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 society that still need to be addressed.
UNI history professor Barbara Cutter has received national media attention for her research on recontextualizing the history behind a Massachusetts sculpture of Hannah Duston, a 17th century English colonist who murdered 10 Native Americans, including two women and six children.
Running past bullets and crossing oceans to escape genocide in her home country, Ariane Hakizimana grew up in survival mode. But at UNI, she found a supportive community that helped give her the skills to thrive — and keep fighting for her goal of helping others.
Sarah Joanne Boury overcame huge challenges that few can imagine to walk the stage May 7 for her diploma and to turn the tassle on her graduation cap.
Indeed, the 23-year-old Des Moines, Iowa, native is believed to be the first to graduate from college — having earned a double major — while deaf (using one cochlear implant), breathing with one lung and sustaining herself through a tube-feeding system.
The pandemic made this past academic year one unlike any other for University of Northern Iowa students.
But those challenges didn’t stop students from making an impact on campus.
The Lux Service Award is the most prestigious award given to graduating senior students each academic year to acknowledge the culmination of their overall involvement. Recipients consistently go above and beyond, leaving a lasting legacy upon graduation.
This year, seniors Ayah Al-Durazi, Cassie Hendrix and Zoella Sneed were recognized with the award.
The University of Northern Iowa’s Textiles and Apparel Program will hold its first-ever completely virtual fashion week for students’ designs.
Catwalk 29 is a six-day event (running April 26 - May 1) with five shows featuring garments designed and produced by UNI students using traditional,non-traditional and upcycled materials. Local high school students in the Cedar Valley also assisted in the production.
The University of Northern Iowa welcomes the community to participate in a virtual panel discussion to address health inequalities in the age of COVID-19.
The colloquium, taking place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, will bring panelists from across UNI and the Cedar Valley community to discuss their research and professional experiences related to health inequalities and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jerrell Bates arrived at UNI as an introvert wondering whether he’d ever leave his dorm room. Three years later, Bates is a campus leader whose efforts to destigmatize mental health issues were recognized with a national award.
UNI NEWS SERVICES– The University of Northern Iowa Center for Violence Prevention (CVP) and the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) have partnered together to provide and support racial justice and gender-based violence prevention programming to Iowa school districts and athletic departments.
Kyle Endres, now associate director of UNI’s Center for Social and Behavioral Research, arrived at UNI this fall after postdoctoral work at Duke and Fordham Universities. His research focuses on a hot topic in electoral politics - how campaigns and interest groups are using data analytics to influence behavior.
