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UNI Foundation announces record-breaking fundraising year

The University of Northern Iowa Foundation recorded its highest fundraising total in history, raising over $38.9 million last year.

“In a year unlike any other, UNI alumni and friends came together to support the University of Northern Iowa in record-breaking fashion,” said Jim Jermier, vice president for University Advancement and president of the UNI Foundation. “We are extremely grateful for the support and passion our alumni and friends have for the University of Northern Iowa and our students.”

UNI student Carter Nordman runs for the Iowa House of Representatives.

UNI student elected to Iowa House of Representatives

Carter Nordman was 11 years old when his grandmother introduced him to Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines. It was Nordman’s first introduction to the world of politics and he was hooked.

Ten years later, on Nov. 3, the University of Northern Iowa senior business management major was elected as a Republican to the 19th District of the Iowa House of Representatives, and at 22, he will enter as the youngest legislator in the chamber.

A UNI student makes a face shield.

Answering the call

In the early months of the pandemic, University of Northern Iowa student Hannah Van Theemsche realized it was society’s most vulnerable who were most in danger.

So Van Theemsche (pictured standing on the right) designed and built mobile wooden stands stocked with free masks made by a local nonprofit group to help local homeless and underprivileged populations stay safe during the pandemic.UNI student Hannah Van Theemsche

A new infant simulator at UNI

Next generation learning

The UNI Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has welcomed a new addition to their department: baby “Paul.”

Weighing just under two and a half pounds, “Paul” is a preterm infant born at 27 weeks. He has a pulse, real hair, and can breathe and cry.

Paul is not a real infant, though, but rather a top-of-the-line high emotion simulator that students in the department will soon begin using for classwork.

UNI physics professor Paul Shand

An electronics revolution

The word “spintronics” may not be a household name, but it has the potential to revolutionize the electronic devices we use every day.

A hurricane in the Atlantic

Evacuating a hurricane in the age of COVID-19

The southeastern states have seen a record-breaking number of hurricanes already make landfall in a year when the nation is also grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. When researchers wanted to know how people would balance the danger of contracting the virus with the need to evacuate their homes, they turned to UNI professor Mark Welford for help. Welford, who heads UNI’s geography department, is also an expert on global pandemics like the medieval Black Death.

UNI graduate student Hasina Jalal.

UNI Fulbright scholar empowering Afghan women

UNI Fulbright Scholar Hasina Jalal knows only too well the high stakes for women who work for equality, liberty and democracy in her native Afghanistan. 

UNI officials tour the new UNI@DMACC campus

UNI officials visit new UNI@DMACC campus

University of Northern Iowa officials traveled to Des Moines Area Community College on Thursday to tour a new $24 million downtown campus that will host the UNI@DMACC program that launched this fall. 

A new infant simulator for UNI students to use in their class work.

Next generation learning

The UNI Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has welcomed a new addition to their department: baby “Paul.”

Weighing just under two and a half pounds, “Paul” is a preterm infant born at 27 weeks. He has a pulse, real hair, and can breathe and cry.

Paul is not a real infant, though, but rather a top-of-the-line high emotion simulator that students in the department will soon begin using for classwork.

Jamie Chidozie, director of UNI's Center for Multicultural Education

Purple Couch series begins

Community policing was the main focus of the first “The Purple Couch Courageous Conversations,” a series of public discussions about equity and social justice on UNI’s campus. The series, which launched last week, was organized and moderated by Jamie Butler Chidozie, Director for Diversity, Inclusion & Social Justice. 

UNI President Mark Nook and Police Chief Helen Haire took part. Highlights from the conversation have been edited for length and clarity.