The breast cancer mortality rate in Iowa has dropped significantly over the past 20 years, UI doctors said Wednesday, a trend they expect to continue thanks to better screening and treatment advancements. The data is from the Cancer in Iowa 2013 report.

Leesa Fair achieved her 50th birthday goal—to receive a college degree, made possible by UI online learning opportunities, which also allowed her to graduate in December along with her son, Ben, who received a Bachelor of Arts in computer science.

Experience “The Here, the Now, and the Then” at the next University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) First Friday reception on April 5 from 5-7 p.m. at hotelVetro. For $5, enjoy refreshments, light hors d’oeuvres, art by Des Moines-based Larassa Kabel and toe-tapping indie pop tunes.

Colin Gordon, professor of history, will present “Iowa on WorldMap“ on Thursday, March 28, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in 1117 University Capitol Centre at the Old Capitol Town Center.

Join the 10th anniversary celebration of the University of Iowa’s Asian and Pacific American Cultural Center April 5-7, co-sponsored by the UI Center for Student Involvement and Leadership and the UI Alumni Association.

The University of Iowa College of Education’s Teacher Leader Center will host a panel discussion “Tweet the Good: Positive Social Media in Schools,” from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 27. The discussion will take place in Room N140 Lindquist Center and is free and open to the public.

April is Earth Month, and University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums will offer visitors information on how to care for our planet at home and away as well as a month’s worth of movies with environmental themes.

The University of Iowa "Research in the Capitol" event is set for Tuesday, March 26, in Des Moines. The annual spring event invites about 20 students under the auspices of the honors program at each of Iowa’s three Regents institutions.

Brain health is the focus of an upcoming presentation by Dr. Steven Anderson, director of the neuropsychological rehabilitation laboratory at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.

Steve Hendrix, a UI biology professor, was recently named the director of academics and research at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory in Milford, Iowa, where he has conducted research and shared his expertise since 1975.

Five Iowans who were equal rights advocates and likely involved in the Underground Railroad will be the subject of a free public lecture on Thursday, March 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the Senate Chamber of the University of Iowa Old Capitol Museum.

Iowa defeats Indiana State 68-52 to advance in the National Invitation Tournament. The Hawkeyes will play Stony Brook University at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20.