What defines a nation, or a state? What’s the meaning of sovereignty, and how do communal or religious identity figure into demands for self-determination? The world community in 2016 appears to be a fractured place with aspirations to statehood like those we’ve seen in South Sudan and Palestine, as well as civil disruptions and realignments like those between Crimea, Ukraine, and Russia. Amidst all of this there are non-state actors like ISIS challenging sitting governments and established states. These questions were addressed at the October 15 WorldCanvass: Nationhood Redefined. This WorldCanvass was a highlight event of the 2016 Provost’s Global Forum, The Nation, the State, and the Global Redefinition of Self-Determination.

In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump being named the winner of the 2016 presidential election, international students at the University of Iowa began contacting on-campus resources to ask about the effect of the results on their legal immigration status and personal safety.

The number of international students at the University of Iowa who study abroad has increased.

The University of Iowa Indian Student Alliance, South Asian Student Alliance, and the Pakistani Student Association will host a Diwali celebration on Saturday night.

The Muslim American community members in Iowa City hold a panel discussion as Election Day comes closer.

Diane Jahnel, originally from Anamosa, Iowa, graduated from the University of Iowa in 1977, where she studied psychology and art. After a 34 year career in IT at Pearson, Jahnel retired and is now living in Paris, France, where she’s spent the past two years teaching English as a volunteer, taking French classes, and traveling.

Yezi Shen graduated from the University of Iowa in 2015, where she studied journalism and mass communication, and cinema. Since then, she’s returned to her home country, China, where she now works in television programming.

Originally from Irbid, Jordan, Nayef Saleh Al Gharaibeh graduated from the University of Iowa in 1988 with his Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics. He returned to his home country where he currently teaches physiology at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), and has also held positions as the chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, director of the JUST Health Center, and the vice dean of Faculty of Medicine.

Ellen Hazelkorn will be kicking off the Commitment to Internationalization lecture series with her talk, “Internationalization and the Geopolitics of Higher Education,” on Wednesday, November 16, at 4:30 p.m. in the Old Capitol Senate Chamber.

A former naval commander and aide to two U.S. vice presidents and one president, Howard Kerr says his greatest pleasure today comes from bringing a little ‘real world’ experience into the academic space. “When students tell me that I’m lucky to have had the experiences I’ve had, I agree, but with a big caveat. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt once defined luck for me as preparation waiting for opportunity,” says Kerr. “I took classes in Schaeffer Hall sixty years ago, sitting in the same seats they’re in, and I didn’t have any idea what I’d be doing when I left the university. But I found out that my time here at the university had prepared me to take advantage of opportunities that presented themselves. This is the message I try to pass on to students.”