Great stories happen at Iowa

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Artist’s work lights up Iowa City

Ali Hval, an alumna and lecturer in the School of Art and Art History, brings her public art onto the pedestrian mall with “Scribble Trees.”
An open book sitting on a lectern

10 books published in 2023 by Iowa grads

Not sure what book to dive into next? For your consideration, here is a shortlist of titles released in 2023 by University of Iowa grads, including the latest winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.
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Claiming Iowa business school’s newest degree

By graduating in December, Will Corbin places himself in the inaugural cohort of UI students earning a degree in risk management and insurance. He’s already employed by a brokerage close to his hometown in central Iowa.
A man sitting in a booth with a basketball and trombone

Driven to create community through sport and recreation

Carter Shockey says the communities he discovered at the University of Iowa will have a lasting impact on his life. The sport and recreation management grad aims to facilitate similar bonds in his professional career.
A man standing on a baseball diamond

From retired high school player to the World Series

Reed Zahradnik knew he wanted to work for a Major League Baseball team. He says the opportunities he found at the University of Iowa showed him how to do it.
A woman leaning on a table with a sculpture in front of her

Pandemic prompts Iowa student to pursue art passion

Despite switching majors early in her University of Iowa experience, Liv Plowman has no regrets. She is now looking forward to her first job as an elementary art teacher in rural Iowa.
A woman smiling towards the distance

PhD student balances academics and family life

University of Iowa doctoral candidate Prarthana Parepalli planned to present her dissertation in mechanical engineering a month ahead of the anticipated arrival of her second child. Mother Nature had other ideas.
three University of Iowa grads walking down steps on the pentacrest

Celebrating Iowa’s fall 2023 grads

This fall, nearly 1,700 University of Iowa undergraduate, graduate, and professional students will earn degrees. These Hawkeyes have engaged, excelled, and stretched to reach their goals.
A child and his mother playing together

UI pediatric experts save toddler’s life after cardiac arrest

Quinn Anderson of Chariton, Iowa, lives a happy life — something that was not a given following multiple hospitalizations for congenital heart defects.
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Ethics and education in the emergency room

University of Iowa alumnus Nick Kluesner, MD, is using his background in philosophy to make his mark on the future of health care in Iowa.
A boy holding a football

Meet Kid Captain Nathan McDonald

As the boy from Delta, Iowa, went through numerous orthopedic surgeries to address his medical condition, his family felt the experts at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital provided them with all the support in the world.
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Building healthier communities throughout Iowa

The Business Leadership Network in the UI College of Public Health has backed health and wellness initiatives in small to mid-sized towns across Iowa, providing grants and expertise that allow these community efforts to flourish.
A boy dancing with herky

Meet Kid Captain Cooper Estenson

After he was diagnosed with leukemia, Cooper worried he would never be able to leave the hospital. His care team at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital made sure the North Liberty, Iowa, boy’s fears did not become reality.
a woman standing in front of a backdrop with a roadmap

Hawkeye lands role as a top storyteller for the NFL

Kimmi Chex says she shot for the stars and landed on them. The popular NFL on-air personality and analyst says what she learned at the University of Iowa helped get her there.
a girl flexing on a football field

Meet Kid Captain Chloe Dinkla

After Chloe was diagnosed with several serious conditions—including a bony mass that split her spinal cord—her family was reassured by the collaborative and compassionate nature of UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital experts.
Three women standing together outside a hearing center

A sound career choice for sisters

Not only did all three sisters in one family study audiology and speech-language pathology, but each also earned admission to the highly ranked and highly selective clinical doctoral program in audiology at the University of Iowa.
a young boy walking with a football player while holding a football

Meet Kid Captain Lincoln Veach

On the heels of a leukemia diagnosis, the young boy from Maquoketa, Iowa, faced the grim prospect of a flesh-eating disease. UI Health Care providers put Lincoln on the road to recovery and supported his entire family through it all.
A girl running in a stadium

Complex procedure helps young athlete with heart condition

Keeli Frerichs was a star soccer player and avid exerciser until a heart condition sidelined her. The path back to an active lifestyle brought the St. Ambrose student to UI Health Care, home to one of the few experts in the nation who perform a new procedure to treat the condition.
A man leaning on a set of stairs post

Here to support students who served

Chuck Xander, Iowa’s new embedded counselor focusing on Veterans and military-connected students, brings a great blend of empathy and expertise to the role because of his own military service and educational background.
a women's basketball game played outdoors at Kinnick Stadium

Breaking records, making memories at Crossover at Kinnick

The Iowa Hawkeyes played a historic women’s college basketball game in an outdoor football stadium, and more than 55,000 fans showed up—nearly doubling the NCAA’s former single-game attendance record.
A girl sitting in a locker room

Meet Kid Captain Madi Ramirez

After the young girl from LeClaire, Iowa, was diagnosed with two rare conditions, doctors at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital worked to find the medications to reduce her seizures and improve her muscle strength.
a woman in a wrestling singlet holding a Hawaiian flag

Hawaiian-born wrestler mobilizes Hawkeye community

Nanea Estrella is grateful for Iowa fans’ support for her neighbors in Lahaina, Hawaii, whose community was devastated by wildfires. That outpouring reinforces the Tippie College of Business student’s decision to be a Hawkeye.
A physician talking to her patient

Medicine alum answers call to serve western Iowans

Ericka Muhlbauer sees her family medicine practice in Carroll as a way to repay her community for helping her achieve her dream of being a physician.
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Tillman Scholar devoted to dental advocacy

Cedar Falls native Zach Graham feels an obligation to serve others. That helps explain why Graham, a student in dental surgery in the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and an Army Veteran, was named a 2023 Pat Tillman scholar.
A boy in a locker room putting on gloves

Meet Kid Captain Max Schlee

When newborn screening revealed Max Schlee had a rare inherited disorder, the Farmersburg, Iowa, boy was referred to UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, where his care team allayed his family’s fears and answered their questions.
A young boy running out onto a fooball field

Meet Kid Captain Wyatt Rannals

The fourth grader from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, enjoys playing outside and he loves to sing, dance, laugh, and make others laugh—all things he can do following a lifesaving heart transplant at ‘Wyatt’s Hospital,’ a.k.a. UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
A group of kids and their teacher

Hawkeyes teach, coach kids in Vietnam

Two University of Iowa student-athletes participated over the summer in Coach for College, a global initiative that promotes higher education through sports. They expanded what they knew about the world and themselves.
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Off-duty Iowa nurses save life near hospital skywalk

Three quick-acting nurses and some shocking serendipity recently helped resuscitate Iowa resident Ervin Imm, who experienced sudden cardiac arrest as he and his wife were leaving University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center.
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Meet Kid Captain Gabby Ford

The resilience of the girl from Fairfield, Iowa, and the expertise of UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital professionals have been on full display in the face of a relentless brain tumor.
A basketball player holding up a piece of the net she just cut down and smiling

Competitive on the court and in the classroom

University of Iowa women’s basketball player Sharon Goodman takes academics as seriously as she does her teamwork, earning the admiration of her peers as she goes through the daily grind of sports and school.
A brown and gray building

Fact: UI Nonfiction Writing Program is a destination

After decades of cultivating award-winning writers, the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program has a place on campus to call its own.
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Iowa poet gives new voice to 1960s girl groups

A longtime fan of doo-wop, University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Emily Sieu Liebowitz became frustrated when she found background information elusive on groups such as the Shirelles and the Ronettes, despite their hit singles. So she decided to write a book.
A girl holding a football

Meet Kid Captain Maggie Larson

Maggie Larson’s parents say their hope was restored after they began seeking treatment for their daughter’s rare, terminal disease at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
the university's 2023 incoming class, forming the shape of the letter I near Old Capitol on the UI campus

Iowa’s 2023 incoming class, by the numbers

The University of Iowa welcomes another academically accomplished cohort of students this fall.
A young boy standing in a locker room and smiling

Meet Kid Captain Nile Kron

Like his namesake, Nile Kron is part of a great University of Iowa team — only his huddle contains UI Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital experts, helping the Iowa City boy conquer health challenges.
A man leaning on a counter and smiling

Bringing advanced pharmacy care to rural southeast Iowa

Mylo Wells always knew he wanted to return to his Iowa hometown as a pharmacist. The University of Iowa gave him the skills he needed to serve his community and open his own pharmacies.
A woman standing on a set of steps in a cap and gown

The Hawkeye you’ll hear during halftime

The University of Iowa’s new commercial features voice-over by alumna Virginia Wangechi Muturi, an artist who finds inspiration in Hawkeyes who came before her.
caitlin clark celebrating while confetti falls around her

Write it down: We change the game

At the University of Iowa, Hawkeyes are changing people’s lives or changing the game completely — storybook scenarios befitting of the best public university for writing and communication.
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Meet Kid Captain Gracelyn Springer

At age 8, Gracelyn Springer received a rare diagnosis: Ewing sarcoma, located in her head. Thanks to compassionate experts at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Gracelyn’s cancer is now in remission.
a group of people standing before a NASCAR display, holding a University of Iowa flag

Hawks on the scene for historic NASCAR street race

A practicum gives University of Iowa students exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the inaugural Chicago event and a chance to pitch promotional campaigns to NASCAR executives.
A boy sitting near a window

Finding and fighting a boy’s deadly brain infection

The expertise and persistence of pediatric neurosurgeon Brian Dlouhy and the UI Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital team helped a Des Moines boy recover from a life-threatening brain abscess.
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Nursing excellence honored once again

The University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center nursing team has been recognized with a fifth consecutive Magnet Recognition Program designation, joining a select group of organizations nationwide to achieve that streak.
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Spencer Lee spreads Hawkeye goodwill

The Olympic hopeful and University of Iowa graduate student gets on the mat and talks shop during a recent visit to Japan.
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UI grad living dream producing ‘Pat McAfee Show’

Fueled by the confidence he built as a University of Iowa student, Ty Schmit made a play in 2017 to join Pat McAfee’s fledgling media enterprise as an intern. Now he produces the retired football player’s daily sports show, which recently was acquired by ESPN.
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Thriving after devastating burn accident

Thanks to a little luck—and a lot of care and skill from the University of Iowa Health Care Burn Treatment Center team—James Rogers is back to loving life with his new wife in their new home in Denver, Iowa.
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‘MasterChef’ gets a taste of what this Hawk is cooking

Grant Gillon, who graduated from the University of Iowa in 2012, beats out 20 other contestants to win long-running food competition show.
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A commitment to rural mental health

University of Iowa alumna Shea Jorgensen found her calling providing community-informed mental health care in small communities near Mason City, Iowa.
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Following a passion to care for women in rural Iowa

Emily Boevers discovered her love of labor and delivery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Now, she’s practicing medicine 10 minutes from where she grew up.