Seventeen UI graduate students from across campus, representing four different colleges, have been selected for the seventh annual Obermann Graduate Institute on Engagement and the Academy. This year's co-directors, Craig Just (Civil & Environmental Engineering) and Jennifer Kayle (Dance), and Senior Graduate Fellows Anna Swanson (Cinematic Arts and Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies) and Jessica Pleyel (Art & Art History) will lead the week-long program from January 11-15, 2016. The Institute offers a competitively selected group of UI graduate students an opportunity to explore how civic engagement can enhance teaching, research, and creative work. It is also a rare opportunity for students to share ideas and experiences with peers they would not otherwise meet.

The 2016 Graduate Institute Fellows:

David De La Torre, History
Diane Williams, American Studies and Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies
Heidi Renee Aijala, English
Rebekah Chappell, Dance
Arianna Rigon, Neuroscience
Gwendolyn Gillson, Religious Studies
Jeremy Williams, Education
Kelly Grogg, School of Library & Information Sciences
Mohanad Nada, Immunology
Ella Von Holtum, School of Library & Information Sciences
Emily Climer, Dance
Heather Wacha, History
Bailey Kelly, Communication Studies
Ruth Bryant, Center for the Book
Keva Fawkes, School of Art & Art History
Mary Nyaema, Education
Rachel Winter, Religious Studies