All posts by Aaron Jaco

News & Achievements Archive

In case you missed it …

A new ranking by The Economist of all U.S. four-year, non-vocational colleges and universities places Drake University 17th in the nation for value.

The Economist applied an original mathematical formula to the federal Department of Education’s data on college graduates’ mid-career earnings to identify the “gap between how much money [each college’s] graduates earn and how much they might have made had they studied elsewhere.” Out of 1,283 colleges, Drake ranked 17th for return on investment—just below Georgetown University and directly above Rensselaer Polytechnic University.

The Brookings Institution released its own value rankings this week, using the same federal scorecard data but a different mathematical formula. The rankings—which were much broader than The Economist’s, and included two-year colleges as well as four-year colleges—placed Drake in the top 100 four-year schools tied with Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Colgate and Syracuse among others.

Read more in the Drake Newsroom.

News & Achievements Archive

Get your glow on

Improve your personal wellness by participating in the GLOW RUN on Friday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. in Helmick Commons hosted by Residence Hall Association and Drake Wellness. The first 60 registrants will receive a free water bottle and glow accessories! This 2K on-campus run will help you improve personal fitness and help you gain awareness of Drake Wellness Center services before the holidays begin. Register by emailing wellness@drake.edu or by completing the waiver.

News & Achievements Archive

Student media win national awards

SJMC students once again made an impressive showing, including two first-place awards, in two national contests whose winners were announced Oct. 30-31.

In the Associated Collegiate Press awards:

  • Amanda Horvath, JO’15 and Faith Brar, JO’15, won first place for multimedia story of the year for a story on nitrates in Iowa’s rivers for Urban Plains. Both graduated in May; Amanda was a Broadcast News major, Faith a Magazine major.
  • Greta Gillen, a senior Magazine and Graphic Design double major, won first place in magazine spread design for “Traffic Trap” in Drake Magazine.
  • Rachel Collins, a Radio-TV Producing major who graduated in May, won honorable mention for environmental portrait for Drake Magazine.

In the College Media Association Pinnacle Awards:

  • Melissa Studach and Kendall Wenaas collected three Pinnacle awards for Drake Magazine.
  • Drake Magazine won second place in best feature magazine, third place for photo illustration (Cole Norum), and third place for photo package (Morgan Cannata).
  • Urban Plains won second in best viral video, for Drake’s world-record Nerf gun fight.
  • KDRA won third place for best podcast.

The awards were announced at the National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas. Drake’s competition included publications from Northwestern, Stanford, and Temple, among others.

Also at the convention, Associate Professor Jill Van Wyke led three sessions on livestreaming with Periscope, ethics and accuracy in breaking news, and live-blogging.

—Submitted by Kathleen Richardson, Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Featured Events Archive

Former U.S. ambassador to give talk

The Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship will host a lecture about voters’ heightened interest in foreign policy during the presidential campaign season.

Joseph Mussomeli, former U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia, will deliver “Foreign Policy on the Campaign Trail: Tough Talk is Easy (and Essential)” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, in room 101 of Meredith Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. Learn more in the Drake Newsroom. 

Featured Events Archive

Home openers for basketball this week

The Bulldogs are in action this week in basketball and volleyball.

Men’s Basketball—Home Opener
Drake vs. Simpson
Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
Knapp Center

Volleyball
Drake vs. Northern Iowa
Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
Knapp Center

Women’s Basketball—Home Opener
Drake vs. Iowa State
Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
Knapp Center

—Submitted by Tom Florian, Assistant Director of Ticketing

Featured Events Archive

Price of Pleasure screening

Join us on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7:30–9 p.m. in Cowles Library, Room 201, for a screening of this documentary. This eye-opening film tackles the complexity behind this seeming paradox, placing the voices of critics, producers, and performers alongside the observations of men and women as they candidly discuss the role pornography has played in shaping their sexual imaginations and relationships.

—Submitted by Alysa Mozak, Coordinator for Sexual Violence Response and Healthy Relationship Promotion

Featured Events Archive

“Are we Global Yet?”

The Anderson Gallery will open a major new exhibition this month titled “Are We Global Yet? The Art and Politics of Public Space (including the virtual),” curated by professor Lenore Metrick-Chen and students from her curatorial capstone seminar.

The exhibition, which runs Friday, Nov. 13, through Feb. 12, 2016, brings together historical maps, student collaborations with homeless individuals in the community, and contemporary artwork from more than 15 artists to ask the question, “Are we global yet?” An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on November 13; in addition, the Anderson Gallery will host a free public symposium titled “Ethics of New Media” on Sunday, Nov. 15. In January, an augmented reality layer will add yet another dimension to the gallery. Learn more about the exhibit and events in the Drake Newsroom.

For Students Archive

Wellness activities this week

Drake Recreational Services and APhA-ASP Operation Diabetes present the Diabetes Awareness Week Wellness Challenge!
Plan to exercise three of the six days from Sunday, Nov. 15–Friday, Nov. 20 AND sign up to participate in the 2K Glow Fun Run on Nov. 20—you will receive a prize! While exercising at the Bell Center or Drake Underground, sign your name at the front desk. Questions? Contact us at wellness@drake.edu.

Diabetes Awareness Week Wellness Presentation
Type 2 Diabetes is a serious health condition that has now reached near-epidemic levels. Understanding more about diabetes can help spread awareness to fight this disease. Join Drake Recreational Services on Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Sussman Theater for an informational session about diabetes and what you can do to improve your lifestyle.

—Submitted by Ellen Lowe, Assistant Director of Recreational Services – Wellness