Poet Brenda Hillman, who earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1976, is a 2026 finalist for the prestigious National Book Award.

Nicholas Boggs has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Truman Capote Literary Trust Award for Literary Criticism in Memory of Newton Arvin, administered by the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Del Belcher, a 2023 MASC graduate, returned to the University of Iowa as an adjunct instructor, bringing his professional experience and passion for accessible communication into the classroom. His story highlights how the MASC program’s flexibility helped him connect his graduate education with his career—and now allows him to help other working professionals do the same.

Using community-engaged learning, Claudia Pozzobon Potratz helps students connect Spanish language, culture, and identity to the Iowa City community.

University of Iowa alum Kelsey Klein combines clinical experience with research to better understand communication outcomes for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Her experiences at Iowa helped shape the questions she pursues today as a research scientist at the House Institute Foundation.

Through research and teaching, Logan Brown explores the moments when games stop being “just games” and begin shaping the technologies and cultures around them.

Jason Robey researches what has driven major changes in the criminal justice system and how those lessons could help shape its future.

Michael Cowan’s work for one of the field’s most prominent international gatherings coincides with new collaborations in silent film scholarship, music, and performance at the University of Iowa.

Completed and ongoing facilities projects are creating fresh spaces for College of Liberal Arts and Sciences programs across the University of Iowa campus.

As a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences student at the University of Iowa, Scott Icenogle studied communication while pursuing the music he couldn’t imagine living without. Decades later, those interests have become inseparable in his career—and inspired an original composition rooted in his memories of Iowa.