Upcoming Events
Cultivating Rurality: Building Community around Rural Research — 2025–26 Obermann Symposium
Directed by Brian R. Farrell, Daria Fisher Page, and Ryan T. Sakoda (UI College of Law), "Cultivating Rurality: Building Community around Rural Research" will bring together scholars, community leaders from across the U.S., and professionals who work with rural populations and in rural spaces. During the symposium, attendees will be invited to collaborate in theorizing rurality, share how it impacts their work, examine how rurality is represented and celebrated, and begin to discuss challenges...
Community Sing: Fauré Requiem
Date: Saturday, March 28 | Rehearsals begin at 10:30 a.m.; Performance at 5:00 p.m.
Location: Zion Lutheran Church, 310 N. Johnson St., Iowa City
Join singers from across the community for a Community Sing of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem on Saturday, March 28 at Zion Lutheran Church in Iowa City. Directed by internationally renowned conductor Timothy Brown, this one-day event invites singers of all voice parts to rehearse together throughout the day and perform the work at 5:00 p.m. in a free public...
Dinner Table Dialogue: Engaging American Values with Nuance with Dr. Martin Carcasson
Join us for a special evening that combines a short lecture with student peer discussion. Dr. Martín Carcasson of Colorado State University will explore how values shape public issues in the United States.
As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, this moment invites reflection not only on the values that have shaped American life in the past, but also on the values we carry forward and the ones we hope will guide our shared future. Dr. Martín Carcasson of Colorado State University’s Center...
Using Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Tuesday, April 14, 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Location: Coralville Library, Schwab Auditorium, 1401 5th St, Coralville, and via Zoom
Join UIRA for an informative session on how artificial intelligence is transforming medical practice and patient care.
Presenters include James Blum, MD, Chief Health Information Officer and Associate Professor of Anesthesia, and Jason Misurac, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics–Nephrology, Dialysis, and Transplantation in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics.
EFC Lecture | American Art for the Public Good: Case Studies from a Career in Art History | Joni Kinsey, Professor Emerita, Art, Art History, and Design
UIRA 30th Anniversary Celebration
Date: Sunday, April 26 | 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Location: Richey Ballroom, Iowa Memorial Union (IMU), 125 N Madison St., Iowa City, IA 52245, and via Zoom
More details will be shared soon.
UIRA Program Committee
Application Deadline: Small Important Project Grants
This new Obermann Center program offers modest yet swift support for those portions of research and creative endeavors by UI scholars that are important toward advancing a project but do not have enough funding from other sources. We will grant ten awards of $500 or less per academic year. Note that funds need to be spent by June 30 of each year.
Eligibility: Open to all University of Iowa faculty and staff researchers
Graduate students: Note that the Graduate College offers Small Grants for the...
History of the Pledge of Allegiance
Date: Thursday, May 21 | 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Location: Room 2520-D, University Capitol Centre (UCC), 200 South Capitol St., Iowa City, and via Zoom
Professor Allan W. Vestal, Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the College of Law at Drake University, will present on the history of the Pledge of Allegiance.
We hope to see you there!
UIRA Program Committee
UIRA Annual Meeting
Date: Tuesday, June 30 | 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Location: Room 2520-D, University Capitol Centre (UCC), 200 South Capitol St., Iowa City, and via Zoom
More details will be shared soon.
We hope to see you there!
UIRA Program Committee
Note: Videos of past lectures may be available on the EFC Lecture Series page.
Past Events
EFC Lecture | Brass Quintet Music From the 16th to the 21st Centuries: A Concert with Commentary | Scott Vogelgesang, Professor Emeritus, Internal Medicine
EFC Lecture | Teaching Shakespeare on Zoom: Lessons and Learning | Miriam Gilbert, Professor Emerita, English
EFC Lecture | Academic Freedom: Implications of Recent Changes in Iowa Law and Rules from the Board of Regents - John Reitz, Law and Patricia Zebrowski, CLAS
EFC Lecture | Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro: A closer look at a masterwork - Stephen Swanson
EFC Lecture | Medical Directives: End-of-Life Planning and Decision Making - Len Sandler, JD
EFC Lecture Series: From Language History to History as it Happens: A Sociolinguist in the Migration Crisis - Mercedes Niño-Murcia
Professor Emerita Niño-Murcia will discuss big and small ways in which language politics generate and perpetuate North American inequalities.
EFC Lecture: Mary Trachsel - Going Feral: Animal Studies Scholarship in Retirement and Retrospect
This lecture traces Professor Trachsel's studies on cross-species communication from analyses of ape language research in the early 2000’s to investigation of other interspecies language types, such as horse whispering and the telepathy professed by animal communicators. Her current research on human-wild animal relationships has entailed wolf-tracking in Yellowstone, a “women and wolves” workshop in the Boundary Waters, observation of feral horses out west, and visits to wildlife "encounter"...
EFC Lecture: Why Do We Want to Believe in Cross-Species Utopias? - Teresa Mangum, PhD
The internet mews, barks, growls, and hisses with alleged evidence of cross-species attachment. These stories — from Genesis to Victorian animal painter Edwin Landseer’s narrative paintings to the latest videos and memes — entice audiences with the promise that we can bridge and bond across species difference. But they also document what it costs animals for humans to be near them.
~ Sponsored by the Emeritus Faculty Council and the Office of the Provost ~