Each year, we complete 30-40 projects with communities across the state of Iowa. IISC works with many UI college and departments, including the Colleges of Engineering, Business, Nursing, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Law, and the Graduate College. We add to our projects throughout the academic year. These are our projects for this year, to date.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 2024-25 PROJECTS
In the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, several engineering capstone teams are designing solutions to local challenges:
- Improving ADA accessibility and traffic management challenges for the Mutchler Community Center in Bloomfield, Iowa (Pathfinders RC&D)
- Designing a site development plan for a new residential subdivision (West Burlington)
- Designing stormwater management solutions for a channel and lake system (West Burlington)
- Trail engineering and design (West Burlington)
- Jefferson County Parks engineering and design (Pathfinders RC&D)
- New Sharon building rehab and office consolidation (Pathfinders RC&D)
- New Sharon subdivision and greenfield design and engineering (Pathfinders RC&D)
- Crapo Park amphitheater evaluation and rehabilitation (Burlington)
- Repurposing industrial buildings, engineering and design (Burlington)
South Riverfront brownfield redesign into a park with water access (Burlington)
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES 2024-25 PROJECTS
Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Prairie Restoration at Pat Klein Park (West Burlington)
- Creation of the first comprehensive statewide map of amenities for individuals with disabilities in parks, natural areas, and cultural destinations (Pathfinders RC&D)
- Mutchler Community Center Mural produced by recent UI MFA (Pathfinders RC&D)
- Strategic communications plan created by Journalism & Mass Communications capstone students (Pathfinders RC&D)
- Workshops for youth focused on creative self-expression, led by current MFA student from the School of Art and Art History (West Burlington/Burlington)
- Interactive light display and alleyway activation project designed by UI faculty member, School of Art and Art History (West Burlington/Burlington)
GRADUATE COLLEGE 2024-25 PROJECTS
Graduate and undergraduate students in Urban & Regional Planning and Sustainable Development are creating plans for sustaining and revitalizing communities:
- Arts and Culture Master Plan (West Burlington & Burlington with School of Planning & Public Affairs)
- Transportation and Land Use Plan (West Burlington & Burlington with School of Planning & Public Affairs)
- Oskaloosa Downtown Master Plan (Pathfinders with School of Planning & Public Affairs)
- Rural Development Policy Briefs - Teams of students will offer policy direction in the areas of rural development, innovation, workforce, health, and community capacity (Pathfinders RC&D)
- Helping two communities consider ways to combine services through their Shared Services Study
- Analyzing ways to make it easier for rural residents to access social services through their project Reducing Administrative Burdens for Families in Need
- Seeking ways for Growing Local Food Markets
- Digital archiving of organizational records and historical documents, performed by students in the School of Library and Information Science (Pathfinders RC&D)
COLLEGE OF NURSING 2024-25 PROJECTS
- Nurses in the Making, an evaluation of current career resources followed by creation of additional resources for high school students interested in healthcare professions, by students in the new MSN Entry Into Practice degree (Pathfinders RC&D)
COLLEGE OF LAW 2024-25 PROJECTS
- Students in the Community Empowerment Law Project will help both employers and workers understand best practices in study youth employment and child labor, as well as state and federal regulations. (South Central Iowa Work Force Development).