All posts by Luke Clausen

Strategic Updates Archive

Ambassador Terry Branstad available for office hours, classes, and events

Ambassador Terry Branstad provides office hours as part of his role as Ambassador in Residence here at Drake University on Fridays from 10–11:30 a.m. in Room 283 in the Law Library.  Ambassador Branstad is also available to meet with faculty and students and speak to classes and student organizations. This is an exceptional academic opportunity to hear the perspective, reasoning, and experiences of someone who helped shape Iowa and U.S. history.

If you would like to meet with him personally to ask questions about the experiences he has had throughout his career, please use this Calendly link to schedule an appointment: https://calendly.com/ambassador-branstad.

— Luke Clausen, Senior

Strategic Updates Archive

Fall Sussman Lecture, “The U.S. Supreme Court: Yesterday and Today”

The Fall 2022 Sussman lecture is Monday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Sussman Theater (lower Olmsted Center).

Michael J. Nelson will be giving the hybrid Fall 2022 Sussman Lecture “The U.S. Supreme Court: Yesterday and Today”. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Both in-person and virtual tickets are available online here. ASL/CART will be provided.

About the Event

In this talk, Nelson will discuss how the Supreme Court has changed over the past few decades in terms of its composition and its workload: there is now a perfect congruence between the ideology of the justices and the party of the presidents who appointed them, and the Court is deciding far fewer cases than in decades past (and using a different process to do so). We’ll talk about the consequences of these trends for the Court’s public standing, the development of American law, and calls to reform the federal judiciary.

About the Speaker

Michael Nelson is a 2009 graduate of Drake University with degrees in Politics and English and a concentration in Business Law. He is currently a Professor of Political Science and Social Data Analytics and Affiliate Law Faculty at Penn State. His research and teaching focus on law and courts, especially the public’s relationship with the judicial branch. He is the author of over thirty peer-reviewed articles and four books and has received three grants from the National Science Foundation. His most recent book, Judging Inequality (Russell Sage Foundation Press), received the C. Herman Pritchett and Virginia Gray awards from the American Political Science Association for the best book published in the fields of Law and Courts and State Politics and Policy.

About the Sussman Lecture Series

Established by Richard Sussman, AS’51, in memory of his late wife Lila, the Sussman Lecture Series takes place twice a year and invites notable public figures to discuss timely topics. Past speakers have in the Sussman Lecture Series include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, NASA Chief Historian Bill Barry, Microsoft Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

— Lila Johnson, Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement

Campus Announcements Archive

Reggie’s Sleepout

Reggie’s Sleepout is back at the Drake Stadium on Oct. 29. Reggie’s Sleepout is an annual event hosted by the Iowa Homeless Youth Center (IHYC) to raise awareness for local youth homelessness. It is held in honor of Reggie Kelsey, a young man found dead in the Des Moines River at the age of 22, four years after aging out of the foster care system. Now, participants annually build cardboard shelters and camp out on Drake’s field to honor his legacy while fighting to end youth homelessness. All donations raised directly benefit programming for transition aged youth at IHYC and other Iowa homeless youth organizations. 

Register for the event using your Drake email address here. There is no fee for registration.

— Peyton Haas, AS, JO

For Students Archive

Prevention Ambassador training

Join Drake’s growing Prevention Ambassador Team. Training to become a Prevention Ambassador will be held Oct. 28, Nov. 4, and Nov. 11 from 1–4 p.m. Must be able to attend all three to be certified.

Reister HERE

Prevention Ambassadors are students trained to facilitate conversations about bystander interventions, healthy relationships, and understanding the dynamics of sexual and dating violence. Prevention Ambassadors interact with first years during welcome week, mentor high school youth, put on events and programming with other student groups and plan the annual Bulldogs Against Sexual Assault event.

We would love for you to join our team! If you have questions, reach out to lynne.cornelius@drake.edu.

— Lynne Cornelius, Violence Prevention & Programming

For Students Archive

Join Drake Dining Food Committee

Are you passionate about food? Do you miss meals from home? Do you enjoy planning events?Join our committee. Drake Dining invites you to collaborate with our culinary team, dietitian, and marketing manager to make Drake Dining the best it can be. We will be hosting our first meeting virtually on Oct. 6 at 3:30 p.m. Click here, select Food Committee, and fill out the form with your contact information and we will send you an invitation to the virtual meeting place.

— Shaelyn Hankins, Drake Dining

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake Dining Survey

We value your opinion. By completing the Drake Dining Survey you directly help us enhance dining services throughout the Drake campus. All Drake students, staff, and faculty are invited to complete the survey. One entry per person. Our survey is live from Oct. 3 to Oct. 15. Utilizing an independent online research questionnaire, the Drake Dining Survey will allow us to better understand your needs and work towards future solutions that will better serve the Drake community. Click here to take the survey or scan the QR code. Your Voice Matters, now is your chance to have it heard.  We will make positive enhancements to the dining services provided based on your feedback and input!

If you have any questions please contact Drake Dining’s Marketing Manager Shaelyn Hankins at 574-265-7993 or shaelyn.hankins@sodexo.com.

— Shaelyn Hankins, Drake Dining

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Last day to complete Annual Survey of Administrative Services

Every fall, we ask for your input on how we fulfill our commitment to elevate service excellence. It’s that time of year again and thank you for your input in advance! Your voice helps shapes continuous improvement in these areas across campus: Facilities Planning and Management, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology Services, Public Safety, and University Communications & Marketing.

Thus, you are strongly encouraged to complete this year’s survey. It is completely anonymous and often takes less than five minutes to complete. You will only be asked to provide feedback on the areas you work with regularly.

The survey was developed by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment in collaboration with each area on the survey. Continuous improvement efforts such as this drive intentional and strategic action within each area on the survey. Your collective input is reviewed and acted upon.

Thank you in advance for your participation by close of business Tuesday, Oct. 18.

— Nate Reagen, Chief of Staff, Office of the President

Campus Announcements Archive

The International Education Week photo contest is now open

International Education Week 2022 is November 14–18

The #IEW2022 photo contest is now open to all Drake students, faculty, and staff. Submit your photos of an international travel, education, or work experience—or of your international hometown! One submission from each of the five categories will be chosen by public vote to receive a Starbucks gift card.

Submit your photos through this online form or by sending them to studyabroad@drake.edu by Monday, Oct. 31 in one of five categories:

  • Capture the Culture
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Taste of Travel
  • The Most Epic Selfie
  • International Hometown (new in 2022!)

You will be asked to confirm the location/country and create a brief caption for each photo submitted. Voting will take place throughout IE Week on Facebook, and winners in each category will be selected on Friday, Nov. 18.

Follow Global Engagement on Facebook and Instagram.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

Campus Announcements Archive

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October was established as Cybersecurity Awareness Month in 2004 and is a collaborative effort between government agencies and private industry to help individuals protect themselves online, especially as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace.

Your Role

This year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme is See Yourself in Cyber. It highlights the reality that cybersecurity is ultimately about people and not a technology issue. To protect ourselves and our data, we all need to make smart decisions on the job, at home, and at school.

See Yourself in Cyber means recognizing the part you play in cybersecurity no matter what your role may be. As an individual, take basic steps to protect your online information and privacy. As a student, faculty, or staff member, be vigilant in protecting your institutional identity and the data entrusted to you. While the University has implemented strong cybersecurity policies and practices, the burden of keeping information safe rests on us. We each need to play our part.

4 Things You Can Do Right Now

Additional Resources

Go to  https://www.drake.edu/its/csam/ to view some helpful and humorous videos about cybersecurity topics as well as take the cybersecurity quiz!

The first 150 people to complete the quiz will receive a coupon to use at the campus Starbucks, and all participants will be entered into a random drawing for 1 of 15 Griff II T-shirts!

— Chris Mielke, ITS

Campus Announcements Archive

Walk the Bulldog Mile tomorrow as part of the Healthiest State Walk

Grab your walking shoes and join tomorrow’s Healthiest State Walk on Wednesday, Oct. 5.  For those working on campus, we invite all faculty, staff, and students to meet at noon at the start of the Bulldog Mile.  This one-mile path begins outside the Olmsted Center (just southeast of the building).  We will start with a drawing for prizes and then follow the signs and giant paw prints on the sidewalk as we make our way around and through campus.  Bring a colleague or make it a team or department event!  If it is raining, we will move the event to the indoor track at the Knapp Center.

For those not on campus, we encourage you to take a break sometime during the day on Oct. 5 and go for a walk. Then send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu for a chance at additional prizes.  Let’s get moving!

— Linda Feiden, HR