Robert Sales arrived at UNI knowing he wanted to be an entrepreneur.
The Pella native’s business instincts had been apparent since he was a first-grader who won a contract mowing vacant lots in his neighborhood. At UNI, Sales focused on the food industry, launching a food truck business and then, with help from professors and mentors, narrowed his focus to selling mini doughnuts.
It started as a pilot project to provide about 50 University of Northern Iowa students with remote access to specialized software.
But with the dawn of the coronavirus and the wave of campus closures and remote learning that followed, demand for the small pilot project surged to serve more than 1,000 students in just two weeks.
Welcome to the new normal for UNI’s IT Department.
The University of Northern Iowa has been named to Phi Theta Kappa’s Transfer Honor Roll for the second time in three years.
Only the top quarter of the regionally accredited institutions that applied made the international honor society’s list, which recognizes excellence in helping community college students successfully transition to institutions offering four-year degrees. UNI is one of 112 colleges nationwide - and the only public university in Iowa - to make the cut this year.
When local public school teachers started emailing Michael Graziano, UNI professor of religions, for advice on how to handle religion in the classroom he saw an unmet need. Now, a new $10,000 grant from the Whiting Foundation will allow Graziano to develop a seminar on religion for public school teachers. From how to be inclusive of religious diversity, to how to discuss religion in school curriculum, Graziano has the expertise to help teachers navigate these situations — and a vision for an inclusive future.
Facing a dire shortage of protective gear for healthcare workers, hospitals in Iowa and across the country have turned to their communities for assistance. In the Cedar Valley, the University of Northern Iowa is helping answer that call.
When about a dozen students in University of Northern Iowa professor Justin Holmes’ political science senior seminar joined their first online class last week, they couldn’t help but smile.
Holmes greeted them before a Zoom background of a famous meme - a cartoon of a dog sitting down to a cup of coffee in a room engulfed with flames. The thought bubble reads “This is fine.”
We’re living in unprecedented times and, as our lifestyles drastically alter to slow the spread of coronavirus, we all have questions on how to adapt. In this feature, we’ll turn to UNI experts for jargon-free answers. Have a question you’d like to see answered? Please email us at ur@uni.edu.
How do I tell if I have a cold/flu vs coronavirus? Do only older people get sick?
For UNI senior Cassidy Flory, public health is a calling. Two of her sisters are nurses, her mother works with disabled adults and Flory, a public health and gerontology major, hopes to work in a public health department someday.
Nothing - not even a global pandemic - is going to change that.
After suffering the most devastating loss of his esports career, Ty DeBondt woke up the morning of Jan. 26 a defeated man.
The junior University of Northern Iowa physical education major, who specializes in the video game NBA 2K20, had surpassed about 1 million players in the second annual MyTeam Unlimited Tournament to make it to the top 16. He had a 10-point lead on his semifinal opponent with just minutes left to play. The $250,000 grand prize beckoned.
Older now but unbowed, nine members of a group that came to be known as the UNI Seven walked across a Maucker ballroom stage Monday night to be honored for their work sparking change on campus some 50 years ago.
The peaceful protests they were part of led to the creation of what is now the Center for Multicultural Education (CME), UNI’s president said. He said the students also played a role in the formation of UNI’s Center for Urban Education (UNI-CUE), which serves minority and low-income students
