Drake faculty of the College of Business and Public Administration awarded scholarships to five students to take the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 exam in 2018.  Drake is able to award these scholarships because it is an Affiliated University of the CFA Institute. Drake obtained this designation because its undergraduate finance program incorporates at least 70 percent of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge and places emphasis on the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)® designation is the most respected and recognized investment credential in the world with almost 140,000 charter holders worldwide. To become a CFA Institute charterholder, candidates must pass three rigorous exams and complete four years of professional work experience.  The pass rate for each exam is about 35–40 percent.

Congratulations to the following scholarship recipients:

• Davis Heck, finance (and first semester MBA)
• Maggie Mueller, finance
• Amelia Quek, finance
• Ali Smith, finance
• Kahmun Yap, finance

—Dianna Gray, College of Business and Public Administration

The Drake chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America was recently recognized as a Star Chapter at the 2017 PRSSA National Conference in Boston.

—Kathleen Richardson, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Professor Robert Stensrud was awarded the Collier Baker Endowed Professorship, a four-year award that carries a stipend and research fund, by the Drake Board of Trustees on Oct. 7. He plans to use the award to continue research on the Clubhouse model of employment and training for special needs populations.

Stensrud is serving his 30^th year as a professor in the Leadership and Counseling Department of the School of Education. He has served as department chair from 1991 to 1995, redesigning the counseling specializations that have become national accredited by two major governing boards. He was the director of the School of Education’s Collaborative Leadership in Education, which included the oversight of an $8 million budget. From 1989 to 1999, he was director of the National Rehabilitation Institute, and in 1994, he received the Outstanding Program Award from the U.S. Department of Education Rehab Services. Since coming to Drake, Stensrud has received $15.7 million to support the training of rehabilitation counselors, research on disability, and projects serving the Drake and Greater Des Moines communities. To date, he has written more than 60 refereed publications on disability, health care, and employment.

—Janet McMahill, School of Education

Deborah Kent, associate professor of mathematics, is a finalist for a state award that recognizes innovation in STEM education.

The Technology Association of Iowa announced that Kent is one of five educators in the running for a 2017 Women of Innovation Award in the category of Academic Innovation and Leadership.

Students in Kent’s courses benefit from her strategic approach to incorporating classroom technology into the educational experience.

“Mathematical ideas must be powerfully integrated with technology in the modern world and I work hard to do this in the classroom,” Kent said. “I use technological tools to support the strengths of traditional thinking and to enable students to do things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”

For example, Kent recently introduced a Numerical Linear Algebra course in which students used MATLAB, a high-performance language for technical computing—including data analytics and algorithm development. The MATLAB software empowers students to manipulate and visualize large data sets.

The award nomination also recognizes Kent’s national reputation for excellence in mathematics writing and her emphasis on teaching students effectively to communicate technical information.

See the news release for more.