University of Iowa alumni in Wuhan celebrating their newly organized alumni group

Dear All,

Summer is now in full swing and I hope that you have been able to take advantage of some down time to recharge as prepare for a busy fall term. In IP, summer remains an active period, and we are pleased to report on faculty efforts to promote teaching and research related to global learning. In June, Professor Will Coghill-Behrends from the College of Education organized yet another successful Global Education Institute for Teachers. This program, a collaboration between IP, the Global Education Program, the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, and the Stanley Museum of Art, is designed to offer professional development for Iowa K-12 teachers on various topics dealing with international education. This year’s focus was social justice as viewed from a global perspective. The Global Education Institute is one of IP’s main outreach activities, and normally draws teachers from each of Iowa’s four congressional districts. Delivered virtually this year, the institute serves as a resource not simply in terms of providing materials to teachers, but with respect to creating networks where educators from across the state can share information and develop curricula for years to come.

While COVID has caused many of our interactions to remain virtual, we note that several UI faculty are travelling abroad to conduct research. Faculty have availed themselves of opportunities afforded by IP sponsored International Travel Awards, Summer Research Fellowships, and Global Research Partnership Awards . This summer, faculty are pursuing scholarship in places such as Portugal, Russia, Italy, Nigeria, Colombia, Spain, Korea, North Macedonia, and the Republic of Georgia. Such travel promotes the UI’s research mission while also signaling a turn toward what could be considered normality as we continually transition to a world reshaped by COVID.

In recognizing faculty who conduct international work, we also seek to celebrate our international alumni, and draw your attention to alumni such as Shuwen Li and Simon Tang who, each at various stages of their professional lives, have made names for themselves after successful academic careers at the UI. We also wish to acknowledge alumni in Wuhan and in Shenzen/Guangzhou who have either formed alumni associations or who have recently gathered to share stories about their Iowa City experiences. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of our international Hawkeye family to reconnect with us and with each other. They can always count on IP’s support to promote and relive the Hawkeye experience.

And lastly, IP extends the warmest of welcomes to Barbara J. Wilson, who began her term as the University of Iowa’s 22nd president on July 15. President Wilson comes to us from the University of Illinois system, and we are delighted to work with her while lending our full support to her vision for our campus.

With all best wishes,

Russ