All posts by Theresa Howard

Campus Announcements Archive

Law School to host webinar series on systemic racism in America

The Law School will host a fall webinar series to address a broad array of policies and practices that perpetuate racial inequities in American society—from racial profiling to Afrocentric facial feature bias and environmental harms. This series of live-streamed talks, open to law students, lawyers, and the larger community, features Drake Law faculty and guests sharing their expertise about underlying structures that reinforce racism and oppression in our society.

“Working to dismantle systematic racism is a moral and ethical imperative for lawyers,” says Maura Strassberg, professor of law at Drake Law School and organizer of the lecture series. “In subtle and systematic ways, our existing structures of law operate to perpetuate inequality and oppression. Exposing the ways in which this occurs is the first step toward both acknowledging the systematic way racism has been worked into American society and recognizing what is required to truly achieve our fundamental commitments to equality, liberty, and democratic governance.”

All lectures will be held on Friday afternoons at 1 p.m. CST and are free and open to the public. One hour of Iowa Continuing Legal Education credit has been approved for each lecture. For more information or to register visit https://bit.ly/3lBJnKb.

Webinar schedule:

Friday, Sept. 4: Unbiased Policing and Anti-racial Profiling Legislation
Russell Lovell and David Walker, Professors emeriti, Drake Law School

Friday, Sept. 11: Over-representation of Minority Children in the Child Welfare System
Jami Hagemeier, interim director of the Joan and Lyle Middleton Center for Children’s Rights, and associate clinical professor, Drake Law School

Friday, Sept. 25: The #MeToo Movement and Black Feminism: How the Mainstream White Feminist Movement Failed Black Women and Where We Go from Here
Julia Steggerda-Corey, director of the Compliance and Risk Management Program at Drake Law School; and Victoria Millet, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Associate, University of Minnesota

Friday, Oct. 9: Why Afrocentric Facial Feature Bias is a Pernicious Form of Racism
Mark W. Bennett, director, Drake Law Institute for Justice Reform and Innovation, and retired U.S. district judge, Northern District of Iowa

Friday, Oct. 16: The U.S. Supreme Court and Systemic Racism
Mark Kende, director, Drake Constitutional Law Center, and James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law

Friday, Oct. 23: Fair Cross-Section Jury Trial Reform
Russell Lovell and David Walker

Friday, Nov. 6: Environmental Justice
Jerry Anderson, dean, Drake Law School, and the Richard M. and Anita Calkins Distinguished Professor of Law.

Friday, Nov. 13: Institutional Racism and the Food We Eat
Jennifer Zwagerman, director, Drake Agricultural Law Center

Campus Announcements Archive

Counseling Center support groups

The Counseling Center is currently hosting online support groups. The groups are an open format, meaning you can attend as needed.

Together, Not Alone
Starts Monday, Aug. 31, 4 p.m.–5 p.m.
A weekly mental health support group where students can talk about their resources and struggles without judgement. To participate, fill out the registration form, and we will send you the meeting details.

There’s a First Time for Everything
Starts Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 4 p.m.
A weekly first-year support group focused on skill building and connecting other students who are facing challenges adjusting to college. To participate, fill out the registration form, and we will send you the meeting details.

Wellness Wednesday 
Each Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. join the counseling center for a self-care practice that will focus on mindfulness and caring for the mind, body, and spirit. Facilitated by Julie Rice, Counseling Center intern and registered yoga teacher and mindfulness expert. To participate, fill out the registration form, and we will send you the meeting details.

— Danielle Green, Health Center

News & Achievements Archive

CPHS assists with COVID-19 testing

As part of Drake University’s plan to safely move students back to campus for the Fall 2020 semester, all students were tested for COVID-19. While that was commonplace among colleges, Drake was unique in having the involvement of an engaged health professional college that took on the task of organizing the testing and collecting the samples. The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (CPHS) stepped up to organize and carry out the tests for the students moving into their residence halls. Spearheaded by CPHS Clinical Sciences Department Chair Erik Maki, testing took place at designated sites on campus during the move-in period. It was no small task filling 117 volunteer slots, but the Drake community came together. A wide range of volunteers participated, from first-year health sciences students who signed up for shifts after moving into their residence halls earlier that week, to students in their final year of the PharmD program. Faculty and staff within CPHS and across the University volunteered as well.

Read more

— Kaylyn Maher, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

For Students Archive

Audition for Fermata the Blue

Drake’s one and only co-ed and competitive a cappella group Fermata the Blue is conducting virtual auditions this year through Sept. 9. Every Drake student, whether virtual or on-campus, is eligible to audition and be a part of this year’s group.

For your audition, just submit a 30-second video of you singing your favorite song a cappella. Easy peasy. Need some inspiration? Check out our Instagram (@drakefermatatheblue) or Facebook at “Fermata the Blue” for audition examples.

Ready to go? You can access the audition form at tinyurl.com/fermatatheblue2020 and email drakefermatatheblue@gmail.com with any questions along the way. Happy singing!

— Maddie Topliff, JO, AS

For Students Archive

Apply today: The Adams Leadership Institute

Drake students: Build your personal habits and leadership skills this year through the Adams Leadership Institute.

What is it?
The Donald V. Adams Leadership Institute (DVALI) is a leadership training program offered to undergraduate students at Drake University. Students admitted to the Institute are given access to personalized leadership training, co-curricular skill development, and career preparation that enhance their personal, academic, and professional lives. All students admitted to the Institute complete a three-part leadership training series, designed to equip students with self-awareness, communication, and perspective-taking skills that are immediately applicable to their personal relationships, academic coursework, campus activities, and professional goals. This co-curricular leadership opportunity is available to students from all academic disciplines and majors at no additional cost thanks to the generous support of Drake alumni and friends of Dr. Donald V. Adams, Professor Emeritus. A full description of the DVALI leadership training series can be found at drake.edu/leadershipinstitute. All three trainings meet weekly each semester and are offered every fall and spring.

How do I apply?
All first and second year Drake students are eligible to apply online at bit.ly/DVALI20 by Sept. 4. Students accepted into the Donald V. Adams Leadership Institute will be notified by Sept. 15, 2020, with the opportunity to start the DVALI training series as early as the fall 2020 semester.

Want to learn more?
Visit drake.edu/leadershipinstitute, or register here to attend a virtual information session to learn more:

  • Monday, Aug. 31 (4 or 4:30 p.m.)
  • Tuesday, Sept. 1 (11 or 11:30 a.m.)
  • Wednesday, Sept. 2 (3 or 3:30 p.m.)
  • Thursday, Sept. 3 (10 or 10:30 a.m.)
  • Friday, Sept. 4 (1 or 1:30pm)

All info sessions will be located on Zoom (online log-in instructions will be emailed to you).

Questions?
Contact Kristin Economos, director of student leadership programs, at kristin.economos@drake.edu.

— Kristin Economos, Office of Student Involvement and Leadership

News & Achievements Archive

University Advancement receives fundraising award

The Drake University Advancement (UA) office received the 2020 National CASE Educational Fundraising Award.

The CASE award is based on the University’s fundraising numbers for the Volunteer Support for Education (VSE) survey, which measures annual cash flow from philanthropy. Drake’s VSE total was more than $21.5 million in FY20 and $29.2 million in FY19.

In FY20, UA also celebrated:

  • Raising more than $32.3 million in new gifts, pledges, and documented estate gifts, surpassing the year’s goal of $25 million.
  • Exceeding the year’s goal for The Drake Fund with a final total of $3.71 million.
  • Quickly executing a successful campaign for the Student Emergency Fund, raising nearly $47,000 to help students with immediate needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

UA is grateful to its campus partners for their role in the University’s fundraising success and to all those who made a gift in support of the University in FY20.

— Elizabeth Kozor, University Advancement

Campus Announcements Archive

GroupX in-person classes resume

In-person GroupX classes started Sunday, Aug. 30. Sign-up on the Drake Rec app to reserve a spot.

Don’t have the app? Download the Drake Rec app from the app store for all things GroupX, club and intramural sports.

Once you download the app, log into your account using your Drake email and password. Or, if you are new to the app, click on the “Create Account” tab in the upper right corner. Use your Drake email address to launch your new account.

To register for a class, click on the “Network” tab, click “Group Fitness,” and finally click on the class you want to join, scroll to the bottom and hit join session. For questions, email wellness@drake.edu.

— Drake Wellness

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

As classes resume, so do cyber-attacks 

With a few exceptions, summer brought relatively few cyber-attacks and scams aimed at colleges and universities. As the fall semester starts, these attacks are quickly resuming, and both in-person and remote learning are prime targets. Preventing these attacks will help keep this semester as smooth and stress-free as possible.

The information security team has emphasized some of these items over the past few years, and they are still effective at preventing data and identity theft, extortion threats, and malware infections.

  • Be attentive for phishing. These emails spoof familiar brands and people we know, and convince us to open unfamiliar websites or attachments. When reading email, slow down and look at the sender’s name and email address, and hover over any links to see where they go before clicking.
  • Shop with a credit card. Credit cards provide greater fraud protection over debit cards, and add an extra layer between the transaction and your bank account. If you can, use one card for online shopping and a different card for in-person transactions.
  • Save or print order confirmations. Keeping order documentation allows you to respond quickly to any fraud, win payment or order disputes with the seller or payment card company, follow any return policies and procedures, and have seller contact information.
  • Keep a clean machine. Use modern anti-virus products and a firewall on your personal devices and network. Routinely check for and install operating system and app updates to make sure all needed security patches are applied.

Drake is a prominent target for phishing, fraud, and other types of attacks. In fact, most email messages sent to Drake faculty, staff, and students are malicious. ITS blocks as much as possible, but some attacks will get past our defenses. Everyone is responsible for detecting and reporting possible information security incidents. For more information, see the Data Breach & Computer Incident Response (FAQ) and Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).

ITS will continue to simulate phishing and assign training to those most at risk. If you’d like to discuss any information security issues, please feel free to reach out to me directly, or email informationsecurity@drake.edu.

— Peter Lundstedt, ITS