When Lisa Thai started her freshman year at the University of Iowa last fall, she had no intentions of joining any of the sororities on campus. It was not until a friend, UI junior Vanessa Au, approached her about starting a chapter of the Asian interest sorority Delta Phi Lambda that Thai reconsidered.
Thai, Au and five other women founded the UI colony chapter of Delta Phi Lambda on Nov. 18, 2012. Au currently serves as the chapter’s president, and Thai is the vice president of records.
Ron McMullen held a phone to his ear in May 2000. The unfolding situation seemed like a plot from a Hollywood film starring the latest actions stars, but it wasn’t.
On the other line was the voice of the spokesman for George Speight, who listened to McMullen’s demands. Speight and his followers had stormed the Fijian Parliament in May and held Prime Minster Mahendra Chaudhry and most of his Cabinet hostage for 56 days, according to Radio New Zealand.In the midst of the conflict, an American journalist who had attempted to interview Speight was taken hostage.
McMullen, now a University of Iowa visiting associate professor of political science, was set on having the journalist freed.
The study of genetics has come a long way since Gregor Mendel’s groundbreaking work with pea plants in the mid-19th century. To see just how far we’ve come and where research into genetics is taking us, join WorldCanvass host Joan Kjaer and her panel of expert guests on Friday, February 15, at 5 p.m. in the Old Capitol Senate Chamber, when the topic is "Genetics and New Technologies." The program is free and open to the public.
Have fun learning Chinese with the Confucius Institute community language classes! The Confucius Institute is holding several community and family classes during the spring semester.
Exploring the rich culture and natural beauty of Cusco, Peru, was just the beginning for Macz Norton when she participated in the Spanish Language and Service Learning study abroad program last summer.
This eight-week program combines coursework in Spanish language and Peruvian culture with valuable service learning. The service projects are organized by an onsite company, ProWorld-Peru, which meets with community leaders to develop projects that are both meaningful for students and fulfill a much-needed service for the local community.
Advocates from Iowa immigrant, labor, faith, and racial justice groups will come together with members of the university community for an upcoming one-day conference, “Forging Hope: Local Alliances for Good Jobs and Racial Justice.”
The conference will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the University Capitol Centre (Old Capitol Mall), Room 2520D, on the University of Iowa campus.
Much of what we know about Western African history comes from the colonial era, when European powers controlled the politics and commerce of the region.
With its exhibition “Western Africa Before the Boats,” the African American Museum of Iowa, located in Cedar Rapids, is setting out to give visitors a glimpse of life in Western Africa in an earlier era. And the University of Iowa—known for its extensive African art collection and expertise—is helping to tell the story.
The UI Opera Studies Forum will present a pre-opera talk on Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda on Monday, Jan. 14, at 5:30 p.m. in the University Capitol Centre Conference Seminar Room 2520D. This event is free and open to the public.
The Mississippi River, which holds such an important place in North America’s geography, ecology, and culture, is also helping build bridges between the United States and China.
Last summer, the Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (LACMRERS) welcomed some of China’s finest high school students, who came to learn about the Mississippi River. The students spent 18 days visiting three states as part of “Rivers as Bridges,” an international exchange program sponsored by Environment and Public Health Network for Chinese Students and Scholar
The UI Opera Studies Forum will present a pre-opera talk on Berlioz's Les Troyens on Thursday, Jan. 3, at 5:30 p.m. in the University Capitol Centre (UCC) Executive Boardroom, Room 2390. This event is free and open to the public.
Although more than 150 years have passed since the first bullets were fired in the U.S. Civil War, Americans retain a deep interest in the conflict, its causes, the major players, and the impact the war and our complicated history have on our national identity. WorldCanvass guests will continue the conversation on January 25 at 5 p.m., in the Senate Chamber of Old Capitol Museum, when the topic is “The Rupture of Civil War.” The program is free and open to the public.
UI Professor Armando Duarte has been a choreographer at the University of Iowa since 1993, but a trip back to his native Brazil in 2008 is what inspired him to research the culture of Carnival. Armando organizes the Brazil Carnival winter study abroad program.
An ocean stretches between China and the United States. But between Chinese and American University of Iowa students looms just as difficult a barrier to cross — one constructed of language and culture.
The Chinese students make up the largest international student population on campus. UI President Sally Mason traveled to Asia this summer to strengthen the relationship and recruiting efforts between the UI and China. But after the students arrive on campus, making a home in the unfamiliar setting of Iowa City presents a complex set of social challenges.
While locals celebrated Human Rights Day in Iowa City, several took the opportunity to further discuss the future of the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights.
Members from various local advocacy organizations convened Monday to discuss the importance of universally defined human rights, on the 64th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly’s ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Want to study abroad in Europe next summer? Check out the Iowa International Summer Institute, which will offer UI GenEd classes in Rome, Paris, Florence, Madrid, and London in summer 2013. In this video, three past participants share their unique experiences.
