Join Drake’s Corporate Games team. This annual company-based competition for organizations in central Iowa runs from May 19 through July 31.  With over two dozen events to choose from, Des Moines Corporate Games (DMCG) is a great way to meet new people and have fun.

Events range from team-based to individual and competitive to recreational. Try everything from pickleball, golf, and a 5K run to trivia, yoga, and bags. They’ve even added ping pong this year.  If sports aren’t your interest, put together a team and volunteer at Meals from the Heartland, donate blood, or try the annual Burst Your Thirst challenge. You may participate in as many events as you want.

All in-person activities will be held in the evenings and on weekends and are free (except golf cart rental). ALL Drake faculty and staff, student employees, interns, and retirees are invited and encouraged to join Drake’s team.

To participate, please send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu for registration instructions, including Drake’s team code.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

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

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

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

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.

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

Come have your voice heard, test out, and provide feedback on potential furniture for the new Morehouse reimagined student center. Two showrooms are on display in the Meredith Hall south lobby now through May 2.

Heather Winslow, Capital Projects

Volunteers needed to help recycle during Relays. Slots are in one-hour shifts and may not go the entire hour. This is a super easy task with a high level of impact. Help Drake divert waste from the landfill from over 45,000 fans. Sign up on DUGood here.

If you have any questions, email hannah.remke@drake.edu.

—Hannah Remke, Sustainability Coordinator 

April is Earth Month and Drake is going all out. Events are being put on by DEAL, Student Alumni Association, Student Activities Board, Epsilon Eta, Drake Grounds, and the Office of Sustainability. Take a minute to see what is going on!

April 16th, 7–9 p.m.: Relax and enjoy a movie in Sussman Theater courtesy of DEAL and Epsilon Eta.

April 17th, 5–7 p.m.: Meet at the Sprout Garden to learn all about soil on campus.

April 18th, 5–7 p.m.: Learn more about soil at the speaker panel at Pom Stage.

April 18th, 6 p.m.: Decorate a tumbler for Earth Day with SAB at Pom Stage.

April 19^th, 11:30–1:30 p.m.: Help Drake maintain its Tree Campus Higher Education designation by joining DEAL and Grounds for the annual tree planting. Meet between Howard and Sheslow. Supplies will be provided. Sign up here.

April 20^th, 10–12 p.m.: Join SAA at the Harkin Institute Parking Lot to pick up trash for Paul Morrison Spruce Up Day. RSVP here.

April 20th, 4–9 p.m.: Finish out the week strong by rocking out and celebrating the earth at the Earth Jam concert. There will be games, food, prizes, and live music of course!

–Hannah Remke, Sustainability Coordinator 

It is with great sadness that we share that Drake University Professor Emeritus Joseph A. Fisher passed away peacefully at his home in Newton, Iowa on March 25. Professor Fisher served as the Director of the Adult Reading and Study Skills Center and Professor of graduate students in Educational Psychology at Drake from 1961–1992.

In his professional career, he was president of the International Association of Adult Reading Specialists. He led members of this group on month-long educational tours in Europe and South America. He published articles in several professional journals. His self-published College Skills text was used by many students and college instructors.  From his analysis of literacy testing in South American Countries, the UN named him as consultant to Educational Secretaries in South America.

The ACT College Testing Program and certain units of the United States Military educational units recognized and adopted his philosophical insight of the strong correlation between test questions and responses.

Professor Fisher will be deeply missed by the Bulldog community and all those who knew him. His full obituary can be read here.