Belinda Creighton-Smith has never let adversity stand in her way. To become a pastor, community leader and inspiration to many on campus, she’s had to overcome the death of her son during her graduate studies and five-hour commutes to start her education.
She now has a doctorate in education and is taking her determination to a new role in her fight for diversity on campus at UNI, as a member of UNI President Mark A. Nook’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee.
Under the shade of a tree in a courtyard of Bartlett Hall, a group of masked students sat in a widely spaced semicircle of chairs arrayed around a podium where University of Northern Iowa languages and literature professor Grant Tracey gave a lecture for his Introduction to Film course.
Extension cords snaked across the grass to power a television Tracey used to show film clips and lecture slides. A microphone carried his voice to students in the back.
The University of Northern Iowa campus is once again alive.
After a long layoff due to COVID-19, the first day of class on Aug. 17 unfolded with the everyday sights and sounds of college life. Masked students walked to and from class or lounged in the Adirondack chairs in the shade of elm and ash trees.
The electronic beep of scanned student ID cards and the whir of espresso machines filled the background while students waited six feet apart for their coffee or tea at Chats in Maucker Union, the baristas protected by a sheet of Plexiglass.
With just under a week to go until the fall semester was set to begin, UNI senior and Marion native Blake Allington was focused on settling into his new home in Cedar Falls. When a late morning thunderstorm hit Cedar Falls with torrential rain, he didn’t think much of it other than hoping he’d stay dry. Everything changed when storm reports started coming out of the greater Cedar Rapids area.
University of Northern Iowa President Mark A. Nook’s annual address to campus was a little different this year, and not just because he was speaking to his audience virtually.
This year, Nook eschewed the traditional topics of budgetary and legislative issues to focus on two of the most pressing concerns facing the university: dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing problems with UNI’s diversity and inclusion.
From their home in Punta Gorda, Florida, Annette and Bob Morden watched the memorial service for George Floyd, whose May death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked a national protest movement that drew millions into the streets.
Both retired University of Wisconsin-Superior faculty, the Mordens listened as speakers eulogized Floyd. During his remarks, Scott Hagan, president of North Central University in downtown Minneapolis where the memorial service was held, challenged every college in America to establish scholarship funds in memory of Floyd.
When students begin classes at the University of Northern Iowa next week they’ll notice not only a new culture of wearing masks but also physical spaces that have been changed since COVID-19 emerged last spring.
There was good news for the University of Northern Iowa in the budget adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds. UNI's request for a major renovation and expansion of the Industrial Technology Center was fully funded over the next four years.
As students and faculty return to campus this fall, one of the most important things we can do to keep everyone safe is to wear a cloth mask or other face covering. One study estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic would grind to halt if 80 percent of people simply wore one.
Elected five years ago as the first African-American mayor in Waterloo’s 147-year history, UNI graduate Quentin Hart has focused ever since on building bridges.
