As part of their Senior Design capstone project, a team of civil & environmental engineering students will provide designs, preliminary engineering reports, and cost estimates for a variety of improvements to county parks in Jefferson County. 

Students from the School of Library and Information Science will assist Pathfinders RC&D staff in managing, archiving, and exhibiting the vast collection of the organization's records, helping tell the story of Pathfinder's impact across the region since its formation in the 1970s. 

Students in the course Policy and Persuasion will work with staff from Pathfinders RC&D and the South Central Iowa Local Workforce Development Board to develop policy directions for issues related to five focus areas: rural development, innovation, workforce, health, and community capacity.

A team of students in the College of Law's Community Empowerment Law Project will study youth employment and child labor in the south central Iowa workforce region and help both employers and workers understand best practices as well as state and federal regulations. 

MFA Dance candidate Marian Tejada will design and lead workshops for youth in Ottumwa that encourage self-expression, community building, and empowerment. 

Participants in the student organization Iowa Community Integrated Geography Organization (ICIGO), will work with data and an existing map to make it more robust. They will add a crowdsourcing feature to the map and overlay it with census information.To increase users, ICIGO students will research platforms on which the map and its information can be shared and make recommendations for packaging. 

For their capstone projects, students in Civic and Environmental Engineering will provide designs to update a community center. They will provide design options, project timelines, and pricing to remedy some of the building's currently problematic features. This includes the entryway and the main floor gaming and weight area. Additionally, the student team will provide a redesign of the parking lot to address traffic flow.

Students in a capstone Civil and Environmental Engineering program will design a site plan for the subdivision that will maximize the number of homes that can be developed. They may include plans for a pocket park as part of the project, setting the example for future developments. 

For their capstone project, Civil and Environmental Engineering students will focus on drainage of Luers Park in West Burlington. They will assess the current situation and develop plans toward alleviating current hydraulic problems.  

For their capstone project, students in Civil and Environmental Engineering will design a 10-foot wide trail that includes pedestrian cross improvements at several intersections. The trail will run near a recreation complex, several schools, residential and commercial areas, and a senior housing unit. 

For their capstone project, graduate students in the School of Planning and Public Affairs will create the first comprehensive arts and cultural plan for West Burlington and Burlington, communities that share a border and strong sense of collaboration while maintaining distinct identities.

The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC) has produced several transportation-related plans, including the Greater Burlington Bike & Pedestrian Plan (2020) to the Region 16 Passenger Transportation Plan (2021). This capstone project for students in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development will build upon these efforts to sustain recent momentum around multi-modal transportation options and identify new opportunities to increase mobility for residents, particularly for residents without reliable access to transportation. 

During the fall semester, the MPA capstone team will conduct research (e.g. literature review, case studies) to better understand the service needs of West Burlington and Burlington, as well as locating effective approaches undertaken by other communities. During Spring semester, the team will focus on engaging stakeholders, analyzing existing local conditions, cost/benefit analyses, and developing recommendations.  

For their MPA capstone project, a group of students will conduct research (e.g. literature review, case studies) to better understand the burden to families and individuals that need to access multiple service providers. They will locate approaches that other communities have developed to make connecting with services more streamlined by offering a single point of contact. During the Spring semester, the group will focus on engaging stakeholders, analyzing existing local conditions, and tailoring recommendations to the region. 

A team of graduate students in Urban and Regional Planning will develop a comprehensive document to guide the future of downtown Oskaloosa. The Oskaloosa Downtown Master Plan will focus particularly on how use of public spaces (e.g. transportation infrastructure, public property) as well as other public support mechanisms (e.g. policies and programming) can enhance and strengthen the downtown district as the heart of the community. 

This project will help identify strategies to enhance and grow markets for producers and will focus particularly on the development of a pilot project to make CSA subscriptions an employee wellness benefit by large employers. For their capstone project, a team of MPA (Master of Public Affairs) students will work with Iowa Valley RC&D staff to determine the full scope of work for the project.  

Graduate students in the College of Nursing will partner with South Central Iowa (SCI) communities to develop and present a plan focused on enhancing high school students' access to healthcare career pathways. This project will involve:

University of Iowa-based artist Emily Edwards will paint a mural at the Mutchler Community Center in Bloomfield, IA. With input from the staff and community, the artist will create a design that brings a sense of energy and excitement to the space and serves as a memorable community touchpoint.

As part of their capstone project, students seeking the Transportation Certificate in the School of Planning & Public Affairs created a comprehensive resource for communities to work toward "complete neighborhoods" that provide close access to basic needs. They also applied the Complete Neighborhoods concepts in a collaboration with officials from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.