Upcoming Events & Deadlines

Planning and Writing Successful Grant Proposals in the Creative Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities Seminar promotional image

Planning and Writing Successful Grant Proposals in the Creative Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities Seminar

Thursday, January 14, 2027 8:30am to 12:30pm
Iowa Memorial Union (IMU)

The Research Development Office is hosting an in-person grant writing seminar, Planning and Writing Successful Grant Proposals in the Creative Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities, that will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 13 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday, Jan. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the IMU. The seminar is presented by AtKisson Training Group.

This seminar will cover fundamental concepts of proposal planning and writing for the Arts and Humanities faculty backed by concrete...

Application Deadline: Small Important Project Grants promotional image

Application Deadline: Small Important Project Grants

Thursday, April 1, 2027 5:00pm
111 Church Street

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 10 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 who have not received a SIP award in the past academic year.

Application...

Application Deadline: Obermann Working Groups (2027–30) promotional image

Application Deadline: Obermann Working Groups (2027–30)

Wednesday, April 7, 2027 5:00pm
111 Church Street

Obermann Center Working Groups provide space, structure, and discretionary funding for groups led by faculty that may include advanced graduate students, staff members, and community members with a shared intellectual interest.

Groups have used this opportunity to share their work in progress or draw up a set of readings they want to undertake and discuss. Others have organized conferences, applied for grants together, written articles together, designed new courses, taken field trips, organized...

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News

Ashley Cheyemi McNeil

Ashley Cheyemi McNeil Appointed 2019-21 HPG Postdoctoral Scholar

Interdisciplinary scholar Dr. Ashley Cheyemi Rae McNeil has been appointed the 2019–2021 Postdoctoral Scholar for the Andrew W. Mellon–Funded Humanities for the Public Good (HPG) initiative. McNeil earned her bi-national PhD in English from Georgia State University and in American Studies from the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany. As...

Misfitting: Symposium Connects Disabilities Studies Scholars, Shines Light on Need for Scholarly Leadership at UI

Tricia Zebrowski and Douglas Baynton pulled off a wonderful finale this spring. The two retiring professors—Zebrowski is in her first year as an Emeritus in Communication Sciences & Disorders, while Baynton retired in May 2019 from History—co-directed “Misfitting: Disability Broadly Considered,” the 2019 Obermann Humanities Symposium. During three days in April, the pair helped to host eminent...

Ortiz-Guzmán Appointed 2019-20 Sawyer Seminar Postdoctoral Fellow

Directors of the 2019–20 Andrew W. Mellon Sawyer Seminar, “Imagining Latinidades: Articulations of National Belonging,” have selected interdisciplinary scholar Dr. Lisa Ortiz-Guzmán as the Seminar’s Postdoctoral Fellow. Ortiz-Guzmán earned her PhD in Educational Policy Studies with graduate minors in Latina/o Studies and Gender & Women’s Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana...

Not Distracted: Aiden Bettine Balances Traditional Scholarship and Public Engagement Projects

Aiden Bettine, the first Humanities for the Public Good (HPG) Graduate Fellow, is already embodying the goals of this grant. A historian with a strong commitment to public scholarship, Aiden is pushing the boundaries of his discipline in experimental and collaborative directions. With funding and support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the...

Four CLAS Graduate Students Chosen for National Humanities Center Education Program

Four University of Iowa PHD candidates have been selected to attend the 2019 Graduate Student Summer Residency Program at the National Humanities Center in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. From July 15 to 26, Aiden M. Bettine (History), Enrico Bruno (English), Hadley Galbraith (French & Italian), and Mary Wise (History) will join approximately 100 fellow humanities graduate students...

Andrew Tubbs: Scholar, musician, disability advocate, comedian

Andrew Tubbs would like to see more researchers recognize the influence that disability has on their work—no matter the field of study. “It’s beneficial for researchers to understand that disability inherently intersects with their work,” Tubbs says. “Being able to come at issues, research questions, and problems from a disability perspective helps nuance arguments.” The University of Iowa...

Recent Events

Nomination Deadline: Obermann Interdisciplinary Achievement Award promotional image

Nomination Deadline: Obermann Interdisciplinary Achievement Award

Monday, February 2, 2026 5:00pm
111 Church Street

The new Obermann Interdisciplinary Achievement Award recognizes individuals or teams whose trajectories have engaged diverse disciplines to produce insights that would be unattainable within a single academic silo. These scholars cultivate collaborative work, fostering dialogue across academic fields and institutional units. Their research or creative work engages with foundational questions that resonate across society. By recognizing interdisciplinary excellence, the Obermann Center for...

Virtual Editorial Session with Mark Simpson-Vos promotional image

Virtual Editorial Session with Mark Simpson-Vos

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Virtual

Working on a book proposal? Starting to turn your dissertation into a book? Have questions about the academic publishing industry? Join us for one of two “ask-an-editor-anything” sessions with former Obermann Editor-in-Residence Mark Simpson-Vos.

Wednesday, Dec. 3 from noon to 1 p.m. and 4–5 p.m. (on Zoom).

Space is limited, RSVP required. RSVP here: https://obermann.uiowa.edu/MSV-virtual

Virtual Editorial Session with Mark Simpson-Vos promotional image

Virtual Editorial Session with Mark Simpson-Vos

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Virtual

Working on a book proposal? Starting to turn your dissertation into a book? Have questions about the academic publishing industry? Join us for one of two “ask-an-editor-anything” sessions with former Obermann Editor-in-Residence Mark Simpson-Vos.

Wednesday, Dec. 3 from noon to 1 p.m. and 4–5 p.m. (on Zoom).

Space is limited, RSVP required. RSVP here: https://obermann.uiowa.edu/MSV-virtual

Mental Health & Well-Being Pecha Kucha: Engage the Innovators promotional image

Mental Health & Well-Being Pecha Kucha: Engage the Innovators

Thursday, November 13, 2025 12:00pm to 4:00pm
University Capitol Centre

Join us for the University of Iowa's second annual Mental Health & Well-Being Pecha Kucha! Pecha Kucha is Japanese for chit-chat and emphasizes storytelling via imagery over words. This fun, interactive, and highly engaging workshop style elevates the voices of our campus “mental health and well-being innovators” to provide you:

New ways of thinking about your work from a mental health & well-being lens

Tangible takeaways about innovative mental health & well-being practices occurring on campus

Con...

"Behind the Book: The Labor of Acquisitions Editing" — Lecture by Sara Jo Cohen promotional image

"Behind the Book: The Labor of Acquisitions Editing" — Lecture by Sara Jo Cohen

Tuesday, November 4, 2025 5:00pm
111 Church Street

Publishing a scholarly book is not a solitary act of authorship, but a collaborative process in which scholars work with a team of editors. Scholars don’t just submit manuscripts; they engage in sustained dialogue with editors who help to shape, refine, and position their work. Far from being gatekeepers, acquisition editors are collaborators, advocates, and stewards of knowledge. Their work is especially critical as they align the intellectual ambitions of scholars with the practical demands of...

RSVP Deadline: Undergraduate Career Session with Sara Jo Cohen, Obermann Editor-in-Residence promotional image

RSVP Deadline: Undergraduate Career Session with Sara Jo Cohen, Obermann Editor-in-Residence

Friday, October 31, 2025 5:00pm
111 Church Street

Interested in a career in publishing? In this session on Tuesday, Nov 4 at noon at the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, Sara Jo Cohen, Editorial Director at University of Michigan Press, will reflect on her own career path, beginning with her undergraduate experience and the choices that helped shape her trajectory into academic publishing. She’ll discuss how she gained relevant experience, navigated early roles in the industry, and built a career in academic publishing. This is an...