Campus & Community Stories & News

UNI's Industrial Technology Center

$40 million ITC project wins state approval

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.

UNI President Mark A. Nook wears a mask on campus.

Panthers wear masks - President Nook included

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. 

Waterloo mayor and UNI alum Quentin Hart.

Waterloo mayor, a UNI alum, is building bridges

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.

UNI AmeriCorps members install a residential garden.

New UNI program to install residential gardens, remove food barriers

A new University of Northern Iowa project will provide services to install vegetable and pollinator gardens free of charge to residents in the Cedar Valley as part of an ongoing effort to address issues of food insecurity.

The Backyard Steward Initiative is a new program from UNI’s Green Iowa AmeriCorps, based at the Center for Energy & Environmental Education, that kicked off with a training session on garden installation last week. 

UNI alum Mara Warnke

UNI alum helps address food insecurity in the wake of COVID-19

Food banks across the country experienced a surge in demand when coronavirus first hit the US and that need hasn't let up. In the Cedar Valley, UNI alum Mara Warnke '18 is helping to make sure families stay fed throughout this uncertain time.

Warnke is pantry services manager for the Cedar Valley Food Pantry (CVFP) in Waterloo, a program of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank (NEIFB). After coming on as a part-time pantry services assistant in 2018, she moved into her role as manager in March — just as coronavirus was first starting to make its way to Iowa. 

A UNI student puts up a diversity mural in Waterloo.

UNI mural project highlights Cedar Valley's diversity

During this time of national discussion of racial inequality, UNI is uplifting underrepresented voices. The Diversity Is Our Strength project aims to challenge racism and stereotypes about the Cedar Valley in a visible way with a downtown Waterloo mural and accompanying website.

UNI Assistant Professor of Criminology Alison Cox

Protests, prisons and COVID-19: An interview with Alison Cox

Despite crime rates that have fallen for decades, the United States still imprisons far more of its population than any other country in the world. COVID-19 has forced Americans to take a closer look at our society — including the millions behind bars in jails and prisons where infections are hard to contain. While some county jails have released thousands of detainees to slow coronavirus’ spread, prisons have been reluctant to follow.

Gabby Rivera, Marvel’s first LGBTQ Latinx writer

‘I want to kick that door wide open’ An interview with Gabby Rivera

Marvel’s first Latinx writer is on a mission to spread joy and acceptance through her work. A campus visit this spring was rescheduled due to COVID-19, but in this interview with Inside UNI — shared now in honor of Pride Month — she shares her inspiring message and updates on her latest projects.

Zoom chat

UNI professors talk technology, communication and coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us to move our social lives online, which can make a major impact on our real-life relationships. Here, UNI communications faculty Lori Johnson and Sarina Chen join psychology professor Helen Harton to discuss how communication and technology are changing — and changing us — in the era of social distancing.

With so many of us in quarantine, almost all of our communication has shifted online. What impact does this have on our relationships?

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.