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Building on decades of environmental education at ������Ƶ����, the College will launch a new major in Environmental Studies (ENV), bringing together perspectives from across the curriculum and responding to strong student interest in the existing Environmental Studies concentration. At the same time, ������Ƶ���� will introduce Semester@CERA, an immersive program centered at the College’s 365-acre Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA).

Four faculty members at ������Ƶ���� have been awarded a $311,000 grant from the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation (MIHF) to lead a collaborative research study examining the impact of emergency rental assistance on low-income households across Central Iowa.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) has named Thai Theodoro ’27 a member of the 2026 Student Project Team.

Samantha Schmidt ’26 has been named the recipient of the Celina Karp Biniaz Model of Resilience Award from ������Ƶ����. The Award was established to honor Celina’s courageously hopeful life and legacy and bestows a cash prize.

Students in professor Lara Janson’s sociology course open “I Object,” an art exhibit at the Drake Community Library

Neva Zamil ‘27 was recently awarded the prestigious Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service. The scholarship, created by President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and Airbnb's Brian Chesky, aims to shape empathetic and cooperative leaders by exposing them to new places and experiences that will allow them to create meaningful change.

When Tristan Davis ’25 first visited ������Ƶ����, it was the small classes and close faculty relationships that drew him in. But what he found in his four years as a student extended well beyond the classroom: a deep connection to the community, an opportunity to engage in meaningful local work, and, ultimately, the inspiration to pursue a graduate degree abroad in the growing field of environmental humanities. 

Associate Professor of Sociology Sharon Quinsaat’s 2024 book, “Insurgent Communities: How Protests Create a Filipino Diaspora,” has been widely praised and has won multiple honors from professional organizations.

Last spring, students in the Sociology Practicum course taught by Professor of Sociology Susan Ferguson served the community while getting real-life experience.

Garcia, from St. Paul, MN, is among 37 students selected nationwide from 155 finalists from 41 partner schools to receive the $40,000 fellowship stipend. The program offers “college graduates of unusual promise a year of purposeful, independent exploration and international travel to enhance their capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership and to foster their humane and effective participation in the world community.”