News

Jennifer Skolaski standing at a podium giving a presentation

What a bachelor's in social work can build: Jennifer Skolaski's path from Iowa to leading community-wide change

Monday, July 13, 2026
Jennifer Skolaski's journey demonstrates how a bachelor's degree in social work can lead to a career creating lasting community impact. Learn how the 2005 Iowa graduate has transformed her passion for helping others into a leadership role focused on solving complex challenges through collaboration and innovation.
A five-panel photo collage bordered in Hawkeye gold: a tall interior view of Bamberg Cathedral's Gothic vaulted nave on the left, paired on the right with a student pointing at an illustration in a centuries-old rare book, a student writing Ancient Greek verb forms on a whiteboard, a group of students gathered outside Saint Raphael Orthodox Church, and a professor holding up a small painted Tibetan prayer wheel while teaching.

A new chapter for Classics and Religious Studies in CLAS

Monday, July 13, 2026
Two CLAS academic partners are now one department. As of July 1, Classics and Religious Studies have merged into the Department of Classics and Religious Studies — building on years of shared teaching and research between the two fields.
group picture

The CLAS School of Journalism and Mass Communication empowers students to find their voice 

Monday, July 13, 2026
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni share how hands-on experiences and meaningful connections at Iowa prepared them for careers in journalism and communications.
A profile portrait of Luke Tierney Professor Emeritus American Statistical Association Fellow Institute of Mathematical Statistics Fellow

CLAS professor shares prestigious $1M Rousseeuw Prize for helping transform statistical computing

Monday, July 13, 2026
CLAS professor Luke Tierney was recently named one of five laureates of the $1 million Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics.
Students stand with instructors donning medals. From left to right: Weiyu Xu, Maximilian Hing, April Xu, Flix Cook, Mason Zhang, Aiden Zhang, Mohammad Tehrani, and Ethan Weng.

From Iowa to the international stage: Outreach program helps young mathematicians reach new heights

Monday, July 13, 2026
University of Iowa Department of Mathematics outreach programs are helping Iowa students excel in mathematics at the highest levels. Led by associate professor Mohammad Farajzadeh Tehrani, the Iowa Junior Math Academy and related initiatives have prepared students for national competitions, university-level coursework, and top universities.
Joyce Carol Oates portrait

CLAS professor Harry Stecopoulos on the Queen of Literary X and Her Latest Story Collection

Monday, July 13, 2026
Harry Stecopoulos, professor in the University of Iowa Department of English, examines Joyce Carol Oates' latest short story collection, The Frenzy, in a new essay for Literary Hub. Drawing on Oates' fiction and public presence on social media, Stecopoulos argues that her work offers a more nuanced view of digital culture, suggesting that technology itself is less to blame than the human behaviors and anxieties it reflects.
A photo of Shane and Susan

Coming home and paying it forward

Monday, July 13, 2026
A pledge of $500,000 in support of faculty excellence by School of Music alumni Susan Bennett and Shane Swanson hopes to give future CLAS students opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive.
A portrait photo of Tracy Meginnis

CLAS's Certificate in Writing coordinator turns a passion for words into opportunity

Monday, July 6, 2026
Through the Certificate in Writing and student publications, Tracy Meginnis helps students develop their voices, leadership skills, and professional goals.
Child takes photo of wildflowers while standing in tall prairie grass

Explore and connect at CLAS's 6th Annual BioBlitz

This free community event celebrates the rich biodiversity of Iowa's prairies.
Diagram showing a solar storm's magnetic cloud expanding as it traveled from the Sun toward Earth, with observations from the Solar Orbiter and WIND spacecraft at two different points in space.

CLAS researchers describe ‘super expansion’ magnetic cloud from the sun

Monday, July 6, 2026
A University of Iowa-led physics team has detailed the extreme expansion of a magnetic cloud that originated from a huge, gaseous explosion on the sun. Findings reveal more about how gaseous explosions from the sun could be dangerous to Earth.