An effort by Republicans in the state legislature to eliminate tenure at Iowa’s three public universities advanced this week, as the House Education Committee passed a bill to end tenure at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, and a Senate subcommittee approved the Senate version of that bill. […]
University of Iowa
Coast Guard to honor Hawkeye football great Emlen Tunnell for his bravery in WWII
Emlen Tunnell made history on the football field — first as a Hawkeye, then in the NFL — and continued do so after his playing days ended in 1961. In 1965, he became the first Black assistant coach in the NFL, and in 1967, Tunnell was the first Black player inducted into Pro Football Hall […]
Letter to the editor: Top 10 ways tenure benefits students and all Iowans
By Lois Cox, Clinical Professor of Law Emerita, University of Iowa; and Katherine Tachau, Professor of History Emerita, University of Iowa, for the AAUP chapters at The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and The University of Northern Iowa Many things, large and small, have changed over the last four years. World leaders have come […]
The ‘demure white supremacy of the Midwest’
Beneath a veneer of “niceness,” the Midwest is among the very worst places to live in the United States if you’re a person of color. That’s what historian and University of Iowa history professor Colin Gordon discovered while completing a report for the Iowa Policy Project titled “Race in the Heartland: Equity, Opportunity, and Public […]
Kirk Ferentz tests positive for COVID-19
Hawkeye football Head Coach Kirk Ferentz has tested positive for COVID-19 and “will remain home until Dec. 27,” the University of Iowa Athletics Department announced in a statement on Friday morning. According to UI Athletics, Ferentz tested positive using a rapid antigen test on Thursday morning, and the results were confirmed by a PCR test. […]
Iowa should begin distributing 172,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines before the end of December
Iowa should receive 172,000 doses of the two COVID-19 vaccines currently under consideration for emergency use approval by the end of the month, Gov. Kim Reynolds said during her news conference on Thursday. The FDA will issue a decision on whether to approve use of a vaccine by Pfizer on a emergency basis on Dec. […]
‘It’s a means to an end’: CR City Councilmember Ashley Vanorny shares experience in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial
Cedar Rapids City Councilmember Ashley Vanorny said her decision to participate in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial was “a very calculated risk but one that was good and necessary to take.” Vanorny is one of 270 volunteers enrolled at the University of Iowa’s study site. Overall, there are more than 40,000 people participating in the international […]
Louise Glück awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature
The announcement on Thursday morning that Louise Glück had won this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature must have come as a big surprise to British bookies, who famously produce lists of likely winners every year for people to bet on. Glück wasn’t on those lists. But this honor for Glück made sense in Iowa City, […]
UI President Bruce Harreld announces his retirement
University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld announced on Thursday morning his intention to retire before his contract expires in June 2023. “I have commitments to family and other folks that I need to live up to while I still can,” Harreld, who was appointed president in 2015, told the Daily Iowan. “I’ll turn 70 later […]
‘A part of me is gone’: Family and friends mourn Makeda Scott during memorial service on the Pentacrest
Speeches and music filled the air in around the Pentacrest on Friday night, as more than 100 people gathered to mourn Makeda Scott. Organized by Scott’s mother, Simmone Spencer-VanGorp, and the Iowa Freedom Riders (IFR), the memorial aimed to celebrate Scott’s life, and reinforce calls for justice. “I’m mad at her for leaving me, and […]
UI Dance Marathon moves Big Event online for 2021
As the University of Iowa makes preparations for a spring semester shaped by COVID-19, its largest student organization, UI Dance Marathon (UIDM), announced it will not host its annual 24-hour “Big Event” dance-a-thon in person this school year. UIDM has involved tens of thousands of students and raised more than $30.3 million over its 27 […]
COVID-19: Gov. Reynolds sees ‘trends trend in the right direction,’ but Iowa remains third worst state in rate of new cases
Gov. Kim Reynolds said on Wednesday she doesn’t expect COVID-19 to be an obstacle to the University of Iowa playing football this fall, because the UI community will observe restrictions imposed to mitigate the spread of the virus. “I think that the universities, the university presidents, the students, the Greek systems, I think understand the […]




