After months of study and discussion, the University of Iowa is moving forward with a recommendation to regild the Old Capitol dome. Work is expected to begin this spring and be complete by the start of the fall 2022 semester.

The University of Iowa will begin planning the next 10 years of facilities construction and upgrades, creating much-needed academic space at the core of campus and modernizing the delivery of education and patient care to Iowans.

The state Board of Regents approved a $395 million plan for a new University of Iowa hospital in North Liberty. The building will have both a hospital and academic section to accommodate the increasing number of people in need of heath care from university facilities.

The university is experimenting with biomass fuels, UI Director of Utilities Operations Ben Fish said. In particular, the university is testing the burning of oat hulls, miscanthus grass, and energy pellets alongside the remaining coal, he said.

The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced Wednesday the naming of Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. The naming was approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. Slater, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound tackle for the Hawkeyes from 1918-21, was the first Black student-athlete in school history to earn All-America honors.

The UI recently was awarded a level II accreditation by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program, meeting advanced standards that recognize the UI campus as an arboretum dedicated to public education and engagement.

Employees from key services that kept campus running over the past year — IT, custodial services, and dining employees — speak on what it means to be “essential.”

The recent removal of Seashore Hall on East Jefferson Street created a unique opportunity for the UI to reimagine an area that has been occupied for more than 100 years. Rather than erect a new building in its place, the university will create a multipurpose green space that will serve as a place to study, hold outdoor classes or small events, and more.

While all energy systems are vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather, Iowa’s interconnected, diverse energy infrastructure and electrical grid has made it less prone to failures.

The University of Iowa has announced they will begin testing wastewater to help monitor the presence of COVID-19 on campus. According to officials, existing research indicates people who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 shed virus particles through their feces.