Campus & Community

Jess Cruz, outreach educator and exhibit preparator for the UNI Museum.

From UNI Museum, helping make campus more inclusive

Jess Cruz, outreach educator and exhibit preparator for the UNI Museum, doesn’t just help prepare students for careers in museum studies through her work. As a proud Hispanic and bisexual woman, Cruz also serves as an advocate for students across campus.
UNI alum DaQuan Campbell interacts with a customers at the Waterloo Urban Farmers Market.

UNI alum spreads love for local foods, revitalizes Waterloo farmer’s market

Waterloo native DaQuan Campbell, a business management graduate, has grown the market from 15 vendors to more than 40 while launching a fresh produce venture of his own. “I wanted to make sure it had an impact on the community,” he says. 
A rendering of a new practice football field.

New practice field part of $4 million investment in Panther football

UNI celebrated a generous donation by Doug and Ann Goschke that will lead to the construction of the The Doug and Ann Goschke Outdoor Practice Facility - In Memory of Junean Goschke on Tuesday. The modernized field will include an oversized turf field, lights and fencing and is part of more than $4 million in investments in UNI football that are currently in progress and are scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2021.
Belinda Creighton-Smith

Community organizer, UNI instructor reflects on Juneteenth

With the passage of a long-awaited, landmark bill that made Juneteenth, which celebrates the emancipation of African-American slaves shortly after the end of the Civil War, a federal holiday, Inside UNI spoke with local pastor and instructor in the department of social work Belinda Creighton-Smith about the long-celebrated day. Creighton-Smith spoke about the role the murder of George Floyd played in increasing national attention on Juneteenth, the local celebrations planned and the racial issues in…
Janel Alleyne

UNI assistant dean paves her own path

Janel Alleyne has built a vibrant 13-year career in higher education, but her journey has been unique. Born in Guyana, South America and raised in New York, Alleyne grew up with dreams of becoming a corporate attorney. But impactful educational and professional experiences, combined with own passion and determination, helped her carve her own path and become a role model for diverse students at UNI.
UNI President Mark A. Nook

Cedar Valley Degree Links partnership to provide accelerated degree options for Waterloo students

Waterloo high school students will be able to earn multiple degrees in just four years while paying only two years of tuition thanks to a new partnership between the University of Northern Iowa, Hawkeye Community College and the Waterloo Community School District.
A veteran places a flag on Memorial Day.

UNI and Cedar Valley community honors fallen veterans for 2021 Memorial Day

For the first time since the pandemic began, UNI veterans, students, faculty and staff joined Black Hawk County Veteran Affairs and others in the Cedar Valley to honor fallen service members by placing flags at the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Waterloo on a rainy Memorial Day weekend. 
Andrew Conrad

UNI director honored for statewide impact

As director of UNI’s Institute for Decision Making, Drew Conrad helps organizations and communities build better futures through informed decision making. His work was recently recognized when he received the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) Leadership for Iowa award, but making impactful change has been a lifelong passion for the UNI alum and Washburn native.