Our community transcends borders, from unique local partnerships to lasting connections abroad.
Local Partnerships
The University of Iowa and Iowa City—its impossible to imagine one without the other. Over 160-plus years, campus and community have built a shared reputation for cultural vitality, openness and diversity, and can-do spirit. The following town-gown partnerships help keep this tradition alive.
- Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature: In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization named Iowa City the world’s third city of literature. In response, University and community partners established a new non-profit organization to advance literature and literacy, establish international collaborations, and build on Iowa City's reputation as a locus of creativity and thought.
- Partnership for Alcohol Safety: A campus-community effort to reduce harm associated with unsafe drinking—especially among young people—the partnership brings together education, business, local government, safety, and health organizations to develop joint solutions to shared problems.
- UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership: A cooperative effort to offer affordable, attractive, and safe housing in areas closed to campus, the partnership renovates single-family homes and encourages neighborhood investment.
Global Reach
Our community reaches far beyond Iowa. Dedicated to the vision of a university without borders, UI people and programs are forging ties with communities abroad:
- Mexico: Starting in 2002, UI teachers, students, and local volunteers joined Xicotepec de Juarez residents to improve the community’s water supply, treat water-borne illnesses, and build school libraries.
- Haiti: After the January 2010 earthquake, UI faculty, staff, and students joined private relief efforts and launched their own plans to help a neighbor in need, including a service-learning course that offered hands-on support for Haitian-led organizations.
- Iraq: In January 2009, UI representatives visited Iraq to lay groundwork for a program that would bring students to the United States. This fall, the University become one of the nation’s first schools to welcome Iraqi scholars sponsored by the program.