Led by nothing more than the soft glow of their lanterns, a crew of students from the University of Northern Iowa trek into the winding depths of Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.
Working their way through miles of passageways several hundred feet underground, the air is thick, musty and completely still. Inside the caverns, the dense walls stifle any sound, and seem to absorb the light, leading to an eerie, silent darkness throughout. It feels like exploring a different planet — one that’s completely devoid of any signs of life.
Growing up in rural, landlocked Iowa, Catherine Yeoman never expected to find her passion in marine biology.
But as a junior in the UNI Department of Biology, Yeoman has already managed to kick off a unique college experience that’s brought her around the country – studying bottlenose dolphins in Florida and rehabilitating baby seals in Cape Cod.
2020 brought plenty to be angry about. There’s been a global pandemic, a national reckoning with racial injustice, an economic crisis and a presidential election - all of it debated each day on social media. But UNI education professor Suzanne Freedman, who has specialized in forgiveness research over nearly three decades and teaches a course on the subject, said now may be a good time to remember the benefits of forgiveness, empathy and understanding.
The University of Northern Iowa is creating change on campus, and faculty, staff, and students are working together to make it happen. This past fall, President Nook announced twelve action items to address needs, challenges, and opportunities expressed by the campus community.
As a Waterloo West High School graduate turned University of Northern Iowa football player, Blake Thomas has been a Cedar Valley native his entire life. Thomas wanted to make an impact in the classroom as well as on the field, and he initially decided to pursue a major in biology and pre-med. His intention was to go on to medical school, but that all changed when he took public health courses with Disa Cornish, an associate professor in the health, recreation and community services department.
The dots bounced and collided across the computer screen. Their movement was random, but University of Northern Iowa physics major Madelyn Johnson saw a purpose in the chaos.
The dots were part of a software program that generated random walker simulations, which are often used to represent the interactions of people in the world. And now Johnson and Ali Tabei, an associate professor of physics, are using this software to create a model of how infections spread. It could then be applied to simulate the spread of COVID within a community.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
