Each year, the Office of the Vice President for Research’s (OVPR) Dare to Discover banner campaign highlights 80 researchers and scholars from across the University of Iowa. 

Research conducted by Maria-Victoria Perez, a PhD student in the higher education and student affairsprogram, was selected to be featured in this year’s campaign.

Perez, who is from St. Marys, Georgia, builds mental health supports on campuses. More specifically, she seeks to understand how colleges and universities can better support students with mental health conditions. Mental health concerns have risen rapidly among college students in the last several years. Students with mental health conditions are now the largest population of students with disabilities in college. 

To read the full feature and learn more about Perez’s research, click here. 

The Dare to Discover banners will be displayed throughout downtown Iowa City through March of 2025.

Click here to access all the student profiles from this year’s Dare to Discover initiative and to learn more about the personal stories behind the faces of discovery and creativity.