University of Northern Iowa Homepage Stories & News

UNI graduating senior Joseph Tibbs works in the lab.

Three journeys from UNI to graduate school

The University of Northern Iowa prepares students for many avenues of success, including in graduate school. Here we highlight a few talented members of the Class of 2020 whose UNI experience helped them achieve their goals in higher education. 

Joseph Tibbs​

UNI cooks serve food to students remaining on campus during COVID-19.

Even in pandemic, food service workers there for students

The outbreak of COVID-19 has shuttered most of the University of Northern Iowa’s campus services, but a small, dedicated group of dining services workers have continued to work through the pandemic to provide three meals a day to the tiny population of students still living on campus.

UNI campus

UNI COVID-19 scholarship fundraiser sees powerful response

When the UNI Foundation launched a fundraising campaign last week for a new scholarship to help students facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the response was powerful. 

Within a few days more than 500 people donated a combined $50,000 for the new UNItogether Scholarship, which will help mitigate tuition costs for new and returning students. 

University of Northern Iowa diploma

Meet the next generation of Panther graduates

While COVID-19 forced an unimaginable end to the semester, our graduating seniors continued to impress with their academic brilliance, strong relationships with faculty and other students, and wide variety of out-of-class experiences to create a strong foundation for their future. These are but a few of our promising Class of Spring 2020 graduates:

UNI graduate Lauren LuceName: Lauren Luce

Hometown: Iowa City

UNI campus

Commencement moves online

Nearly 2,000 brand-new University of Northern Iowa graduates are expected to gather Thursday for a commencement ceremony unlike any in UNI history. 

Instead of crossing a stage at the McLeod Center this weekend to receive their degree, the Class of 2020 will celebrate their achievements online. Social distancing guidelines amid a global coronavirus pandemic have left US universities little choice but to move their commencement ceremonies off campus. 

UNI raises money to support students in the wake of COVID-19

UNI helps students in the wake of COVID-19

As the nation and Cedar Valley region continue to grapple with the devastating fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the University of Northern Iowa is stepping up to help students. 

The UNI Foundation today launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the new UNItogether Scholarship Fund, which was created to provide tuition assistance to students facing financial hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

UNI students work in the Textile and Apparel Product Development and Materials Analysis Laboratory.

UNI textiles lab sets students up for success

Sometimes a little destruction is necessary for creation.

That’s certainly true at the University of Northern Iowa’s Textile and Apparel Product Development and Materials Analysis Laboratory - a unique, $3 million state-of-the-art facility brimming with advanced machinery capable of putting every type of stress imaginable on fabric. National retailers use these sorts of tests to create strong, light fabrics.

UNI volunteers work at the People's Community Garden in Waterloo.

Providing food in a desert: UNI helps bring community garden to life

Under a cloudy sky on the first day of May, Emily Dvorak and two University of Northern Iowa students pushed seedlings of broccoli and cauliflower into freshly tilled soil at the People’s Community Garden in downtown Waterloo.

UNI student Mahlia Brown, a Lux Service Award recipient.

Lux award winners recognized for campus service

Marion, Iowa, and Rawalpindi, Pakistan are separated by a distance of over 7,000 miles. Mahlia Brown grew up dreaming of a career in human resources, while Farhan Amjad’s interest in technology led him to study computer science with a desire to make his own impact on Silicon Valley. Their paths converged at UNI as the 2020 Lux Service Award recipients.

The award is the most prestigious given by the Office of the Dean of Students each year to honor graduating seniors with a track record of serving others on campus.  

Mickye Johnson

Retired UNI Upward Bound director reflects on a lifetime of inspiration

Growing up in a tight-knit neighborhood community in Waterloo, Wilfred “Mickye” Johnson learned the importance of helping your neighbor. Johnson has 12 siblings, and his parents often struggled to make ends meet. But his community’s generosity helped his family thrive and instilled values in Johnson that guide him even today.

“Everybody uses the phrase, ‘It takes a village…’ and we truly had a village that raised all of us,” Johnson recalled. “We would share everything we had. ... We knew we were loved by our family and by the total community.”