All posts by Becca Widmer

For Students Archive

Student employment and professional development in one great opportunity

At a wage of $12 per hour, Drake Phonathon is hiring remote student ambassadors for the spring semester. Looking for on-campus employment that will develop the communication and interpersonal skills employers are looking for? We are looking for students to join our growing team at Phonathon. We offer amazing scheduling, flexibility, and a great work environment. This position is fully remote and allows students to work from home. With raises every semester, professional coaching, and eventual opportunities for leadership, we are looking for dedicated students who want to have an impact on our Bulldog community. To apply, please contact rea.clemons@ruffalonl.com.

— Becca Widmer, Director of Annual Giving

HR Information Archive

Find out if you qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program

In recent months, Drake HR has shared some information about updates to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. However, some people may still not have heard about it, or they are not aware of the recent changes made to the program. If you still have student loans, please check to see whether you qualify for this program—it has become easier to apply and the approval rates have increased dramatically since the program was modified last year.

In fact, a current faculty member just let us know that their application was approved and *poof* all their student loans were forgiven. Here is their experience with the process:

I applied for consolidation of my loans in November 2021 and also submitted my verification of employment history shortly thereafter. My loans had been previously held by Nelnet. Once the loan consolidation application was approved, my loans went into forbearance as my application was reviewed. I was initially denied in February because I had not been under a previously approved repayment plan; however, the application was then turned over to the Department of Education. I was then notified in March of this year that the loan was forgiven. So, from start to finish it was an almost 5 month process but definitely worth it!  -Current Drake Faculty Member

The Skinny: After you make 120 qualifying monthly payment for PSLF while working for a qualifying employer, all you need to do is submit the PSLF form to receive loan forgiveness. As a not-for-profit institution, Drake University is a qualifying employer. Even if you do not yet fully qualify, the PSLF website recommends that you still submit the form annually, so it will be easier when you do fully qualify.

Drake HR is here to help! Page 2 of the form consists of Section 3: Employer Information. This is the section Drake HR will complete for you. Send an email to drakehr@drake.edu and let us know you need it completed. If you send us your partially completed form, please omit your social security number—you never want to email that. If you have worked at a variety of qualifying employers over the course of your 120 monthly payments, you will need those employers to complete their own page 2 (Section 3) of the form.

Special Notice for the COVID-19 Emergency: To take advantage of a limited-time PSLF waiver during the COVID-19 national emergency, it is recommended that you submit this form for each qualifying employer you’ve had since October 2007, even if you had an ineligible loan type, repayment plan, or some other disqualifying factor. You must submit your application by Oct. 31, 2022. Learn more here.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

News & Achievements Archive

Drake Law donors generate $11.8 million in initial phase of comprehensive campaign

Drake University Law School announces that The Ones: Drake’s Campaign for the Brave & Bold has raised $11.8 million against the $20 million Law School goal. Gifts will enhance the Law School’s efforts to produce the next generation of outstanding Drake lawyers.

The Law School is celebrating several leadership gifts that will create new student scholarships, support clinical education, and establish an endowed professorship at the Law School.

“Thank you to the generous donors who have already contributed to the Law School through The Ones campaign,” said Drake Law Dean Jerry Anderson. “These resources are absolutely crucial to our ability to keep student debt down while continuing to offer the highest quality legal education in an ever-changing environment. Alumni support affirms the excellence of a Drake Law education.”

Leadership gifts to the Drake Law campaign so far include the following:

Sheldon (LW’75) and Terry Fleck (PH’74) have contributed $1 million to create the Sheldon T. and Terry K. Fleck Endowed Law Scholarship. The Fleck Scholar Program provides one renewable, full-tuition merit-based scholarship plus an annual stipend for an entering student each year. The Flecks have provided for two scholarships to be awarded in the inaugural year. In addition to the endowment, the Flecks intend to make annual contributions to fully fund this generous scholar program.

Karen Shaff, LW’79, and Steven Jayne, LW’78, have pledged $1 million to endow the Drake Law School Refugee Clinic. Through the Refugee Clinic, second- and third-year Drake Law students develop important lawyering skills while providing free legal services to individuals who are applying for asylum in the United States and other forms of humanitarian relief. Karen and Steve have previously endowed a scholarship fund at Drake Law.

Hon. Mark Wernick (LW’75) and Nancy Entwistle have made an estate gift commitment to endow the Law Opportunity scholarship fund, which provides scholarships to support students from underrepresented backgrounds.

A lead gift from McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC, has established an endowed faculty position, the Edmund J. Sease Faculty Research Scholar. This position will honor the contributions of Ed Sease, LA’64, LW’67, to the Law School’s Intellectual Property program. Mr. Sease practiced law for more than five decades with McKee, Voorhees & Sease, becoming one of the nation’s premier intellectual property attorneys. He has also served as a long-time adjunct professor at Drake Law School, and was instrumental in creating the Intellectual Property Law curriculum.

— Terri Howard, Law School

Campus Announcements Archive

Learn about African religion during your Friday lunch hour

For the next six Fridays (March 25–April 29), Professor Herbert Moyo, Drake’s Spring 2022 Principal Global-Scholar-in-Residence, sponsored by the Principal Center for Global Citizenship within the Office of Global Engagement, will be giving a series of presentations about religion in Africa, focusing especially on traditional African religion and African Christianities in southern Africa.

Among the topics to be covered are:

  • African cultural and religious worldviews in general (3/25),
  • Messianic African Christianities (4/1)
  • Healing in African Zionist churches (4/8)
  • Traditional healers and the ancestors (4/15)
  • Witchcraft (4/22)
  • Protestant Christianity (4/29)

Professor Herbert Moyo is associate professor of theology and religion at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. His research focuses on the philosophical analysis of religio-cultural practices among the Nguni in Southern Africa, including African religio-cultural practices, African Christianities, Indigenous African ritual practices, and the marriage between African indigenous religio-cultural practices and Christianities.

Each seminar will be held from 12–1 p.m. in Medbury Honors Lounge.

For more information, please contact Professor Herbert Moyo (moyoh@ukzn.ac.za) or Tim Knepper (tim.knepper@drake.edu).

— Annique Kiel, Global Engagment

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Employee Appreciation Month events: Drake Social and Walk the Dog

Human Resources and the Provost’s Office invite you to take a break and join in on the upcoming Employee Appreciation Month events. 

March 23: Provost’s Drake Social. The Provost’s Drake Socials have resumed! This month’s social will be held in Cowles Reading Room, beginning at 4 p.m. This is a family friendly event.  There will be snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, and water. If you would like to recognize a colleague for demonstrating our Core Values, please go to this Qualtrics page to provide information.  Everyone entered will be recognized via a scrolling PowerPoint and several will have their names drawn for prizes.

March 24: Walk the Dog. Join the Deputy Provost for Academic Affairs Renée Cramer, Associate Chief Information Technology Officer Keren Fiorenza, and Executive Director of Human Resources Maureen De Armond for a noon walk. We’ll meet on the sidewalk just southeast of Olmsted at noon and walk a Bulldog Mile together (weather permitting). Wear your walking shoes!

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Students Archive

Working Worldwide deadline April 1

Do you have plans after graduation? Interested in living and working abroad? Look no further than Working Worldwide, an opportunity for recent graduates to live and work in Kosovo for a year. Applications are due Friday, April 1. You can apply in Terra Dotta.

Additionally, we will be holding an information session on Wednesday, March 23, at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Click here for the meeting link.

At the information sessions, we will look at the placement opportunities and answer any questions you may have. If you are looking to expand your horizons, develop skills to be a competitive professional, and do something different after graduation, Working Worldwide is the program for you. If you have any questions, contact Nathan Jacobson (Nathan.jacobson@drake.edu), education abroad coordinator.

— Nathan Jacobson, Global Engagement

Campus Announcements Archive

Samantha Nordstrom named Title IX Coordinator

Drake welcomes Samantha Nordstrom to the position of Title IX Coordinator. Samantha brings to the role both experience and enthusiasm for civil rights law and the work of the Title IX office. Samantha earned her law degree from Drake Law School in 2018 and went on to clerk for the Iowa Court of Appeals before serving as a Civil Rights Specialist for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Please join us in welcoming Samantha back to Drake. For information about the Title IX office, the role of the Title IX Coordinator, and resources available to the campus community on issues of sex discrimination and misconduct, contact Samantha at samantha.nordstrom@drake.edu or visit the Title IX resource page. 

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Read the latest shout-outs

As part of Employee Appreciation Month, Human Resources is encouraging everyone to submit a shout-out for a faculty, staff, or student employee.  Simply write a sentence of appreciation for a colleague and submit it to Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu. Deadline to submit a shout-out is March 24.

Read the shout-outs submitted this week!

“A shout-out to the Drake Law School admission office team of Jill Costanzo, Chris Miller, and Brianna Leistikow: This group has done an amazing job of upholding our core values while navigating the challenges of a pandemic and staff shortages in our office over the past two years!”– Kara Blanchard

“A shout-out to Ashley Rasmussen: Ashley gives very clear and detailed information when I work with her.  She makes it easy for me to understand my piece of the puzzle in my role.” – Anonymous

“A shout-out to Nate Reagen: Nate always has a smile on his face and is easy to work with.  He is part of what makes Drake a great place to be.” – Anonymous

“A shout-out to Marlene Heuertz: Marlene is so easy to work with and is always helpful and friendly.  She also has a great sense of humor.” – Anonymous

“A shout-out to Linda Feiden: Everyone who knows Linda enjoys working with her.  She is an ever-smiling, positive face in all situations.  We are lucky to have her here at Drake.” – Anonymous

“A shout-out to Maureen De Armond: Maureen has been doing great things for Drake ever since she joined us this summer.  I can’t wait to see what great initiatives are in store for Drake in the future!” – Anonymous

“A shout-out to Heather Winslow: Heather really dives in and does great detailed work in payroll.  And she does it all with a smile.” – Anonymous

“A shout-out to Trevon Smith: Trevon is always so helpful and professional.  He is friendly and quick with his replies to my many, many inquires!  He is an exceptional addition to HR team.” – Susan Dittmer

“A shout-out to Kristi Longtin: Kristi has the most positive, friendly attitude!  She goes above and beyond working tirelessly on many projects, including assisting with faculty recruitment.  This is a big undertaking with a lot of moving parts.  She is so organized and efficient and handles it all brilliantly!” – Susan Dittmer

“A shout-out to Sara Hughes & Kris Magill: Sara & Kris recently stepped in last minute for a co-worker to assist with the live stream Q&A event with astronaut Raja Chari from the International Space Station.  Astronaut Raja is the husband of Holly Schaffter Chari, LW’02.  Just one of the many ways they demonstrate daily “All in this Together”.” – Susan Dittmer

“A shout-out to Emily Fleming: Emily started at Drake in March 2020, just as the pandemic hit and we were shutting down to work remotely.  She didn’t know her co-workers and learned her job completely in a remote setting.  I applaud her tenacity.  She is always friendly and willing to do whatever is needed.  I appreciate her organizational skills and attention to detail.  She is helpful to students, faculty, and staff.  She has become an integral part of our team.” – Susan Dittmer 

“A shout-out to Ashley Rasmussen: Ashley is always going above and beyond to make sure the faculty and staff get their questions answered. She has been diligent in her help for the Administrative Assistants and the Assistant Deans in the College of Arts and Sciences, even if it’s beyond her purview. She is a collaborative colleague, and she deeply cares about the experiences with training, onboarding, workload, and support for our staff. The college functions as well as it does thanks in part to Ashley’s support and hard work! Thank you!” – Anonymous

 “A shout-out to our Work Study friends in the Office of Student Financial Planning – Allison, Maggie, Maria and Emma: You guys are FABULOUS! Thank you for stepping in and learning new things to help out the Front Desk during busy packaging and awarding season. I appreciate all of you and your hard work that helps keep the OSFP running as smoothly as possible!” – Laney Guintard

“A shout-out to Chris Nickell: CPR Certification class was informative and enjoyable. 10/10 – would take the class again (In 2 years). Thank you for taking the time to teach the class!” – Laney Guintard

“A shout-out to the Office of Student Financial Planning Team – Kristi, Ryan, Michele, Chris, Brandi, Denise, Suman, Sheila, Merrie, and Matt: Relative to most of the team, it’s only been a short time since I started in the OSFP and everyone made the transition so much better than I could have hoped. I learn new things from each of you every week, and I love being a part of working together to overcome challenges and always looking for ways to improve the Financial Aid process for students and their families. This is an All-Star team who wants to set students up for success at Drake and beyond. You are appreciated and YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!” – Laney Guintard

“A shout-out to Scott Law, Kayla Bell, Maureen De Armond, Christine Marchand, Samantha Matt, Kristin Economos, Alanah Mitchell, Jennifer Harvey, Jazlin Coley, Sarah Derry, Marlene Heuertz, Erin Lee Schneider, Chris Nickell, Angela Shultz, Christine Urish and the Occupational Therapy students: They have all taken time out of their busy schedules to lead BUILD classes for faculty and staff this academic year.  Our offerings would not be as robust and informative without their expertise.  They truly exhibit a ‘Generosity of Spirit’!” – Linda Feiden

“A shout-out to Carla Herling for helping to organize additional Microsoft Teams training classes for faculty and staff.  We would not be able to offer these types of technical classes without her help. Thanks Carla!” – Linda Feiden

“A shout-out to Teresa Downs for her ‘Generosity of Spirit’ in taking time to sit down with me and help explain any technical questions I have.  Her teaching style is perfect, and she always does it with a smile.  Thank-you Teresa!” – Linda Feiden

“A shout-out to All Staff Council: Thank you for collaborating with HR on a number of projects and events this academic year.  Most recently – the GRIFO (BINGO) event for faculty and staff.  It was a huge success!  Although these events require extra work, in addition to your regular workload, you do it with “Joy” and “Generosity”.  We are lucky to have such quality individuals working at Drake!” – Linda Feiden

“A shout-out to the SPARC team: Thank you for your dedication in service to growing our grants portfolio and in supporting research compliance!” – Mary Pat Wohlford

“A shout-out to the faculty and staff who have written grants this year or who have received awards: Thank you for all you do to grow Drake’s extramural portfolio!” – Mary Pat Wohlford

“A shout-out to the OTD program faculty for their dedication to excellence in teaching and ongoing commitment to our students. What is more remarkable is their laser focus following the unexpected resignation of two of our faculty before the start of the spring semester. I am blessed to work with such a talented group of people!” – Leslie Jackson

“A shout-out to Teresa Downs: Teresa has a true gift and talent for instructing others. International admission credentials have an industry reputation of being daunting and complicated.  Afterall it is a big world.  But Teresa made this once ‘mysterious’ portion of admission credentialling much less intimidating to our newest admission processing team members.  She delivered the topic with a direct approach combining practicality and comfort.  Thus, our team not only has the knowledge but now also the confidence on how to dive into reviewing these abundant credential types from around the globe.  All in this Together.” – Amy Nichols

“A shout-out to Gerardo Rodriguez, Anthony Doss and Dale Purdy: Thank you for assisting me whenever or wherever it is needed. You have been a tremendous help through all our staff and supply shortages. It has not gone unnoticed. I appreciate all of it. Thank You!!!” – Marla Johnson

“A shout-out to Kyle Schura in Admissions for being my Slate go-to. I know Kyle is managing many projects but is always willing to provide timely customer service with a positive attitude!” – Amanda Martin

“A shout-out to Grace Wenzel in Admissions for volunteering her time on a selection committee in our office and going above and beyond to gather information. Always a joy to work with!” – Amanda Martin

“A shout-out to Renee Sedlacek Lee for putting on an innovative Changemakers event during the Global Citizen Forum. It was fun and inspiring!” – Amanda Martin

“A shout-out to Reb Ebel in FP&M for all of his courteous and timely help in our office move and the Sprout Garden move – Rob is amazing and brightens my day!” – Amanda Martin

“A shout-out to Karen Pomeroy: It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, but the work you do matters. Your dedication to your work is helping lead us to success. Thank you for all that you do, Karen!” – Kailee Springer

“A shout-out to Maddie Kovach: You have transitioned so well into the Drake community and into the CBPA family. We are fortunate to have an innovator like you working alongside us and I am so appreciative of all your efforts to catch up to speed in the middle of a semester. I’m looking forward to watching you grow in your new role!” – Kailee Springer

“A shout-out to Charitie Schaer: Even in your new role, you are excelling. Thank you for helping guide us through the awards ceremony this spring semester and ensuring our prospect students are well taken care of!” – Kailee Springer

Campus Announcements Archive

Race in Iowa: A traveling roundtable on issues, visions, and initiatives

A roundtable discussion on race will be held Thursday, March 24, from 1–3:30 p.m. at the Hearst Center for the Arts located at 304 W Seerley Blvd, Cedar Falls, Iowa. The discussion is part of the traveling exhibition Our Town: Reclaiming the Narrative that goes to different places throughout Iowa and invites discussion of local and national issues and visions on race. The roundtable will be hosted by Joy Briscoe, executive director of Black Leadership; Cheryl Dong, assistant professor of history, UNI; Matthew Gilbert, Esq., chair economic development, NAACP; and Rocki (Joshalyn) Johnson, administrator and host of North Side Updated. The event will be moderated by Lenore Metrick-Chen, associate professor, Drake University.

— Lenore Metrick-Chen, Associate Professor of Art History

Campus Announcements Archive

Ambassador’s Book Club ‘China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now’

Drake University’s Ambassador-in-Residence, Terry Branstad, will be hosting the Ambassador’s Book Club on Friday, May 6. The Ambassador has chosen China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now by David Shambaugh as the book to be discussed. All Drake students, faculty, and staff are welcome. Alumni are encouraged to attend as well. To register, please email ambassador@drake.edu expressing your intention to attend. Please direct any questions, comments, or concerns to luke.clausen@drake.edu.

Below is a description of the book. To make a one-on-one appointment with the Ambassador or request him to attend or speak at a Drake event, class, or meeting, visit: drake.edu/branstad/.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China over 70 years ago, five paramount leaders have shaped the fates and fortunes of the nation and the ruling Chinese Communist Party: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping. Under their leaderships, China has undergone an extraordinary transformation from an undeveloped and insular country to a comprehensive world power.

In this definitive study, renowned Sinologist David Shambaugh offers a refreshing account of China’s dramatic post-revolutionary history through the prism of those who ruled it. Exploring the persona, formative socialization, psychology, and professional experiences of each leader, Shambaugh shows how their differing leadership styles and tactics of rule shaped China domestically and internationally: Mao was a populist tyrant, Deng a pragmatic Leninist, Jiang a bureaucratic politician, Hu a technocratic apparatchik, and Xi a modern emperor. Covering the full scope of these leaders’ personalities and power, this is an illuminating guide to China’s modern history and understanding how China has become the superpower of today.

— Luke Clausen, JO, AS