Dear all,

A Happy and Joyous New Year to all! I hope everyone is enjoying some well-deserved rest this holiday season and that your 2026 is off to a good start. The year 2025 ended with a flurry of activity that I am delighted to share as we close one chapter and open another.

December was a very busy month and began with the visit of the Honorable Indroyono Soesilo, Ambassador to the United States from the Republic of Indonesia. The ambassador is a proud and clearly distinguished alumnus of the University of Iowa (UI), having earned his PhD in geologic remote sensing from Iowa in 1987. During his visit to Iowa City, the ambassador expressed interest in developing research partnerships, particularly in the STEM fields. In addition, Ambassador Soesilo discussed the possibility of bringing more Indonesian students to the UI and exploring collaborations in the fine and performing arts. He visited our Stanley Museum of Art as well and is interested in potential exhibits of Indonesian art and culture, especially in the realm of textiles. The visit was as much personal as it was professional, as the ambassador, accompanied by his wife who is also a UI graduate, visited the parts of Iowa City where they used to live, while mentioning that their first son was born at Mercy Hospital! The ambassador and his wife also had lunch with many of the Indonesian students on campus, and I am grateful to the students, as well as IP staff, and the team at the Indonesian Consulate in Chicago for organizing such a successful visit. In the future, we look forward to working with the ambassador and the Indonesian Embassy in Washington to strengthen the UI’s ties to such a fascinating country in a vital part of the world.

As circumstance would have it, I was unable to attend the ambassador’s visit because it overlapped with a two-week alumni engagement trip to East Asia. The UI has vibrant Iowa Clubs throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and I had the privilege of connecting with the Iowa Clubs of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In addition to large alumni events in Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei, I met with several individual alumni in these countries, many of whom have distinguished themselves in the fields of education, business, government, and technology. The trip served the purpose of updating our alumni on the UI’s many accomplishments, while soliciting their ideas for further involvement in the UI’s future. Many of our alumni are movers and shakers throughout the region, and it is through them that we have gained entree into potential partnerships in the tech and university sectors. In Japan, there are numerous opportunities to grow our collaborations in the health sciences, while in Korea, our relationship with the Korea Foundation—and the opportunities it offers to enhance our programming in Korean studies—has never been stronger. It comes as no surprise that the semiconductor industry is a key focus of our engagement in Taiwan, and we emerged from the trip with new agreements to provide opportunities to our students and faculty in that realm. Our alumni in East Asia are very proud of their time at Iowa, and we are committed to engaging more fully with them as we develop plans to internationalize our campus. Discussion of alumni activity in this region would be incomplete without mention of the Malaysia Iowa Club, which held an event on December 6 with nearly 90 attendees!  The call “Go Hawks” resonates throughout the Indo-Pacific, and we are excited to promote the Iowa brand even more fully in the coming year. 

As we ring in 2026, please enjoy the video below wishing you all the best for the year ahead.

With deepest thanks for your support,

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.