The following projects have been funded from the $11.36 million reserved for SPARC strategic plan initiatives in FY 2026:

HIHI: Strategically Retaining and Recruiting Talented Faculty
$4,000,000 for one year
Additional funding for this highly successful program, which strengthens Iowa’s ability to recruit and retain faculty in areas of excellence and impact.

The following projects have been funded from the $7.8 million reserved for SPARC strategic plan initiatives in FY 2025:

Implementation of Academic Advising Recommendations
$285,000 over three years
This project will build on a recent university-wide self-study of academic advising, providing the support to implement the highest priority recommendations. Funding will support a professional development and onboarding program for new advisors, a framework for continuous advisor training and career development, and shared assessment tools to improve consistency and effectiveness across colleges. A portion of the funding also supports the development and improvement of advising technology tools that will enhance advisor communication with students, incorporate AI to support existing advising services, and provide advisors with early alert tools to support retention efforts. 

Startup Company Patent Support Pilot
$185,000 over two years
This project aims to help UI researchers have greater success commercializing their innovations through startup companies. Funding from the pilot will cover patent costs for one to two years for 12-20 faculty-developed technologies that have the highest likelihood of commercial success and societal impact. Covering these expenses will provide faculty inventors/founders with the time and support to develop a business strategy, pursue investors, and try to develop licensing agreements for their products.

NIH T32 Training Grant application in Cancer Drug Discovery and Development
$193,950 over two years
This project will position the university to apply for a competitive NIH T32 training grant in cancer drug discovery. Funding will provide support for developing the training plan, curriculum, cohort, and recruitment strategies necessary for the submission of the T32 grant. The proposed training program's goal will be to educate trainees in developing novel cancer therapeutics from the stages of discovery to development to clinical trials.

AI in Undergraduate Education 
$195,000 over three years
This project will support adding Artificial Intelligence-related learning outcomes to general education courses and the launch of an undergraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence in spring 2026. Funding will go toward course development stipends, incorporating AI principles into Rhetoric courses, and support for the Center for Teaching to develop tailored training for faculty designing a course that incorporates AI learning outcomes. 

Launching the Next Phase of Iowa Space Missions
$653,485 over two years
This project supports University of Iowa researchers as they prepare a major proposal to NASA for a future space mission. If selected, the UI’s mission—called EPPIC (Electromagnetic Particle-Precipitation Ionosphere Climate Investigation)—would bring in $250 million in funding over five years, making it the largest research grant in the university’s history.

Identifying Key Drivers of Cancer in Iowa
$985,417 over three years 
This project strengthens a partnership between the State of Iowa and the University of Iowa to better understand Iowa's high cancer incidence rate, with the goal of reducing cancer rates and improving outcomes across the state. Project leaders will use cancer surveillance data and advanced modeling to identify key drivers behind six of the most common cancers in Iowa: prostate, breast, lung, melanoma, colorectal, and HPV-associated cancers.

HIHI: Strategically Retaining and Recruiting Talented Faculty
$4,000,000 for one year
Providing continued funding for this successful initiative will support growth and sustainability in strategic areas, impacting educational, research, and artistic endeavors, and increasing the university's profile through enhanced tuition, research revenues, patient care excellence, and philanthropic support.

A Proposal for Iowa’s AI Journey: First Steps in General AI Support
$784,517 over two years
This project aims to integrate AI into teaching, learning, and research initiatives, enhancing success for students, staff, and faculty while advancing institutional goals. It focuses on proactive engagement with AI advancements to manage risks and challenges, streamline processes, and support innovative activities across campus.

Iowa’s AI Journey: First Steps in AI Support for Research Scholarly and Creative Activities
$615,000 over two years
This initiative aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation in Artificial Intelligence research, education, and outreach across campus. By enhancing communication and bridging the gap between data holders and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning experts, Iowa can remain at the forefront of scientific progress and achieve even greater success in securing extramural research funding. 

The following projects have been funded from the $7.4 million reserved for SPARC strategic plan initiatives in FY 2024:

HIHI: Strategically Retaining and Recruiting Talented Faculty
$5,000,000 for one year
The HIHI program provides one-time funds to support strategic hiring and retention of talented faculty. This refunding of the program, which was initially started in March 2021, took place in July 2023. 

Reducing the Impact of Lung Cancer Among Iowans Through Prevention and Early Detection
$576,000 for one year
This project focuses on community-based cancer research to inform a multi-level strategy for implementing high-value cancer screening, tobacco-use interventions, and radon control activities to prevent and detect lung cancer in the state of Iowa.

HIHI: Strategically Retaining and Recruiting Talented Faculty
$500,000 for one year
As the HIHI continues to show increased usage and demand from collegiate leaders, the program continues to have additional funding allocated toward it. This refunding of the project took place in June 2024. 

Piloting Marketing Strategies to Expand Online Graduate and Professional Program Opportunities at Iowa – Phase 1
$500,000 for one year
This project aims to enhance the University of Iowa's graduate and professional online presence to meet student demand and workforce needs, focusing on developing infrastructure or a model to better market new and existing online programs. 

Advancing Faculty and Student Success Through Building a Culture of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
$237,000 over three years
This project aims to increase faculty participation in SoTL, building a framework for ongoing SoTL programming and increasing campus-wide awareness and engagement with SoTL. The project will create a SoTL Scholars cohort model and include a focused cohort of mid-career faculty.

Development of a New Undergraduate Major to Create a Helping Professions Framework
$200,000 over two years 
This funding will support the development of Iowa’s new interdisciplinary Counseling and Behavioral Health Services major, which is designed to prepare undergraduate students for careers in helping professions, addressing the growing need for these professions in the state of Iowa, particularly in rural areas.

AI for Iowa Future: Short- and Long-Term Support for AI Research at Iowa
$150,000 for one year
This project aims to establish a short-term program for hands-on experiential learning in Artificial Intelligence and create a long-term Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning program to develop AI programming and tools for researchers and students.  

Investing in the Development of Teaching Practices for Student and Faculty Success
$132,000 over two years
This project supports student and faculty success by providing opportunities for instructional-track faculty to engage in national professional development related to teaching practices. Faculty selected for these opportunities will then share evidence-based practices with their departments. 

Curricular Analytics: Identifying and Addressing Bottlenecks to Improve Student Retention and Timeliness to Degree
$105,000 for one year
This project will analyze UI degree programs to help the university identify and address issues with courses in the curriculum of a program of study that may be delaying students’ time to graduation.