All posts by Ashton Hockman

Campus Announcements Archive

In Memoriam: Donald K. Moon

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Don Moon, 88, former associate professor emeritus of education. Don passed away March 9 at Deerfield Retirement Community. A visitation service will be held from 6–8 p.m., Friday, March 13, at Iles Westover Chapel. Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, March 14, at Grace Lutheran Church, 5201 Urbandale Avenue, Des Moines. 

Don, a member of the Drake faculty for 35 years, also served as director of educational media and television services from 1964 to 1996. He spearheaded many advancements in television services, including the first TV coverage of the Drake Relays produced by students. Following his retirement in 1998, he was the University’s interim director of distance learning for two years.

In addition, Don was a founding member of the Billie and Robert D. Ray Lifelong Learning Society, where he developed several courses. Don was a tireless supporter of Drake Athletics. He was a 50-year Drake basketball season ticket holder. He will be deeply missed by many. Read Don’s full obituary.

Strategic Updates Archive

Coronavirus (COVID-19) preparations, update

Drake University continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 outbreak with careful attention to the impact it could have on campus. There are no suspected cases yet within the Des Moines metropolitan area, and Drake remains open and operational at this time. University leaders are planning for several possible contingency scenarios and will take appropriate action to ensure the health and safety of our campus community. Timely updates will be shared, when appropriate and if circumstances on campus or around the city change. In the meantime, please visit and bookmark the University’s web page devoted to COVID-19 information and resources: drake.edu/coronavirus/.

News & Achievements Archive

Drake wins Healthiest State Workplace Award

Drake was announced the winner of the 2020 Healthiest State Large Workplace Award at the Healthiest State Annual Awards banquet Feb. 6. The award, presented by the Healthiest State Initiative, recognizes Drake for its efforts to improve the physical, social, and emotional well-being of its faculty and staff.

“We are proud to recognize Drake University with this award,” said Jami Haberl, executive director of the Healthiest State Initiative. “Drake has taken its commitment to wellness for its staff and expanded its efforts to involve the greater campus community as well as the surrounding neighborhood.”

The award recognized Drake for several noteworthy accomplishments, including:

  • Partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa to create Sprout: The Des Moines Urban Youth Learning Garden
  • Providing free access to the comprehensive on-campus fitness facilities and discounted memberships for family members
  • Implementing the “DU Well Scorecard” program, which breaks down wellness into eight dimensions and incentivizes healthy behaviors for employees

As an award winner, Drake received $1,000 to continue its work focused on improving the health and wellbeing of its students, faculty, and staff. The Healthiest State Annual Awards were sponsored by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Hy-Vee, Inc., Nemours, and HealthPartners UnityPoint Health. To learn more about the Healthiest State Initiative and its programming and events, visit IowaHealthiestState.com.

—Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Strategic Updates Archive

Big Ideas initiative update

With the second semester in full swing, I am pleased to provide an update on the Big Ideas process and share exciting next steps. 

Over the last few months, President Martin and members of the Advancement staff have been meeting with key University donors and prospects to update them on the Big Ideas process and share the six proposed themes:

  1. Center for Public Democracy
  2. Digital Proficiency Platform
  3. Every Bulldog a Changemaker
  4. Intergenerational Campus
  5. Jay N. Darling Institute
  6. University Center

For a review of the Big Ideas themes, refer back to the video shared by President Martin on Dec. 2.

I am pleased to report that 105 one-on-one visits with leadership donors and prospects have been completed, with approximately 10 more visits scheduled. Intended to serve as a modified feasibility study supporting the Big Ideas process and Drake’s next comprehensive fundraising campaign, these meetings allowed us to gauge which themes resonated most with prospective donors. Overwhelmingly, we received positive feedback regarding the Big Ideas and analysis to help shape the next steps in the process.

Also, last month, President Martin provided the Board of Trustees a detailed update on the Big Ideas, and the Board offered their feedback and their endorsement of the process.

Immediate next steps
In the coming weeks, meetings will be scheduled with each of the Big Ideas champions and additional contributors to begin the process of defining specific fundraising initiatives related to their idea. Our goal is to have a “fundraising menu” drafted for each of the six themes leading into the April Board meeting.

In addition, a letter and marketing piece will be sent from President Martin to the more than 100 prospects we held meetings with. The letter will thank them for their participation, update them on the process, and summarize next steps.

Once again, thank you for your continued support of this exciting process. As always, please reach out with any questions and feedback. 

— John Smith, Vice President, University Advancement

News & Achievements Archive

Golden Bulldog Award

Every fall, Facilities Planning and Management participates in the Administrative Services Survey. We use the data we gain from the survey to prioritize areas in which we can improve, as well as celebrate our accomplishments. Out of the ten specific areas in which we were assessed, we are happy to have had all of them rate above a 4 out of 5! To reward, as well as create some spirited competition, we have started a roaming trophy, The Golden Bulldog! This year, the award went to “Grounds Services” with an approval of 4.54/5!

— Mitch Wieczorek, Facilities Planning and Management

Campus Announcements Archive

Olmsted lot closed Thursday

The Olmsted parking lot (lot 16) will be closed for the campus Job Fair Thursday, Feb. 13, from 6 a.m.–5 p.m. We apologize for the inconvenience. The closure is necessary to accommodate this large, campus-wide program. Yellow–Zone 1 passes will be honored in all non-premium commuter lots on Thursday (not lot 13/Ray Promenade or lot 18/Stadium lot).

— Scott Law