The University of Iowa awarded an estimated 1,500 degrees at the close of the 2012 fall session.

Margot Livesey, Jonathan Goldsmith Visiting Author at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, will present a free reading at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Glenn Schaeffer Library, adjacent to the Dey House.

Iowa City poet and Iowa Writers' Workshop alumnus James McKean will read from his new collection of poetry, "We Are the Bus," winner of the 2011 X.J. Kennedy Prize, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

American businesses are struggling with change, and that’s going to be an increasingly serious problem for the economy in coming years. Management and organizations professor Sara Rynes will discuss the threats of apathy when she delivers this year's UI Presidential Lecture Feb. 24.

The Bad Plus will perform two shows on Saturday, March 2 at The Mill as part of the popular Club Hancher series.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a free performance by the UI Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of William LaRue Jones and featuring UI piano faculty Alan Huckleberry, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the Main Lounge of the Iowa Memorial Union.

Dina Nayeri, an Iranian-born author who moved to the United States at age 10, will read from her debut novel, "A Teaspoon of Earth and Salt," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. Nayeri is at work on her second novel at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow and is a Teaching Writing Fellow.

The Iowa 80 Truck Stop in Walcott bills itself as The World's Largest Truck Stop, and is as much a part of the UI experience for many students as Old Cap, Kinnick, and Carver Hawkeye.

Ayana Mathis, University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumna, will read from "The Twelve Tribes of Hattie," the most recent pick for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0, at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, in a free reading at the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.

Having diabetes doubles a person’s risk of dying after a heart attack, but the reason for the increased risk is not clear. A new University of Iowa study suggests the link may lie in the over-activation of an important heart enzyme.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a free recital by faculty member Jonathan Allen at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, in the University Capitol Centre recital hall. Allen will perform on trombone and will be accompanied by School of Music alumnus Daniel Kubus on piano.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a free alumna recital by soprano Emily Truckenbrod at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, in the University Capitol Centre recital hall. Truckenbrod, accompanied by Linda Perry on piano, will perform works by George Frideric Handel and Richard Strauss, among others.