Tuesday, March 21: Spring into Something New Lunch at Hubbell from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enjoy a pairing of soups, salads, and sandwiches to try something new for spring!
Friday, March 24: National Nutrition Month Dinner at Hubbell from 5 to 7 p.m. Join us for a healthy and delicious dinner to celebrate National Nutrition Month.
—Jennifer Bowersox, Sodexo
Meal block conversion runs March 20–24. Students on the Block 195 and 335 meal plans can convert up to 100 meals per semester to flex dollars. Learn more here.
—Jennifer Bowersox, Sodexo
The Violence Intervention Partner (VIP) Team is recruiting! Do you want to help other students? Are you passionate about creating a safer and violence free campus? VIP provides 24/7 advocacy services on the Drake campus to anyone in need of support and/or assistance due to sexual assault and/or harassment. The main goal of VIP is to assist members of the Drake community with compassionate, informed, and confidential sexual assault and intimate partner violence response support. VIP consists of student advocates who are specially trained to provide appropriate support in incidents of sexual and intimate partner violence on campus. VIP members complete a 30-hour victim counselor training the week prior to school starting.
If you are interested in helping others or you know any students that you think could make great advocates, please encourage them to apply! Applications are due Tuesday, March 28, at 4:30 pm. The online application can be found at:
http://drake.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eWJvE0EoyFzgddr
Questions can be sent to Tess at tess.cody@drake.edu.
—Tess Cody, Prevention Coordinator for Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct
David Senchina was recently invited to co-author a consensus statement on the relationship between exercise, nutrition, and the immune system for the journal Exercise Immunology Review, one of the top-ranked journals in the “sports science” category according to Thompson Reuters. The statement comprises multiple sections, each written by different specialists from eight different countries. David’s portion of the article was on herbal supplements (such as echinacea and ginseng) and how they influence athletes’ immune systems. The statement also applies knowledge from these categories to specific clinical populations beyond athletes, such as military personnel and the elderly. Download the article for free here.
Drake Community Press’ latest book, A Spectrum of Faith: Religions of the World in America’s Heartland, is slated for release on April 6. The book, a 134-page coffee-table-style paperback, is a culmination of more than two years of work by Drake students and faculty, as well as numerous academic courses, an editorial board, a local photographer, donors, community-involved committees, and an interfaith partner. Read more—and see some of the stunning photography from the book—in the Drake Newsroom.
Join us on campus for a series of presentations, panels, and performances on the current state and future promise of interfaith activity in the state of Iowa.
The conference opens at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, with the launch of A Spectrum of Faith: Religions of the World in America’s Heartland. This new title from the Drake Community Press explores in words and photography the faith traditions of 15 religious communities in the Des Moines area.
The event, hosted by Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu, will feature the student and community collaborators who produced the book; a keynote address by Interfaith Youth Core founder and author, Eboo Patel; and a student-made documentary film about the two-year collaboration of student and community contributors.
Friday, April 7, features a morning kickoff by Patel, followed by afternoon breakout sessions. Join us in the evening for a cocktail reception starting at 5:30 at the Des Moines Social Club.
Breakout sessions continue throughout the day on Saturday, April 8, starting at 9:45 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m.
To register for the conference or for more information, visit: www.iowainterfaithexchange.com/
—Carol Spaulding Kruse, English Department
Sheila Smith, of the Council on Foreign Relations, will be speaking about “Opportunities and Challenges for US-Japan Relations under the New Trump Administration,” on Tuesday, March 21, 7–8:30 p.m., in Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center. Her visit is made possible through a grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership and is co-sponsored by the Principal Center for Global Citizenship and the Department of Political Science.
—Mary McCarthy, Department of Political Science
Luis Clemens, NPR senior editor for diversity, based in Washington, D.C., will be on campus to work with students and deliver a public lecture on Tuesday, March 21. Clemens will discuss “Facts, Freedoms and the Pursuit of Journalism,” on the challenges of practicing journalism in the era of “fake news” and attacks on the press, at 7 p.m. in Cowles Reading Room. The event is free and open to the public.
—Kathleen Richardson, SJMC Dean
TIAA’s March lineup of financial education webinars includes:
Special Topic: Dismantling myths about annuities (March 14)
Healthy Numbers: Integrating healthcare into your retirement plan (March 14)
Special Topic: Top five estate planning mistakes (March 15)
Charting Your Course: A financial guide for women (March 15)
Paying Yourself: Income options in retirement (March 16)
Halfway There: A retirement checkup (March 16)
To reserve access to these webinars, visit TIAA.org/VE today!
—Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources
Faculty and staff are invited to join Information Technology Services for a town hall meeting on Thursday March 23, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the Shivers Hospitality Suite, adjacent to The Knapp Center. The town hall will precede the Drake social.
ITS will be reviewing progress made in the last year, summarizing the current organizational structure, highlighting the results of the ITS portion of the fall administrative-services satisfaction survey, describing the service commitments the division is making to the University, and responding to your questions.
The town hall will be followed by a Drake faculty/staff social from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Attendees will receive one complimentary ticket for beer or wine. Water, soda, etc. are also on the house. Nearby parking is available.
—Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost