All posts by Kathryn Kuckelman

Campus Announcements Archive

Spring 2024 Sussman Lecture: Pain and Politics in the Heart of America with Dr. Jennifer Silva

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)

YouTube Live Stream on The Harkin Institute’s YouTube Channel

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.

Click here to register

— Kathryn Kuckelman, Harkin Institute

Campus Announcements Archive

Constitutional Law event: Distinguished Lecture Series

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.

Thursday, March 21, 2024
3 p.m.
Cartwright Hall, Room 213 (in-person)
Cartwright Hall, Room 206 (live stream)

Ronald Krotoszynski, John S. Stone Chairholder of Law and Director of Faculty Research, University of Alabama School of Law. Read his bio here.

Title: “Free Speech as Civic Structure: A Comparative Analysis of How Courts and Culture Shape the Freedom of Speech”

Free to attend but you must register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-distinguished-lecture-series-drake-constitutional-law-center-tickets-790499714927

— Dawn Brown, Law School

For Students Archive

The Harkin Institute D.C. Experience Scholarship applications now open

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.

Click here to learn more and apply!

— Kathryn Kuckelman, Harkin Institute

For Students Archive

Introducing the new Green Grad Program

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.

—Hannah Remke, Sustainability Coordinator 

Campus Announcements Archive

The Writing Center is open and ready to assist students

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).

HR Information Archive

Nominations due March 1 for Levitt Distinguished Community Service and Employee Excellence awards

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.

— Linda Feiden, HR

For Staff Archive

There’s still time to use your Community Service Leave

We are grateful to everyone who braved the snow and helped with Meals From The Heartland packaging on Jan. 17. You, too, can use your Community Service Leave and be #rockinthehairnet.

There is still time to use your Community Service Leave benefit this fiscal year.

There are so many opportunities to utilize your 8 hours of Community Service Leave before the end of the fiscal year. Community service leave can be used for:

  • Volunteer or service work for non-profit community service organizations;
  • Volunteer work at a school, including the school your children or grandchildren attend (including field trips, events and school-related projects);
  • Participation in a Drake-sponsored community service activity;
  • Blood, bone marrow, and organ donation;
  • Disaster relief and emergency volunteer activities

If you need guidance in finding an organization or event, the Office of Community Engaged Learning has an online platform, DUgood, to connect you with partners in Des Moines and beyond. Need help creating a DUgood profile, logging hours and accessing data. Register now for the March 19 DUgood Basics BUILD session.

Let’s make the most of this benefit, which strengthens ourselves and our communities.

— Elissa Johnson, On behalf of All Staff Council

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Contracting resources and programs available this spring

Who can sign University contracts? What are important things to look out for when reviewing contracts? When are insurance provisions required in contracts? Where should we send completed contracts?

These questions can be answered by consulting the contracting resources section of the Drake University Risk and Insurance office web page. Sign up now for an overview of these resources and an opportunity to ask questions about the contracting process at Drake. Virtual (TEAMS) sessions are planned as follows:

Monday, March 18, from 2–2:45 p.m.

Thursday, March 21, from 11–11:45 a.m.

Please send an e-mail to ducontracts@drake.edu to register for one of the above listed sessions.

In addition, for a deeper dive into contracting principles, we are offering an on-demand online training program. If you would like to view that program, please e-mail ducontracts@drake.edu to request access information.

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer