Please note the The Des Moines Consortium event scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the DMACC Ankeny campus has been cancelled.
— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost
All posts by Drinda Williams
Nelson named a 2022 Next-Generation Future Pharmacist Award finalist
Molly Nelson, a fourth-year student pharmacist in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was named one of three national finalists for the 2022 Next-Generation Future Pharmacist™ Award sponsored by Parata Systems and Pharmacy Times. The winner will be announced during the Next-Generation Pharmacist Award Gala held on September 30, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo.
“I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for the Next-Generation Future Pharmacist Award and am astounded that I am a finalist,” said Nelson. “I am even more honored to be able to help the community through the work I do, while being mentored by amazing pharmacists everywhere I go.”
Read more about Molly Nelson’s accomplishments and the award.
— Kaylyn Maher, CPHS
$5 meal Wednesdays for faculty and staff
As a reminder, Drake Dining offers $5 meals for faculty and staff every Wednesday.
Dinner with the dean of students
Join Dean of Students Hannah Clayborne for dinner and a chance to catch up on things that are happening at Drake this semester. This is a great opportunity to make connections with fellow students along with the Dean of Students. Dinner will be provided for students just sign up in advance, but space is limited to 10 students. Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up.
Questions about this event, please contact Gina Ryan at gina.ryan@drake.edu with questions.
— Hannah Clayborne, Dean of Students
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness month
Suicide is a concerning public health issue that leaves a long-lasting impact on families and communities. Between 1999 and 2019, the suicide death rate in the U.S. increased by 33%.
According to recent data, there were nearly 46,000 deaths by suicide in 2020 (approx. 126 per day), making it the 12th-leading cause of death in the United States. In Iowa, it is the 9th leading cause of death. Suicide rates vary across a variety of demographics. For example, in 2020, men died by suicide 3.88x more than women. White males accounted for 69.68% of suicide deaths in 2020. Suicide rates are higher among LGBTQ youth and adults compared with straight/cis adults. Yet, 93% of adults surveyed in the U.S. think suicide can be prevented.
Since 2008, September has been recognized as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This is a time to acknowledge those impacted by suicide, raise awareness, and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to resources and treatment services. This is also a sensible time to openly discuss mental health and help reduce lingering stigmas.
One of the more recent resources at our disposal is a new crisis hotline number. On July 16, 2022, Iowa rolled out a three-digit number—988—for people to call or text to reach a trained counselor who can help them deal with suicidal thoughts and mental health crises. The new 988 number does not summon law enforcement. For more information, visit: https://988lifeline.org/.
A wonderful training opportunity at Drake will take place later this month. Please consider attending QPR training on September 21 (1-2 pm), offered through Drake HR’s BUILD program. QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer—the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. This training is being presented by Kayla Bell-Consolver, Director, Student Counseling Center and Dr. Greg Lengel, Associate Professor of Psychology. Class size is limited to learn more access the fall BUILD schedule here. You can RSVP with Linda Feiden (linda.feiden@drake.edu).
— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
Des Moines Consortium reception Sept. 21
Faculty and staff are invited to meet other higher education professionals at the annual Des Moines Consortium reception, hosted this fall at Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny Campus, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 3–4:30 pm. The reception will be held at DMACC the International Culinary Institute and Conference Center, Building 7, 2006 South Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny.
— Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office
Reminder: Religious holiday observances
An important reminder: avoid scheduling campus events during the High Holidays observed by many members of our campus community who are Jewish. Please go to the Office of Equity and Inclusion website to import the dates of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for this September and October directly into your Outlook calendar.
Faculty are required to provide students reasonable accommodations to honor their religious identities. It is especially important we honor this obligation as we communicate celebration, affirmation, and inclusion of all the diversity within the Drake community.
Students need to communicate the accommodations they require, so we can institutionally support clear communication between individual faculty and their students.
— Jen Harvey, Associate Provost, Campus Equity and Inclusion
Calling all 4-H’ers
Are you or have you previously been part of 4-H?
The local Iowa State Extension 4-H Office is interested in connecting with Drake students who have been involved with 4-H to explore options for continued involvement while in college. The local 4-H organization is very active and there are exciting ways to partner with college students.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Amanda Martin at amanda.martin@drake.edu.
— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning
Biden Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan
On Aug. 24, President Biden announced his administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan, which:
- extends the student loan repayment pause through December 31, 2022.
- Provides one-time loan cancellation to eligible borrowers who have federally-held student or parent loans that were first disbursed prior to July 1, 2022. Eligibility for loan cancellation is based on student or parent income thresholds. Eligible borrowers who received a Federal Pell Grant can receive up to $20,000 in loan cancellation. Other eligible borrowers can receive up to $10,000 in loan cancellation.
- Proposes a new income-driven repayment plan aimed at reducing monthly payment obligations for low and middle income borrowers.
The Biden Administration expects to release an application for loan cancellation in October 2022, and borrowers will have until December 31, 2023 to apply. You can sign up to be notified when this occurs at the Department of Education’s subscription page.
Other student loan-related initiatives implemented by the Biden administration include Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) and “Fresh Start”. TEPSLF offered a temporary period (which ends Oct. 31, 2022!) during which borrowers may receive credit for payments that previously did not qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The “Fresh Start” initiative helps borrowers who are in default on federal student loan(s) by restoring eligibility to federal student aid, stopping collections on defaulted loans, and providing an opportunity to restore loans to good standing.
The best place for accurate information about federal student loan policies is www.studentaid.gov. To be notified of updates please subscribe to “Federal Student Loan Borrower Updates” on the US Department of Education’s subscription page.
— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid
Stay cyber-safe at school
As we kick off the school year, it’s important to stay aware of online security threats. Internet scammers often shift their focus to universities at the beginning of the school year as students are returning to their classrooms and residence halls.
One of the most common methods is phishing, which uses email, text messages, or phone calls to trick people into sharing sensitive information. These messages often look like they’re from a trusted source. Instead, they’re sent by scammers seeking to access bank accounts, credit cards, login credentials, or other confidential data.
Here are some common back-to-school scams to keep an eye out for:
- Shopping scams – phony websites promising bargains but designed to collect credit card and other personal information.
- Job offers – scammers offer appealing job opportunities with the intention of stealing money, identity, and personal information. They often spoof legitimate companies’ websites or real people’s email addresses to make the offers more realistic.
- The student tax – a popular scam targeting first year students and their parents via email, phone, or text. Individuals posing as IRS or other government representatives request payment of “student tax” and threaten penalties for failure to pay.
- Scholarship scams – these phony scholarship applications often require an application or redemption fee or request banking information.
- Student loan forgiveness scams – scammers ask for personal or financial information of victims to start the loan-forgiveness process.
Ways to avoid falling for back-to-school scams or other phishing attacks:
- Think before you share – Never share direct deposit details, credit card numbers, or personal information like your Social Security number on an unfamiliar website.
- Pause before you click – If anything seems unusual, do not click links or open attachments.
- Verify the request – If you receive an email from the University asking for urgent action, question its legitimacy. If you’re not sure, contact the appropriate office directly to verify the request.
- Report threats – ITS can investigate incidents and take action to prevent similar threats in the future. If you receive a phishing email, report it using the following instructions: https://drake.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2025/Portal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=17310
More information on how the scams work and how to help stop the scammers behind them is available on News & Alerts section of the ITS website: https://www.drake.edu/its/news/index.php?article=59928
Thank you for your help in keeping all our information and systems safe.
— Keren Fiorenza, ITS