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

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

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

Drake is hosting the Blue Oval Showcase on Saturday, Aug. 29. As part of the event, there will be a 1-mile road race commencing on Painted Street. The route will travel north on 25^th St. to Forest Ave. and then head west on Forest Ave. to Drake Stadium. Carpenter Ave. will be closed for parking and vehicular traffic starting at 2 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, until 12 p.m. Please expect partial road closures along the race route during the morning. 

— Scott Law, Public Safety & Operational Services

ITS is making a required certificate update to the Drake Single Sign-On (SSO) system beginning on Tuesday, Aug 25, at 10 p.m. As a result, between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday, myDrake, myDUSIS, Blackboard Learn, the IT/Facilities service portal, and other applications that use Drake’s SSO functionality will be unavailable. For a complete list of affected applications please see  Single Sign On (SSO) and Drake applications (FAQ) .

We appreciate your patience while we perform this necessary work. If you continue to have any issues after the planned maintenance window, please visit service.drake.edu/its or contact the Support Center at 515–271–3001 to report your issue.

— Carla Herling, ITS

Cowles Library will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, through Friday, Aug. 28, for contact-free materials pickup only.

The library will reopen to the campus community on Aug. 31 at 8 a.m. For more information about the library’s Fall semester hours, go to: library.drake.edu/about-us/hours/.

Thank you for your patience as we work to safely welcome everyone back to the library. We look forward to seeing you soon!

— Leslie Noble, Cowles Library

Drake has revised its Sexual Harassment Policy (formerly the Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Policy) and the Code of Student Conduct to bring the University into compliance with new Title IX regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Education in May. Members of the Drake community are encouraged to review and comment on these policy revisions by Aug. 24, 2020, and to watch for upcoming updates about a new online Title IX training course.

— Jessica Morgan-Tate, Title IX Coordinator/Equity and Inclusion Policy Specialist

Drake is enthusiastic to introduce our first-ever Sustainability Coordinator Sophia Siegel. Sophia recently graduated from Drake in May with a degree in environmental sustainability and resilience. As the Sustainability Coordinator, her role will be to coordinate and support all projects and initiatives relating to sustainability at Drake. This includes coordinating and promoting activities and actions that incorporate social, environmental, and economic sustainability into existing and future planning and operations. She is looking forward to leading and supporting the University’s deepening commitment to sustainability by collaborating with faculty, staff, and students.

Drake has renewed its membership in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to further campus efforts toward building a thriving, equitable, and ecologically just world. AASHE is a non-profit 501(c)(3) membership organization that empowers higher education faculty, administrators, staff, and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. Through membership in AASHE, Drake will receive continued support in advancing its sustainability initiatives throughout the institution and in the community. You can view a list of AASHE’s 900+ members.

AASHE enables higher education institutions to meet their sustainability goals by providing specialized resources, professional development, and a network of peer support and knowledge sharing. We invite and strongly encourage students, faculty, and staff to create an AASHE account. Membership extends to every individual at our institution, so the entire campus community can take advantage of member benefits.

Below are more details about AASHE’s member benefits, services, and programs:

Individual Member Accounts
To access member-only pages on AASHE’s website and take advantage of member benefits, individuals must first create their own account. To create an individual account, go to the register page and complete a user profile using your campus email address. After you receive an email with your password, go to the login page, enter your email address (username) and new password, and you will have access to the entirety of online resources.

If you have any questions about AASHE or our benefits as a member, email sophia.siegel@drake.edu. Again, every individual on our campus can take advantage of these membership benefits from AASHE, so be sure to set up an account and get started today.

AASHE e-Newsletters
We encourage everybody to subscribe to AASHE’s e-Newsletters. AASHE Bulletin is a weekly publication that delivers the latest in campus sustainability news, resources, opportunities, events, and jobs and internships. AASHE Announcements is a monthly publication that highlights news, events and important information about AASHE and its members. STARS Update is a periodic publication designed to keep participants up-to-date on the latest STARS technical developments, publications, deadlines, tips and tools.

Online Resources
AASHE’s Campus Sustainability Hub is an online resource library that provides access to thousands of valuable resources for campus sustainability practitioners, enabling AASHE members to share and learn about all aspects of sustainability in higher education. Resources are organized by sustainability topic (e.g., curriculum, public engagement, energy, investment) and content type (e.g., academic program, case study, conference presentation, photography).

Professional Development
AASHE presents or co-sponsors workshops and webinars throughout the year, as well as an annual conference that serves as the largest stage in North America for higher education sustainability practitioners to take advantage of face-to-face networking in a collaborative environment. These events offer opportunities to connect with our colleagues at regional, national, and international levels to share resources. As members, we receive discounts on registration for all AASHE events. Check this listing for upcoming events.

Product and Service Discounts
AASHE business and nonprofit members offer exclusive product and service discounts for institutional members.

Publicity and Recognition
We can submit news, opportunities, resources, events, and job postings to the AASHE Bulletin (be sure to read the submission guidelines first). The Bulletin informs more than 9,000 subscribers in the campus sustainability community.

Professional Awards
Our campus can submit applications for any of the AASHE Sustainability Awards, in the categories of Campus Sustainability Achievement, Campus Sustainability Research, and Student Sustainability Leadership.

Campus Sustainability Perspectives Blog
AASHE’s Campus Sustainability Perspectives blog features opinions and reports by staff and guests related to campus sustainability. You can read the blog and comment on posts. You can also reach out to marketing@aashe.org if you are interested in being a guest blogger.

AASHE Member Logo
We can post the AASHE Member Logo on our website to emphasize our commitment to sustainability. The logo may also be used on any signage, reports, brochures, and publicity or display materials. Be sure to read the usage guidelines before publishing.

Governance, Councils, Committees
Anyone from our campus is welcome to submit for consideration to serve on AASHE’s Board of Directors, Advisory Council, STARS Steering Committee or STARS Technical Advisors.

— Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning and Management

On Saturday, Aug. 15, our Panopto Cloud infrastructure will be undergoing maintenance to improve ongoing performance. As a result, Panopto will be unavailable between 8 and 11 p.m.

During the upgrade, you will not be able to access videos on your Panopto site, and any attempts to upload new videos will result in a “Server unable to connect” message.

We appreciate your patience while we perform this necessary work. If you continue to have any issues after the planned maintenance window, please contact the support center at 515-271-3001 or visit service.drake.edu/its to report your issue.

— Carla Herling, ITS