Campus & Community Stories & News

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.

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 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.  

UNI professor Francis Degnin.

As pandemic intensifies, UNI professor helps guide healthcare ethics

The rapid global spread of COVID-19 has forced some health care providers to make gut-wrenching choices. In Italy, doctors had to decide which terminally-ill patients received ventilators. And in New York, there have been reports of patients unable to get lifesaving treatments.  

Fortunately Cedar Valley physicians have so far been spared making those momentous life-or-death choices about who receives care. But they’ve turned to a UNI professor and bioethics expert for guidance in case that day ever comes. 

UNI student Jenna Vermost

'The show must go on': Virtual events keep campus connected

Each year, hundreds of students pack Lang Hall Auditorium for the annual Catwalk fashion show. The show is run by students in UNI’s textiles and apparel program (TAPP) and showcases their original designs. Students dive into planning and creating pieces for the event at the start of every spring semester. Senior TAPP major Jenna Vermost had already made six pieces, including four elaborate wedding dresses, for this year’s show when COVID-19 threatened to end the event altogether.