Beginning on Arbor Day, more than 400 volunteers came together to plant 4,000 native tree seedlings near Hillcrest Residence Hall, creating the largest Miyawaki forest in Iowa. Check out a list of stories, photos, and videos that highlight this project.

The Iowa Board of Regents approved an $81.4 million renovation project for the Iowa Memorial Union on April 23, 2025. The 100-year-old building, originally opened in 1925, serves as a central hub for student life and is home to the undergraduate student government, Iowa Hawk Shop, and more. The renovated IMU will house upgraded and expanded food service options, meeting spaces, multipurpose rooms, and the existing UI Student Health.

Michael Weikamp, Landscape Manager, and Andy Dahl, Campus Arborist, were featured in a Daily Iowan article highlighting the University of Iowa's Landscape Services team as they gear up for the spring and summer seasons. The two discuss the transition from winter, cleaning up campus grounds, and planting efforts to beautify the university ahead of major events like commencement. Read the article by the Daily Iowan to learn more.

The University of Iowa celebrated the opening of the new Nagle-Duda Gymnastic and Spirit Squads Training Center on April 10. The 32,000-square-foot, $20 million facility includes training rooms, locker rooms, meeting spaces, coaches' offices, and a large gymnastics practice area with competition-style equipment. It is located near the women’s soccer facility, and the opening included a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Thousands gathered on Saturday, April 12, to celebrate and welcome UI Health Care's new North Liberty campus, which officially opens Monday, April 28. The successful community open house featured hospital tours, family-friendly activities, and highlighted UI Health Care's role in expanding access to orthopedic and emergency care for Iowans. Leaders from the University of Iowa and UI Health Care as well as local community members and government officials were also invited to an official ribbon cutting ceremony for the new North Liberty campus on Friday, April 11.

FM Landscape Services and the GIS team have collaborated to create an interactive and visual story map of some of our most notable trees and gardens on the University of Iowa campus arboretum. Visit the story map to learn more about our literary grove, state champion trees, and our collection gardens.

The Landscape Services tree crew was recently honored with a 2024 Tree Campus Higher Education Award. The UI was the first college in Iowa to win the award in 2009 and is one of only eight Tree Campus Higher Education award winners in Iowa. This is the 16th year in a row that the UI Tree Crew has received this honor. Learn more about our tree campus status on FM’s Tree Campus Higher Education page.

Facilities Management’s own Jeff Jones, Senior Construction Project Manager, was featured by the UI’s Human Resources Department in an article highlighting work-life balance, alongside his wife, Sarah Jones, who also works for the University of Iowa in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UI Health Care. The article touches on the family’s move from Missouri to Iowa, highlights the couple’s love for their jobs, and shares their love for the community they’ve found in Iowa and at the university.

As the university advances plans for a new, state-of-the-art Cancer Research Building, leaders say the facility will pave the way for significant discoveries to be made at the University of Iowa.