Growing up in a home where her mother struggled with drug addiction, Yolanda Williams was determined to take a different path. She wanted to be like the teachers and counselors who helped her survive.
Now, in her new role as director of UNI’s Classic Upward Bound program, which helps support marginalized students to successfully complete high school and succeed in college, she’s able to use that life experience and empathy to help others.
New UNI Opera Director Richard Gammon aims to help students become “whole artists” — “fully fledged human beings co-existing on stage” — as he puts it, and his experience creating and directing modern, dance-accompanied operas offers the perfect vehicle to do just that.
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.
Orchestral music has been around for centuries, and Erik Rohde is working to be sure it is around for many more.
As the next step in a career that has seen him perform in recitals and festivals throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as well as lead several well-renowned performing groups, Rohde became UNI’s new orchestra director earlier this year after hearing glowing reviews about the university.
When the pandemic hit, some people turned to baking bread, binge-watching Netflix or endlessly scrolling through TikTok.
University of Northern Iowa doctoral student Glynis Worthington decided to enter a beauty pageant.
It was just the latest in a lifetime of unconventional but successful choices for Worthington, a 59-year-old Cedar Falls resident with a strong aversion to boredom. She beat out competitors decades younger to win the Mrs. Iowa crown last month.
While Panthers have done a great job of working together to slow the spread of COVID-19, case levels nationally are expected to begin rising as we enter the fall and winter months. Having a frank conversation about safety precautions is a good way to ensure that everyone in your residence, whether on or off campus, stays safe.
We reached out to some UNI public health students to ask how they’ve handled it.
A historic brick building at the heart of campus has been transformed into the University of Northern Iowa’s new front door.
The Admissions Welcome Center, which opened in August, provides prospective students a bright, welcoming space complete with views of the Campanile, monitor featuring the day’s visiting “Future Panthers” and colorful video display highlighting how the university helps students reach their goals.
Growing up just outside the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama, Iowa as the oldest of four siblings, Alma Pesina knew she wanted to go to college. But as the first member of her family to take that step, Pesina sometimes felt like she was on her own.
Born to a Meskwaki mother and a Mexican father, Pesina struggled to reconcile her two identities when she enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa in 2017. Without a role model to guide her, Pesina initially turned away from her Indigenous roots.
As the Dakota Access Pipeline protests turned violent on Labor Day Weekend in 2016, Trisha Etringer was on the frontlines, two months pregnant with her daughter. Faced with the barking dogs of private security guards, Etringer stood up for the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and was pepper sprayed in the face.
