All posts by Taylor Johnson

Campus Announcements Archive

Climate Change, the Environment, and Constitutions: 2024 Drake Constitutional Law Center Symposium

The Drake Constitutional Law Center will host the 2024 Constitutional Law Symposium on Saturday, April 13, from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. The program will be delivered in Cartwright Hall, room 213, or virtually via Zoom. The annual Constitutional Law Symposium invites scholars, judges, and lawyers from across the country to discuss a timely constitutional issue. This year, speakers will focus on an array of constitutional and environmental issues. Speakers include:

Jerry Anderson, Dean and Richard M. and Anita Calkins Distinguished Professor of Law, Drake Law School

Abre’ Conner, Lecturer, UC-Davis and Director, Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, NAACP

Jonathan H. Adler, Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law and Director, Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law, Case Western Reserve School of Law

Erin Daly, Professor of Law and Director, Dignity Rights Clinic, Widener University Delaware Law School

James Salzman, Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at the Bren School and UCLA Law School

The symposium is approved for 4 hours of Iowa Continuing Legal Education credit and is open to the public. Register online here.

The proceedings are published in an upcoming issue of the Drake Law Review. Registrants may pre-order a copy for $12.

This year’s Constitutional Law Symposium is dedicated to the tenure of Dean Jerry Anderson, who served as dean of Drake Law School for the past eight years. Dean Anderson will continue to serve students as a member of the faculty.

— Taylor Johnson, Drake Law School

Campus Announcements Archive

Food security events this April

The first-year Changemaker Scholars at Drake are putting on a series of events this Spring called “SNAP out of Food Insecurity.”

Stop by tabling sessions to get information, partake in trivia and get a treat on April 16 from 1–3 p.m. or April 18 from 9–10:30 a.m.

Attend their session at the Zimpleman Business for Good Summit on April 19 from 10:45–11:45 a.m. in Upper Olmsted. Guest panelists will be speaking about food insecurity and how it affects college students, and sharing about resources and ways to get involved.  Register for the Business for Good Summit here. (You don’t have to be able to attend the whole summit in order to attend the session).

And contribute to their food drive, both in person and virtual. Boxes for canned foods and hygiene items will be placed around various buildings on campus, or people can donate to the virtual food drive at justgiving.com/page/snapoutoffoodinsecurity.

— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Guidelines for year-end processing of financial transactions

With the University’s fiscal year-end (June 30, 2024) approaching, below are recommended guidelines for efficient and effective year-end processing of financial transactions. View full guidelines with year-end processing timeline here.

Accounting for departmental expenses:

In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, Drake is required to report transactions in the proper fiscal period. For that reason, expenses are recorded in the period when goods are received and/or services are rendered. In short, items expensed to the FY24 budget will need to be received before the ‘end of the day’ on June 30, 2024. Factors such as budget allocation, invoice receipt, or payment issuance would not impact the application of expenses within a fiscal period.

Exceptions to this general rule apply when a benefit of service or receipt of an item extends into multiple fiscal years. In such cases, the following guidelines will be applied.

  • Expenses less than $5,000: will be charged against the fiscal year in which the majority of the expense will be incurred. (For example, if a subscription is purchased for $3,000 and covers the period of 7/1/23 through 12/31/24, the expense would be charged to FY24 because 12 months are in FY24 and only 6 months are in FY25).
  • Expenses greater than or equal to $5,000: will be split into the fiscal years according to the percentage of benefit received during each fiscal period. (For example, if a subscription is purchased for $10,000 and covers a period of 7/1/23 to 6/30/25, $5,000 would be charged to FY24 since 12 months are for FY24 and $5,000 charged to FY25 because the remaining 12 months is in the following fiscal year).

The University’s guidelines for year-end purchases are subject to external audit. As you make purchases during this period leading up to and overlapping our fiscal year-end, it is important to note when the goods or services were received so they are expensed according to reporting requirements. If the timing of receipt is not clearly noted on the invoice, it would be beneficial to help call the receipt date to the attention of accounting by clearly noting the appropriate fiscal year, based on the above guidelines, in the business description in Finance Self Service.

Please review the notice for processing year-end transactions through the Finance SelfService tool as well as a timeline for processing year-end transactions.

Please contact Jeni Baugher at x4509 or Jenifer.Baugher@drake.edu with any questions you might have.

Campus Announcements Archive

2024 Harkin Retirement Security Symposium: Navigating the Journey to Financial Wellness

Whether you’re budgeting for the present or planning for your retirement, managing your finances can be an overwhelming task. That’s why The Harkin Institute chose “Navigating the Journey to Financial Wellness” as the theme for this year’s Harkin Retirement Security Symposium. The event will bring together advocacy and community organizations, government agencies, and private companies and their foundations that work on financial wellness and retirement security. The symposium will provide a forum to discuss the most pressing challenges and find collaborative opportunities to address documented financial wellness needs and their relationship to retirement security, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations.

WHAT: 2024 Harkin Retirement Security Symposium: Navigating the Journey to Financial Wellness

WHEN: Tuesday, April 30, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.

WHERE: Olmstead Center at Drake University (2875 University Ave., Des Moines, IA 5031)

RSVP: Registration is free for Drake students, staff, and faculty! The event will also be livestreamed on The Harkin Institute’s YouTube channel.

For more information on the 2024 Harkin Retirement Security Symposium, click here.

— Kathryn Kuckelman, The Harkin Institute

Campus Announcements Archive

Register for inaugural Zimpleman 2024 Business for Good Summit

Join influential thought leaders and industry pioneers as they showcase how business can be a force for good in our rapidly evolving world.

Drake’s first annual Zimpleman Business for Good Summit features keynote speaker David Reiling, Sunrise Banks CEO and President, as part of the Archie Boe Lecture Series, and offers the opportunity to connect with other change agents shaping our economy while championing values of sustainability and inclusion within their communities.

What: Zimpleman Business for Good Summit

When: Friday, April 19, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where: Olmsted Center at Drake University (2875 University Ave., Des Moines, IA 50311)

RSVP: The summit is free and open to the public, but advanced registration is required. Visit businessforgood.eventbrite.com to register now.

The Archie Boe Lecture Series is proudly presented by the Kelley Center for Insurance Innovation at Drake University.

Campus Announcements Archive

Iowa Character Awards nominations due May 1

Do you know an Iowan who is a good role model and deserves to be recognized for their good character? The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Iowa Character Awards! The Iowa Character Awards acknowledges individuals and organizations who show good character in the following categories:

  • Citizen of Character
  • Educator of Character
  • School of Character
  • Student Organization of Character
  • Business/Organization of Character
  • Athletic Team or Organization of Character
  • Community of Character

Nominations will be accepted through May 1, 2024. All nominees are recognized. Recipients are celebrated at the Iowa Character Awards Dinner, during a one-hour prime-time special, and at a hometown event of their choosing.

Learn more and get started on your nomination materials at IowaCharacterAwards.org. Additional nomination information, award descriptions, and criteria are also available online.

Megan Wesselink, The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center

For Students Archive

Learn more about study abroad and DU Spain at info session April 19

Students who have considered studying abroad during their time at Drake are invited to attend an information session hosted on April 19 in the Cowles Library fish bowl (LIB 201). The first 30 minutes (10–10:30 a.m.) will be general information about the process, timeline, and financial aspects of studying abroad, and the last 30 minutes (10:30–11 a.m.) will be an in-depth look at our incredible DU Spain program offered in Spring 2025. We look forward to meeting you and helping make your study abroad dreams a reality.

— Chelsea Funk, Global Engagment