By Lois Gray

6/14/2010

USA TODAY has named University of Iowa 2010 graduate Alexandra Keenan to its annual All-USA College Academic Team, honoring her for outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership.

All-USA College Academic Team receive national recognition, a trophy and $2,500. These students excel in scholarship and reach beyond the classroom to benefit society.

6/9/2010

Alexandra Keenan was named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team. Twenty students were chosen out of hundreds for first-team status, each receiving a $2,500 cash award.  The article notes that the members of the 2010 team are “true global citizens,” and Keenan is no exception.

6/1/2010

A recent article written by Aisha Labi in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a news source for university faculty and administrators, highlights the upcoming arrival of the first Iraqi students taking part in a new government scholarship program called the Iraqi Education Initiative.

6/2/2010

The University of Iowa Department of Asian and Slavic Languages and Literature has been awarded a $100,000 Startalk grant that has enabled intensive Chinese language courses for Iowa junior high and high school students this July.

This grant is a part of the National Security Language Initiative launched by the White House in 2006 to promote strategic, less commonly taught languages.

Dean’s blog home

“21st century diplomacy takes more than government to government interaction — it also requires substantial people to people contact in which we try as directly as possible to reach people through governments, around governments, and under governments in every way possible.” — Hilary Clinton

5/18/2010

When Mansi Bhatia left The University of Iowa in 2004 after finishing a two-year Master of Arts in journalism, she took with her more than a degree and a black and gold t-shirt. Bhatia took with her the memories of a quiet place that broadened her horizons and gave her a new family of friends.

Originally from Lucknow, India, Bhatia now lives in California with her husband and works in communications. Recently, Bhatia posted this poem about her time in Iowa on her blog.

First Lady Michelle Obama urged graduates of George Washington University last weekend to go global.  The Class of 2010 had just successfully met her challenge to them to dedicate 100,000 hours to service in the greater Washington, DC community. She challenged the graduates to take their experience to the world: