Upcoming Events

Conifer String Quartet at the Obermann Center promotional image

Conifer String Quartet at the Obermann Center

Friday, May 1, 2026 6:30pm to 8:00pm
111 Church Street

Join us for a festive evening of live music as the Obermann Center welcomes an outstanding UI string quartet!

The Conifer Quartet will present a dynamic program featuring works spanning from the classical era to contemporary pieces by our own University of Iowa faculty. To provide deeper context, the musicians will briefly discuss the history, themes, and styles of each movement before playing, and we will open the floor for an audience Q&A at the end of the performance.

We look forward to sharing...

History of the Pledge of Allegiance promotional image

History of the Pledge of Allegiance

Thursday, May 21, 2026 1:00pm to 2:00pm
University Capitol Centre

Date: Thursday, May 21
Time: 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Location: Room 2520-D, University Capitol Centre (UCC), 200 South Capitol St., Iowa City, and via Zoom
RSVP Link: History of Allegiance RSVP form

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 promotional image

UIRA Annual Meeting

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 12:30pm to 1:30pm
University Capitol Centre

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

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Note: Videos of past lectures may be available on the EFC Lecture Series page.

Past Events

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 promotional image

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

Thursday, April 16, 2026 4:00pm
Virtual
This illustrated lecture will offer a brief overview of topics in public art before taking one image in depth, exploring it visually and historically to demonstrate how visual imagery can contribute to a shared sense of common cause.
EFC Lecture | Brass Quintet Music From the 16th to the 21st Centuries:  A Concert with Commentary | Scott Vogelgesang, Professor Emeritus, Internal Medicine promotional image

EFC Lecture | Brass Quintet Music From the 16th to the 21st Centuries: A Concert with Commentary | Scott Vogelgesang, Professor Emeritus, Internal Medicine

Thursday, March 12, 2026 4:00pm
Virtual
The Quintet will present brass quintet music from five centuries.
EFC Lecture | Teaching Shakespeare on Zoom: Lessons and Learning | Miriam Gilbert, Professor Emerita, English promotional image

EFC Lecture | Teaching Shakespeare on Zoom: Lessons and Learning | Miriam Gilbert, Professor Emerita, English

Thursday, February 19, 2026 4:00pm
Biology Building East
Professor Emerita Miriam Gilbert shares lessons learned from five years of teaching Shakespeare on Zoom.
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 promotional image

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

Thursday, November 20, 2025 4:00pm
Virtual
A discussion about the changing landscape in higher education and how it is affecting or will affect academic life.
EFC Lecture | Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro: A closer look at a masterwork - Stephen Swanson promotional image

EFC Lecture | Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro: A closer look at a masterwork - Stephen Swanson

Thursday, October 16, 2025 4:00pm
Biology Building East
A brief review of the collaborations between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte, along with a summary of the opera and plays by Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais on which the “Figaro” operas are based.
EFC Lecture | Medical Directives: End-of-Life Planning and Decision Making - Len Sandler, JD promotional image

EFC Lecture | Medical Directives: End-of-Life Planning and Decision Making - Len Sandler, JD

Thursday, September 18, 2025 4:00pm
Biology Building East
This presentation will explore the legal, medical, practical, and human dimensions of end-of-life planning and decision making
EFC Lecture Series: From Language History to History as it Happens: A Sociolinguist in the Migration Crisis - Mercedes Niño-Murcia promotional image

EFC Lecture Series: From Language History to History as it Happens: A Sociolinguist in the Migration Crisis - Mercedes Niño-Murcia

Thursday, April 17, 2025 4:00pm
Biology Building East

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 promotional image

EFC Lecture: Mary Trachsel - Going Feral: Animal Studies Scholarship in Retirement and Retrospect

Thursday, February 20, 2025 4:00pm
Biology Building East

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"...