Project Lead: Kristy Nabhan-Warren

Funding Approved: Fiscal Year 24
Project Status: In Progress  
Funded amount: $270,000 over three years

Building upon the University of Iowa’s distinction in writing, this initiative equips faculty with the skills to communicate their research and scholarship to wider audiences outside academia. Participants attend workshops focusing on writing effectively for public news outlets, including essays, op-eds, research-informed journalistic essays, leading newspapers, respected magazines, and other venues. This initiative aligns with the strategic plan goal to leverage the UI’s areas of distinction and the talent of its people to have a transformative societal impact. By extending the reach of academic knowledge through various media outlets, this project helps position Iowa as a leader in communicating research and scholarship to the public.

Activities to date:

• Launched a website and published a news story to promote the program. Provided regular updates to collegiate leaders and solicited nominations for faculty participants.
• Joined The Conversation in July 2023 as an institutional member. 
  • Developed good working relationships with The Conversation's editing team.
  • Connected faculty experts with editors to discuss story ideas.
  • Reached the benchmark goal of publishing at least 20 articles in The Conversation in year 1 of the project (2023-24).
  • Two editors from The Conversation visited campus for two days in fall 2024 to meet with groups of faculty, administrators, and President Wilson.
  • Led several presentations and workshops with faculty on campus to provide information on how to pitch an article and set up their author profile for The Conversation. 
  • An additional 20 articles by 13 University of Iowa faculty and graduate students have been published since July 1, 2024. 
  • Three of the articles by University of Iowa authors started trending on the platform, ranking amongst the top three most read articles on the days they were published. 
• In 2023-24, the project offered virtual sessions with The OpEd Project, with 15 researchers and scholars participating. Post-workshop, an OpEd Project editor reviewed drafts of faculty OpEds.
• In 2024-25, faculty interested in writing OpEd worked with the UI Office of Strategic Communication. 
• Held two virtual science communication workshops hosted by the Alan Alda Center for faculty across the disciplines, including the humanities.
  • Each workshop was at capacity, with 30 total participants. 
• Partnered with the Obermann Center to develop a weeklong writing retreat for faculty in May 2025.

Next Steps:

In the final year of the P3 project, the team will continue providing support and training for faculty, with the goal of further expanding faculty participation in public-facing scholarship and enhancing the quality and impact of their public writing. An additional Alan Alda Center training for science communication is planned for spring 2026.