Spacer
Supporting activities & events that further our mission
The Obermann Center welcomes the opportunity to support activities and events that further our mission—promoting research and creative work, facilitating publicly engaged art and scholarship, and building intellectual community. University of Iowa faculty members may request small, discretionary grants (up to $400) to fund opportunities such as visiting speakers and conferences. See application link at the bottom left of this page.
Applications are accepted throughout the year.
Please note:
- The requesting party is expected to administer the funding and the event. The Obermann Center cannot assume organizational responsibilities in connection with co-sponsored events.
- Co-sponsorship requests should be submitted at least one month in advance of the event.
- We ordinarily limit co-sponsorship awards to two events per department per fiscal year.
- The Obermann Center will not release funding for approved co-sponsorships until 1) the event is posted on the UI Events Calendar, with the Obermann Center tagged as a unit, and 2) the requesting party has submitted Obermann's Co-Sponsorship Report.
View past co-sponsored activities and events on our website archive.
Apply
We're delighted that you're interested in partnering with us! Please submit our co-sponsorship webform, and we'll get back to you shortly. Please note that:
- The requesting party is expected to administer the funding and the event. The Obermann Center cannot assume organizational responsibilities in connection with co-sponsored events.
- Co-sponsorship requests should be submitted at least one month in advance of the event.
- We ordinarily limit co-sponsorship awards to two events per department per fiscal year.
- The Obermann Center will not release funding for approved co-sponsorships until 1) the event is posted on the UI Events Calendar, with the Obermann Center tagged as a unit, and 2) the requesting party has submitted Obermann's Co-Sponsorship Report.
Resources
Accessible & Inclusive Events Resource Guide (courtesy of the University of Michigan)
Obermann Co-Sponsorship Report Form — All recipients of Obermann co-sponsorship funding must complete this webform after the event/activity.
Upcoming
Book Matters: Brady G’sell and Meena Khandelwal in conversation with Elana Buch
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Join us for a reading and discussion, co-sponsored by Prairie Lights, to celebrate recent works from Brady G’sell and Meena Khandelwal, faculty in the University of Iowa Department of Anthropology and the Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies Program. After the reading, Elana Buch, associate professor of anthropology, will join G’sell and Khandelwal for a conversation and Q&A with the audience. Light refreshments will follow.
Radical Hope: Cultural Workers and Community Leaders in Conversation
Monday, March 3, 2025 6:25pm to 7:00pm
Join Dr. Leigh Patel, Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor, for a panel discussion and conversation with Iowa cultural workers and community leaders.
Dr. Patel is a Professor of Educational Foundation, Organizations and Policy at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Patel's work focuses on the ways that formal education has consistently acted as one site of coloniality and oppression, and that education and studying is one of the strongest tools for liberation. Political education and...
A Conversation with Scholars At Risk
Wednesday, March 5, 2025 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Join us for a public conversation for faculty, students and staff from across campus about the work of Scholars at Risk to protect and promote academic freedom worldwide. SAR staff representatives Clare Farne Robinson (Director of Advocacy Programs) and Adam Braver (Student Advocacy Seminar Coordinator and Author) will offer remarks on the current state of academic freedom globally, the evolving definition and implementation framework for academic freedom within international law and policy, and...
Writing for The Conversation: Graduate Students
Thursday, March 6, 2025 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Join the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Graduate College for a virtual introduction to The Conversation US with Kristy Nabhan-Warren, Associate Vice President for Research.
The Conversation is an independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of academic experts for the public good. With a monthly readership of 20 million, The Conversation expertly shares a scholar’s expertise far beyond the borders of our state. Articles are geared toward the general...
Writing for The Conversation: Informational Lunch for Grad Students and Postdocs
Friday, April 11, 2025 12:00pm to 1:30pm
Join the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, and the Graduate College for lunch and an introduction to pitching your research to The Conversation US with Kristy Nabhan-Warren, Associate Vice President for Research.
The Conversation is an independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of academic experts for the public good. With a monthly readership of 20 million, The Conversation expertly shares a scholar’s expertise far...