Dear all,

What a whirlwind the month of October was! The University of Iowa (UI) welcomed several visitors, and we also spent time abroad with many of our European partners. UI faculty deserve the credit in building these relationships, which promotes the Iowa brand worldwide.

At the beginning of the month, Professor Maurine Nieman welcomed Alejandra García López, a PhD student in genetics and invasive species at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, who has been working in Professor Nieman’s laboratory and collaborating with her team off and on for the past year. Associate Dean Ana Rodríguez-Rodríguez in the Graduate College was also instrumental in coordinating Alejandra’s visit.

Additionally, the UI College of Public Health invited Patricia Marga, a research assistant in the Department of Public Health at the University of Babeş-Bolyai (UBB), the UI’s chief partner in Romania. You may remember that Associate Vice President for Research Kristy Nabhan-Warren and I visited UBB in summer 2024, and we have been delighted by the level of activity between our two institutions since then. With respect to Patricia’s visit, we thank both Professor Cara Hamann, Department of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health, as well as Professor Luis Martín-Estudillo, director of the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, for strengthening this connection.

Just after the visit of these two promising early career colleagues, I left for Europe to connect with colleagues in Italy, Austria, and Kosovo. In Italy, the focus was the CIMBA program run by the Tippie College of Business. Previous dean’s messages have focused on CIMBA’s annual graduation ceremony here in Iowa, but on this occasion, it was my turn to visit the campus in Paderno del Grappa. I was able to meet with faculty, students, and administrators to learn more about both the undergraduate and graduate programs while getting a better sense of how Iowa can work with CIMBA to build future programming. I see growth potential for Iowa and CIMBA and am eager to work toward establishing and implementing strategic initiatives that chart a shared vision for years to come. The middle leg of the trip took me to Vienna, where I attended IES’s annual conference marking its 75th anniversary. As many of you know, IES is a study abroad program provider and one of the UI’s major partners. For decades, UI students have spent semesters, summers, and academic years on IES programs around the world. IES has also created many internships for Hawkeyes abroad. The conference provided ample opportunity to learn more about IES’s offerings and how Iowa can build our collaboration. Senior Advisor & Program Coordinator Ana Jimenez joined me in Vienna, and we spent significant time with Myle Duong, college relations manager at IES abroad, who is based in Cedar Rapids. Both Ana and Myle have been instrumental in providing numerous opportunities for UI students to travel to IES’s many locations across the globe.

My trip concluded in Kosovo, where the UI has conducted many projects over the past few years. The latest initiative focuses on our expertise in pharmacy. As you may recall from past dean’s messages, I made a trip to Kosovo in May 2024 with Don Letendre, the former dean of the College of Pharmacy, for the purpose of establishing an Institute of Pharmacy within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Prishtina. Don has returned to Kosovo twice since that trip, with the second visit taking place under the auspices of the Fulbright Specialist program. The goal of the institute is to make more efficient use of pharmacists and pharmacy resources to deliver better patient care to the people of Kosovo. In the service of this objective, we have connected with faculty, pharmacists, drug manufacturers, sales and distribution companies, as well as government officials. While there remains much work to do in this regard, we are making progress and remain grateful to Don and our colleagues at the University of Prishtina for their commitment to this initiative.

We can always count on Iowa and Iowans to do good in the world. Thank you for letting us share these stories, and please accept my very best wishes for a restful Thanksgiving holiday.

All the best, 

Russ

International Programs (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.