Cowles Library is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to the person who takes the most creative photo of its bulldog statue, Virginia Woof. To be in the running, take a picture that includes Virginia Woof. Post it to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 13. Use #VirginiaWoofBulldog in your post and tag Cowles Library (facebook.com/CowlesLibrary, twitter.com/cowleslib, and instagram.com/cowleslib). Be creative! The winning photo will be posted on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on Monday, May 14. By entering the contest, you give Cowles Library permission to share your photo.

Congratulations to Angela Cornett, a first-year student majoring in Environmental Sustainability and Resilience, who submitted the chosen name for the statue, Virginia Woof.

— Carrie Dunham-LaGree, Cowles Library

Do you have extra non-perishable food items or personal items, such as toothbrushes, deodorant, or shampoo, lying around your dorm or house? Now is a great time to donate them to the Little Free Pantries. There are several drop off locations on campus:

• Students, drop off items in your residence hall.
• Faculty and staff, drop off items at your office mail location.
• Anyone is welcome to drop off items at the Law Library or at the pantries themselves.

On-campus pantries are located in the Olmsted Parking Lot and at the corner of 24th Street and Forest Avenue in front of the Sprout Garden. The pantry previously located at the Aliber Bus Stop on University Avenue has been relocated across the street to St. Kate’s, as that bus stop has been removed. Thank you for your contributions.

— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning & Service

Drake’s All Staff Council Recognition Committee celebrated the Student Financial Planning team with a surprise cookie delivery (compliments of Drake Dining). Read the spotlight below to learn how the Office of Student Financial Planning makes Drake a better place.

Primary Function: The Office of Student Financial Planning  provides counseling and services designed to help students and their families meet the costs of financing an education at Drake University. Their office plays an integral role in the recruiting process. As part of the Office of Finance and Office of Student Financial Planning division, they continue to work toward their shared service standard goals:

Knowledgeable & Collaborative Spirit
Provide Solutions Not Excuses
Take Ownership
Foster an Innovative Environment

Professional & Ethical Behavior
Be Accountable as Team Members and Individuals
Value and Trust Others
Uphold Professional, Ethical, and Confidential Standards

Respectful & Responsive Interactions
Exceed Expectations
Be an Ambassador for Drake University
Recognize Contributions

Staff: There are 14 members of the Student Financial Planning team. Combined, these members total over 198 years of experience at Drake.

Longest serving team member: Denise Stowman, assistant director-grants, scholarships, and verification; 31 years at Drake.

Newest team member: Kayli Burnside, administrative assistant 1, is the information desk receptionist. Kayli started in February of 2016.

What are some recent challenges and accomplishments of note that others in the University might not know about?
Within the past two years, the financial aid processing timeline has changed drastically. The Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA) is now available for families to complete beginning on Oct. 1 each year versus the prior date of Jan. 1. This has pushed our financial aid processing timeline up by three months, which requires earlier coordination of information with other offices on campus as well as software updates from Ellucian. Although this has been challenging, our office has been able to get financial aid packages to students in a very timely fashion. For 2018-2019, we already have close to 400 more financial aid award packages sent out to students than this time last year.

What else would you like to share with the Drake campus?
At the recent 50th Anniversary Celebration of our state professional organization, the Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (IASFAA), the Drake Office of Student Financial Planning was recognized in a very special way. While there are over 60 colleges and universities in our state, in the 50 years of IASFAA’s existence, three schools have provided 17 of IASFAA’s forty-six presidents. Drake was one of the recognized schools with five individuals serving as IASFAA president. Three of those five, Chris Ditter, Kristi Fuller, and Susan Ladd are members of the current Office of Student Financial Planning staff.

— Terri Howard, Drake Law School/All Staff Council

The City of Des Moines is planning on reconstructing 31^st Street between I-235 and Brattleboro Avenue this summer. The work is anticipated to start May 30 and be completed no later than Aug. 17. Detour signage will direct traffic off I-235 to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway exit.  Additional local road traffic will be detoured around the road construction during this period.  More information about the project and schedule will be posted a couple weeks prior to the closure on the City of Des Moines Road and Trail Closures map.

— Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning and Management

Drake will host the Iowa State High School Track Meet, one of the largest state high school track events in the United States, from May 17-19. Please be mindful of the following information as we plan for the overlap of this event with other year-end activities on campus, including commencement and move-out time.

The safety and convenience of our students, faculty, and staff is our top priority, and we’ve taken additional steps to help ensure general safety and a smooth move-out process for students living in the residence halls.

Traffic and road closure information

Forest Avenue will be closed between 27th Street and 29th Street (east of Herriott Hall, in front of Drake Stadium) from Wednesday, May 16, at noon to Saturday, May 19, at 6 p.m. This is designed to increase public safety and to help parents to move-out of the residence halls in a timely manner.

Parents helping move their student out of their residence hall will have access to Forest Avenue from the west (30th Street), will be able to park along both sides of Forest Avenue (except between 27th and 29th Streets), and will have vehicle access to the entire driveway to Herriott Hall.

27th Street will be shut down for bus traffic from Forest Avenue to Clark Street from Thursday, May 17, to Saturday, May 19.

Planning your move out

The first-year residence halls (Herriott, Carpenter, Crawford, Stalnaker) and Morehouse Hall will close for the semester at 5 p.m. Friday, May 18.

Vehicular traffic in the Drake Neighborhood is likely to increase as the week progresses, so students may want to check out as soon as possible upon completion of their exams. Students can schedule a check-out time with any resident assistant (RA) in their residence hall. During this appointment the RA will verify all personal property has been removed from the room, complete a room check, and collect the student’s room key.

Plan for parking challenges

Plan for extra time to find parking as well as to travel to campus. Commuters, faculty, and staff can avoid parking challenges by using alternative forms of transportation or carpooling. Remember, Drake provides no cost DART rides to faculty, staff, and students. All you have to do is show your Drake ID upon boarding the bus.

Access to parking lots

Only Lot 2 (south side of 25^thStreet and Forest Avenue) & Lot 4 (Tennis Center) will be dedicated to the state track meet from May 17-19. All other commuter parking lots will be available for faculty, students, and staff to use.

Lot 13 (Wifvat Plaza) will be open on both Thursday, May 17, and Friday, May 18.

All residential parking lots will be under 24-hour residential permit-only restrictions throughout the state track meet. Any car parked in a residential lot from May 17-19, without a Drake permit will be towed. Additional signage will be posted at all residential lots as a reminder.

On Saturday, May 19, both Lot 13 (Wifvat Plaza) and Lot 10 (directly across from The Knapp Center) will be reserved for families attending the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences graduation ceremony. The lots will open at 1 p.m. for these guests.

Contact us ahead of time with questions or concerns

If you have specific concerns or questions regarding parking from May 17-19, contact Scott Law at scott.law@drake.edu. While there is limited room for exceptions to these parking rules and restrictions, I am happy to listen and discuss any concerns. It is easier to be proactive, prior to events beginning, rather than reactive, once the meet has begun. Thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation.

— Scott Law, Public Safety & Operational Services