All posts by Heidi Weiss

For Students Archive

#DrakeServes design contest

The Office of Community Engaged Learning & Service is looking for a creative student to design an image for a new volunteer campaign called #DrakeServes. The idea behind the campaign is to build awareness of Drake student involvement in the community and provide a unified image when students participate in Drake sponsored community engagement initiatives in Des Moines.

The design contest is open to the entire campus community. Design entries must be submitted by Friday, March 9, to servicelearning@drake.edu (include original file and PDF/JPG). Designers can submit more than one design! The artist whose design is selected will work with staff of Community Engaged Learning & Service and University Communications the week of March 19 to finalize their design. The selected designer will have their image printed on 1,000 t-shirts and receive a $50 gift card.
Design Requirements:

  • Design must work on a solid blue background (T-shirt) as well as on white (for print)
  • Include hashtag #DrakeServes
  • Use any color combination of the following palette: Drake blue, cyan blue, white, or yellow
  • Must have a Drake look and feel (use of bulldog, paw prints, etc. is encouraged)
  • Include the Des Moines skyline or an image of a Des Moines bridge

For inspiration, view a collection of images.

Contact servicelearning@drake.edu for any questions.

— Renee Sedlacek, Community Engaged Learning & Service

For Students Archive

Learn more about Drake’s accelerated degree partnership for nursing

The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences recently launched a new partnership program with Mercy College that allows students to earn bachelor’s degrees from both colleges in four years. Under the new partnership, students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from Drake and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Mercy College in approximately the same time it would normally take to earn a degree from one institution.

Debbie Lively, admissions counselor at Mercy College, is hosting an information session for students interested in learning more about the program on Friday, March 2, at 2 p.m. in Cline Hall, Room 127.

Jill Batten, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

News & Achievements Archive

Prof. Elizabeth Robertson selected for summer seminar in Greece

Elizabeth Robertson, associate professor of English, has been selected as a participant in the Council of Independent College’s (CIC) summer seminar on Pausanias and travel writing in Ancient Greece, to be held in Greece in July 2018. Professor Robertson teaches writing studies, early English texts, postcolonial literature and theory, and travel writing in the Drake English department. She recently returned from a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina-Faso—her second career Fulbright. CIC summer seminars are selective, rigorous opportunities for faculty at independent colleges to develop valuable ongoing expertise in a focused area of study or practice. Professor Robertson is the second Drake English faculty member in two years to have been invited to participate in a CIC summer seminar, following Lisa West’s selection for the Transatlantic Landscape seminar in New Haven, Conn. in 2017.

HR Information Archive

HealthTrip Wellness Program

It’s not too late to register for HealthTrip, Drake’s 2018 wellness activity program. HealthTrip is a fictitious journey to some familiar sounding cities such as Aerobiquerque, N.M. and Las Veggies. Each destination city features a unique health topic to explore. Participants earn Frequent Mover Miles by tracking activity such as walking, swimming, and playing basketball.  Additionally, there are opportunities each month to earn bonus miles by completing a challenge.

The program is designed to work with your schedule. You may participate every month or just the months that work best for you. Prize drawings will be held monthly for those who complete the monthly challenge.

If you are interested in participating, send an email to Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.  You will receive details including an information sheet and the March brochure.

For more information, contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

—Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning lunch

The first Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) lunch of the semester is Friday, March 2, at 12 p.m. in Medbury Hall, Room 201. The lunch discussion is an opportunity for those engaged in SoTL projects at any level—from just thinking about starting one, to almost complete, or those simply curious about SoTL—to share ideas, seek advice, or ask questions of colleagues engaged in the process. While it is too late to register for a lunch, you are welcome to come and bring your own lunch.

— Art Sanders, Associate Provost

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

University Book Club to read “Arrowood”

The University Book Club is reading “Arrowood” by Laura McHugh this spring, an eerie tale set in Keokuk, Iowa. The book is available for checkout at Cowles Library.

The club will meet Tuesday, April 3, at 4:45 p.m. at Smokey Row to discuss the book. Faculty and staff are invited to join.

Contact ascspecialevents@drake.edu if you are interested in participating in the discussion, to receive future book club information directly to your email, or if you have any questions.

In addition, the book club is accepting book selection ideas for the next fiscal year. Please send book suggestions to ascspecialevents@drake.edu.

Previous selections include:

  • “The Kind Worth Killing” by Peter Swanson
  • “Thirteen Ways of Looking”  by Colum McCann
  • “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown
  • “The Nest” by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
  • “Hidden Figures” by Margo Lee Shetterly
  • “Bottomland” by Michelle Hoover
  • “Modern Romance” by Aziz Ansari
  • “The Alice Network” by Kate Quinn
  • “Arrowood” by Laura McHugh (current selection)
  • “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand (upcoming summer selection)

— All Staff Council, Special Events Committee

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Tech Tuesday session March 6

Join ITS staff for the next session of Tech Tuesday on March 6 from 2 to 2:50 p.m. in the Dial Center Large Conference Room.

The session will focus on keeping your identity safe six months after the Equifax breach. Led by Peter Lundstedt, director, information security and compliance.

Sign up for the March 6 session and other upcoming sessions.

— Carla Herling, ITS

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Nominate a colleague for community service and employee excellence awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award and the Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Award. Nominations are due to Human Resources by Friday, March 30, at 4:30 p.m. Late nominations will not be accepted.

Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award

Madelyn M. Levitt established the Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff. Recipients are chosen on the following criteria:

  • A demonstrated personal commitment to volunteerism and community service
  • An outstanding record of leadership or substantial involvement in community projects, services and activities contributing to the quality of life in our region, state and/or the nation
  • Professional and personal values and behavior that typify the ideals of “giving back to others” and “making a difference in the lives of others”
  • The nominee must be a current faculty or staff member with at least five years of service at Drake.

Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Award

The Employee Excellence Award is presented to a staff member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. Criteria for the award include:

  • Exceptional performance as an employee of Drake University
  • Outstanding dedication to providing courteous, prompt, and quality service
  • Demonstrated commitment to University programs, initiatives, and services
  • Professional values and behavior that demonstrate exceptional service to others and a commitment to Drake University
  • The nominee must be a current staff member with at least one year of service at Drake.

To nominate a colleague, submit a letter of nomination to the Levitt Award Committee, care of (c/o) Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent through campus mail or electronically to drakehr@drake.edu.

A nomination letter detailing specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria is desirable. Additional letters of support are not necessary. A review committee will make award recommendations to the President’s Council.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Featured Events Archive

Learn about preventive care at Harkin on Wellness Symposium

Join The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement for the inaugural Harkin on Wellness Symposium on March 21 in Parents Hall, Olmsted Center. This year, we are welcoming a host of health care experts for a discussion on preventive care and policy.

Learn about the latest trends in preventive care and population health and discuss how they can influence health policy, clinical, and community care. Topics to be covered include:

  • Chronic disease prevention and interventions in preventive health
  • The value of exercise as medicine, food as medicine, and meditation
  • Innovative community health and wellness initiatives
  • Educating future health professionals

Renowned Doctor Andrew Weil, founder and program director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, will deliver the keynote speech.

This is a free public event and includes lunch and a networking reception. Spots are going quickly. Register and learn more here.

—Emily Schettler, Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement