This Iowa City Press-Citizen's Our View column commends the University of Iowa for a number of initiatives including student retention efforts and a new first-generation college student program. (Note: A paid subscription may be required.)

DIY History lets the public contribute to historic scholarship by transcribing handwritten documents, including manuscript cookbooks from the University of Iowa Libraries’ Special Collections.

A student and two staff members will be honored at the University of Iowa's 2012 Disability Celebration Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., in Room 115 in the Center for Disabilities and Development. This year's theme is "Keep Me in the Loop" and will feature a presentation, via technology, on hearing loops.

Greg Touzani, president of the University of Iowa Veterans Association, says students in the group hope to raise awareness for pre-9/11 veterans on election issues.

The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy's student organizations have planned a variety of events to build community awareness and encourage healthy living during October, American Pharmacists Month.

The University of Iowa has a long tradition of fostering the highest level of string quartet playing and chamber music instruction—think the Stradivari String Quartet, or more recently, the Maia String Quartet. This storied history adds another chapter this academic year with the formation of the UI String Quartet Residency Program.

The Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities has launched a new effort to assist Iowa municipalities with long-term sustainability projects. Broad in scope, these collaborative projects will encompass economic, environmental, social, and cultural needs of Iowa communities.

The University of Iowa Museum of Art set an all-time museum record for attendance at events, programs, and exhibitions during the 2011-2012 academic year. The UIMA drew 145,466 people, eclipsing the previous record of 91,631 for 2010-2011.

Marilynne Robinson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and faculty member in the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, will join UI Nonfiction Writing Program alumna Eula Biss for a literary benefit at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.

The discovery this year of fossil remains of two different kinds of mammoths in rural Mahaska County, Iowa, has surprised and delighted paleontologists and archaeologists at the University of Iowa. Some of those fossils will be on public display Wednesday, Oct. 17, as UI researchers discuss their importance.

University of Iowa President Sally Mason shared how the UI contributes about $6 billion to the state economy during the annual Rotary Club meeting at the University Athletic Club. (Note: A paid subscription may be required.)

Bruce Gronbeck, a University of Iowa professor emeritus of political communication, says the vice presidential debate made Obama-Biden supporters feel much better about themselves and their chances than the first presidential debate.