Translation builds communities, whether local or global, since we live and work in an increasingly interconnected world where virtually every form of exchange has come to depend on translation. Students are therefore encouraged to seek service and outreach opportunities, and overseas research and practical experience. Our faculty and students organize readings, curate installations, offer workshops for diverse audiences in Iowa City and abroad, regularly present at the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature Book Festival, and collaborate in translating works by the International Writers in Residence. Translation program also sponsors an audio podcast series, Translators Note, two online journals, and a social media platform for over 4000 international translators. 

Public Engagement in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The University of Iowa’s core mission extends beyond the classrooms, laboratories, studios, and libraries where we educate students, conduct our research, and create new artistic work. Equally important is our engagement with communities throughout Iowa, across the nation, and around the world. 

Our faculty, students, and staff work to solve problems, imagine new approaches to challenges, and improve quality of life, often through service-learning courses in which students earn academic credit. 

It’s a virtuous circle: When UI expertise is harnessed to help a community or region improve the lives of its residents, the experience adds unique educational value to students’ academic journeys, and advances the research and creative production of our faculty. In turn, that new knowledge empowers us to help more communities, solve more problems, and improve more lives. 

The UI is not just the University of Iowa, we're the University for Iowa—and throughout the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, we are proud to serve.