Later this week the All In 24 Hour Giving Challenge will launch for its 11th year. Starting Thursday, March 7, at noon members of the Drake Community will come together to show their support and appreciation for this exceptional University.
All In is a beloved tradition full of fun content, connection, and pride for Drake. Visit https://all-in.drake.edu/ to follow along during the 24 hours and see how much we can accomplish together with this critically important philanthropic tradition!
The Spring 2024 Progress Survey is live in Starfish. Faculty with high enrollment of first-year, second-year, and transfer students were invited via email to provide positive and constructive feedback to students.
There are five tracking items and instructors have the ability to make comments that are visible to students:
· You Are Off to a Strong Start Kudos
· Attendance Concern Flag
· Low Test Grade Flag
· Missing/Late Assignments Flag
· Tutoring Referral
The Progress Survey will be open until Friday, March 8. Instructors can manually raise flags at any point in the semester.
Wellness isn’t just mental (emotional) health—it’s also about the physical, intellectual, occupational (financial), spiritual, and social dimensions.
Fresh Check Day is a campus-wide mental health fair held Feb. 29 from 12–2 p.m. in Olmsted. Fresh Check Day is unique from more traditional programs around mental health in that it combines a fun, fair-like atmosphere with constructive conversation around mental health and wellness and suicide prevention. It also helps students get connected with important campus resources. There will be interactive booths hosted by campus offices and student organizations combined with music, games, prizes, giveaways, and tacos. Some of the main goals are to help students understand that they are not alone in what they may be struggling with, that Drake cares about campus-wide mental health, and that there are resources available to help.
One staple booth at Fresh Check Day events is Nine out of Ten. The Jordan Porco Foundation (who coordinates Fresh Check Day nationally) explains, “One in ten college students contemplates suicide. That means that at any given time, nine out of ten students have the opportunity to help that one who is struggling (if they are aware of the warning signs and resources).
We’d love to see you in Olmsted on Feb. 29 (Leap Day) from 12 – 2 p.m. at Fresh Check Day, where you can find resources to support your own wellness and learn more about helping your fellow Bulldogs.
— Laura Shell, Academic Excellence and Student Success
Judo Have you ever wanted to master a martial art? Now’s your chance! Scott Law will be teaching a four-week session of Judo starting Feb. 21 and ending March 20.
Glow Up the Night HIIT and yoga party Do you want to glow up the night? We’ve got you covered. We’re breaking out the blacklights, glow paint, and glow sticks on March 1 for a Glow Up the Night HIIT and yoga party. You will also receive a Drake Wellness T-shirt. Sign up for these events and our regularly scheduled classes using the Drake Rec app and don’t forget to invite your friends.
The Harkin Institute is excited to announce this Spring’s Sussman Lecture, “Pain and Politics in the Heart of America” with Dr. Jennifer Silva. Dr. Silva will discuss the economic, social, and cultural challenges currently facing America’s working class and how those challenges have impacted the ability of the working class to achieve the American Dream. Dr. Silva has written two books surrounding these topics, Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty and We’re Still Here: Pain and Politics in the Heart of America. In Coming Up Short, Dr. Silva conducted one hundred interviews with working class residents in two towns-Lowell, Massachusetts, and Richmond, Virginia, and shed light on their experience of heightened economic insecurity, deepening inequality, and uncertainty about marriage and family. In We’re Still Here, Dr. Silva conducted more than a hundred interviews of Black, white, and Latino working-class residents of a declining coal town in Pennsylvania to examine the civic and political disengagement of working-class people.
Date: March 6, 2024
Time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. CT
Location: Tom and Ruth Harkin Center (2800 University Ave., Des Moines, IA 50311)
Registration: This event is free and open to the public but registration via Eventbrite is required.
Accomodations: American Sign Language (ASL) and Live Captioning (CART) will be provided for both in person and virtual attendees. Additional accomodation requests can be made by emailing harkininstitute@drake.edu.
The Constitutional Law Center’s Distinguished Lecture Series brings to campus the nation’s leading constitutional scholars to engage students and faculty on the important issues of the day. Speakers deliver a formal lecture, teach a class, and meet with students in informal settings.
Applications are now open for The Harkin Institute D.C. Experience Scholarship and the Robert J. Waters and Patricia J. Beneke Endowed Washington, D.C. Experience Scholarship.
Our scholarships help cover the costs of housing and travel expenses for those completing an internship in Washington, D.C.
Haven’t secured an internship yet? No problem. You can still apply for our scholarship while searching.
Sign up to be a part of Drake’s new Green Grad program. The program aims to incentivize and provide recognition to students who advocate for sustainability on campus. It involves students tracking sustainable actions and reporting them, with the goal of achieving 10 sustainability points. The point scale can be found on the sustainability website, with instructions on how to report points. Participating in this program will promote engagement in sustainability research, education, service learning, and events.
Green graduates will receive a certificate and have their names displayed on the sustainability website. If you are interested in being a Spring 2024 Green Grad, please fill out the intent form and submit all points by May 3. More information and all forms can be found here.
Email hannah.remke@drake.edu with any questions and follow drakeu.sustainability on Instagram to stay updated on new initiatives.
WHAT WE DO: The Writing Center’s trained peer tutors advise and assist students at any stage of the writing process:
Understanding instructions/prompts
Generating ideas and ways to develop ideas
Outlining and organizing
Writing, expanding, revising, and/or copyediting a draft
We are a free service for all Drake students, including graduate students and those in professional programs.
HOW TO SIGN UP TO VISIT: Please go to https://library.drake.edu/writing-center/ to book an appointment with a tutor—instructions for booking and visiting are available on the site as well. Appointments are approximately 30 minutes, and students can sign up for more than one session if they wish. They may also request that a tutor keep a regular time slot available for them if they would like to come in each week.
WHERE WE ARE: Reminder: the Writing Center has moved! We are still on the lower level of Cowles Library—please follow signs to find our new, larger, more comfortable space. We offer hours daily, from mornings to late afternoon/evening (including weekends). Students with health concerns can request an appointment on Zoom.
FOR FACULTY AND STAFF: If you refer a student to the workshop or require all students to visit, please let us know via email (megan.brown@drake.edu). Ask students to bring their assignment prompt/instructions to the Writing Center, as well as any writing they have done so far. When students are referred, or required, to visit, the tutor will email you to let you know that your student has attended and briefly describe what work was done. When students attend on their own, we do not inform professors unless they specifically ask us to do so.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS please contact Prof. Megan Brown, Director of Writing (megan.brown@drake.edu).
All Drake faculty and staff are invited and encouraged to nominate a colleague for the 2024 Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service and Employee Excellence Awards.
The Employee Excellence Award is presented to a staff member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. The Distinguished Community Service Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff to the Drake community. The criteria to be eligible for each of these awards can be found here.
To nominate a colleague, submit a letter of nomination to Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent through campus mail or electronically to drakehr@drake.edu. The subject line should read “Madelyn M. Levitt Award Nomination”. The letter should detail specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria. Additional letters of support are not necessary. Nominations are due to Human Resources by Friday, March 1.
For additional information, please contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.
