Former Ambassador to China and Governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, is currently serving as the Ambassador-in-Residence at Drake. He is available throughout the academic year to meet with faculty, staff, and students during regular office hours, and to speak to classes and student organizations. This is an exceptional opportunity to hear the first-hand experiences of someone who has helped shape Iowa and U.S. history.

Students, faculty, and staff with an interest in politics, U.S. foreign affairs, international relations, and China/East Asia are encouraged to attend the Ambassador’s office hours on Friday mornings throughout the Fall semester.

Sign up for office hours or make a speaker request by emailing: ambassador@drake.edu.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

Come to the Olmsted lot on Sept. 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to celebrate Park(ing) Day. Park(ing) Day is a global event where parking spaces are transformed into public parks and social spaces to advocate for safer, greener, and more equitable streets. It is a great opportunity to engage in the dialog around how cities are designed and built.

The students in the Sustainable Transportation class will be hosting the event. Stop on by to interact with them and learn about sustainable transportation and initiatives on campus. Bring a book or bag for the book swap and participate in a house plant raffle.

The Bearded Jackal food truck will also be in attendance, so stop by and grab something to eat!

— Hannah Remke, Sustainability Coordinator

If you are looking for a way to motivate yourself to get up and move more, join this year’s Walktober step challenge.  Drake is competing with Des Moines University and Wesley Life to see which site’s competitors can achieve the highest average step total during the month of October.  The winning site claims the Walktober traveling trophy for a year and bragging rights.  Drake won the trophy last year and we want to keep it here!

You are welcome to register as an individual, or create a team (adding a little internal competition to our already external one).  If you would like participate, please send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu.  If you are putting together a team, please include your team’s name, team captain, and team members (4-6 people per team).  This event is open to all faculty, staff, and students.  Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 29.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

The Office of Alumni Relations reaffirms Drake’s commitment to diversity by recognizing and nurturing different identities. In 2020, we committed to fostering community between our diverse students and alumni. Starting this week, Alumni Relations will host two receptions to welcome our LGBTQ+ and BIPOC students to campus for another great year! These welcome receptions serve to create community among diverse students, alumni, faculty, and staff. For students, this is an opportunity to meet individuals like you who have been where you are. And of course, there will also be refreshments (and Griff…shhh)!

On Tuesday, Sept. 12, from 7–8:30 p.m., we welcome all LGBTQ+ students, alumni, faculty/staff, and allies to the Reading Room in Cowles Library for Rainbow Welcome. And then, next week on Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 6:30–8 p.m., we welcome all BIPOC students, alumni, faculty/staff, and allies to the Alumni House for the BIPOC Student/Alumni Welcome.

— Gregory Lin, Alumni Relations

Check out the Fall 2023 schedule for the Drake Observatory. Events take place Friday nights from Sept. 15–Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. and are free and open to the public. For more information, visit: https://www.drake.edu/observatory/.

The Observatory is honored to host astronaut Dr. Peggy Whitson on Sept. 22. The Observatory is teaming up with Capital City Pride of Des Moines to make this event possible.

— Aaron Haack, College of Arts & Sciences

Drake will host the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest Sept. 15–16 at the Olmsted Center. This annual contest is put on by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of Interior and the winning art will be reproduced as a stamp to be sold nationwide, with proceeds going to support wetland conservation. To date, proceeds from stamp purchases have earned $1.2 billion and protected more than six million wetland and wildlife refuge acres. Submitted artwork from across the country will be on display at the Olmsted Center on Friday, Sept. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend the contest to see the artwork. A panel of five noted art, waterfowl, and stamp authorities will judge the competition.

The contest is coming to Drake as part of its legacy with Darling. In 1934, Darling created the nation’s first Federal Duck Stamp under an appointment with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1949, the tradition of inviting artists from around the United States to submit their designs began, and with it, a vital contribution to America’s wetlands and wildlife refuges.

Today, Drake University works to inspire the next generation of conservationists through Darling’s work, serving as the home of the Jay N. Darling Institute. Drake established the institute in 2021 with a mission of providing educational and scholarly expertise for rural communities to improve access to quality health care and education, nutritious food, unimpaired natural resources, and ongoing economic and cultural opportunities. Drake is also a proud steward of a significant portion of Darling’s artwork and papers. His inspirational artwork will be on display during the Duck Stamp contest.

Drake is proud to be a sponsor of the 38th annual Des Moines Civil & Human Rights Symposium: “Level Up for Justice.”

The symposium will be held on campus at the Olmsted Center on Friday, Oct. 27, from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. The kick-off event will be on Thursday, Oct. 26. Drake students, faculty, and staff are invited to register and attend for free at https://LevelUpSymposium2023.eventbrite.com. Select the general admission ticket option, and use the promo code DrakeTicket2023.

About the Event

Everyone begins the game of life from different starting points, and many people from marginalized communities often start with additional barriers. How can we adequately equip ourselves to create equitable outcomes? How can individual players get involved in “multiplayer” work? No matter where we are in our own journey for social justice, this year’s Civil & Human Rights Symposium aims to provide ways we can advance to the next level and find solutions where everyone wins. The symposium is organized into three tracks based on that belief:

• Process Your Power: Women’s Rights,
• Dynamics of Disability Rights,
• Voices from our Youth: LGBTQ+ and Refugee and Immigrant Youth Voices

Additionally, there will be two panel discussions facilitated by members of the City of Des Moines Youth Advisory Board centered around the importance of youth mentorship and environmental justice/climate action. 

More information about this year’s symposium can be found at dsm.city/CHRSymposium.

— Ryan Arnold, Director, Community Engagement 

The Anderson Gallery is pleased to show the work of Judy Pfaff, an internationally recognized artist who is often cited as a pioneer of installation-art and contributor to the Pattern and Decoration Movement. The solo exhibition, Freehand: Prints and Drawings by Judy Pfaff, showcases over 50 drawings and prints and is on display from Sept. 7 through Oct. 15. There are multiple events associated with this exhibition including an opening reception on Sept. 7, an exhibition tour on Sept. 21 and the premiere of the immersive opera Cadence of Life by Nathan Felix, inspired by the work of Pfaff on Oct. 5. The Anderson Gallery does not charge admission and all events are free and open to all. Freehand is supported by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council.

— Lilah Anderson, Anderson Gallery Exhibitions and Community Engagement Manager

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. If you cannot attend your scheduled appointment, please remember to cancel and reschedule.

WHERE WE ARE: The lower level of Cowles Library—please follow the signs. 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).

— Megan Brown, Professor of English

Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the United States. This year, the Drake chapter is celebrating 100 years of promoting excellence in the liberal arts on campus and across Iowa. To explore this history, please stop by the display case outside Drake University Archives & Special Collections in Cowles Library through the end of September. As part of its centennial, Drake was selected to participate in the society’s national Visiting Scholars program, and looks forward to hosting Dr. Anna Brickhouse, University of Virginia, at the end of October.

— Jeff Kappen, Zimpleman College of Business