by Stefan Strack, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, will use a four-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study proteins that may help protect brain cells from stroke.

Mary Jo Bang, former visiting faculty at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and Eleni Sikelianos will read at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City as part of the Mission Creek Festival. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

The University of Iowa Department of Dance will present Lifescapes, a production featuring the thesis works of three graduate students, at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 4-6, in Space Place Theatre of North Hall. The event combines new works by Joseph Cox, Jennifer Harge, and Michael Medcalf.

Death notices for current and retired UI employees. Links to online obituaries provided when available.

The deadline for nominations for this year’s University of Iowa Children’s Hospital Kid Captains has been extended to April 14.

Fiction writer/essayist Roxane Gay and University of Iowa professor of English John D’Agata will read from their work at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City as part of the Mission Creek Festival.

Uptown Bill's and Wild Bill's coffee shops are planning a week of special events to mark the 100th birthday of Bill Sackter. Music, films, an art show, and more are scheduled during the week of April 8-13.

One of the featured characters in "The Interrupters," an award-winning documentary addressing violence in Chicago, will speak at the University of Iowa after a presentation of selected portions of the film at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, in the Lindquist Center, Room N300. The event is free and open to the public.