University of Iowa president Sally Mason will join representatives from Balfour Beatty Investments and other officials on Friday, Aug. 22 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the Aspire at West Campus, a new on-campus living community for graduate students and their families at the UI. The $31 million development project comes through a public-private partnership.

The Iowa Board of Regents has appointed Mark Braun to serve as the Transformation Project Manager for the TIER study, effective Monday, Aug. 25. Braun is currently the Chief of Staff and Vice President for External Relations for the University of Iowa and is taking a leave of absence from that position to fill this new role.

Auditions for University of Iowa theater, opera, and dance fall productions and performances will be held during the first week of classes, beginning on Monday, Aug. 25.

The new Hancher season features artists both new and familiar to local audiences. Five themes invite audience members to connect with a wide array of performers.

Scientists from around the world are gathering in Iowa City Aug. 19-22 to attend a conference about chemicals in our environment: "EmCon 2014: Fourth International Conference on Occurrence, Fate, Effects and Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in the Environment."

Members of the University of Iowa and Iowa City community will have the opportunity to see everything from exotic insects to the greatest moments in Hawkeye football at the Pentacrest Museums annual open house from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 28.

Aspiring young dancers can develop their artistic expression this fall at programs offered through the University of Iowa Youth Ballet and School of Dance.

Randal Cooper, a UI student from Muscatine, says one of his best memories about working in Washington D.C. was a simple hello from Sen. Chuck Grassley. Grassley offers internships to college-age students who want to learn more about public service and government.

There will be changes in traffic flow on Clinton Street in downtown Iowa City this week to accommodate first-year students moving into residence halls at the University of Iowa.

The Iowa Board of Regents has authorized Deloitte to provide implementation services for the first component of the Sourcing and Procurement business case, introducing new tools and techniques and also building on methods already applied by university procurement staff.

Hundreds of incoming international students gathered on the Pentacrest with American students at the inaugural University of Iowa International Welcome Night on Sunday evening. The students played Frisbee and soccer, ate frozen yogurt, and got to know one another.

Sarah Hansen coordinates the Student Success Team, which formed in 2006 as a small, interdisciplinary group to talk about how the UI could help students be successful. It has grown to include more than 250 people, and many projects that originated from early team discussions, such as On Iowa!, have become part of campus culture.