If you did not have a chance to attend the Bucksbaum lecture last week, the Bulldog Shop has books written by Bucksbaum lecturer and Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Jon Meacham on hand until April 15. Meacham’s books The Soul of America and His Truth is Marching On are available for purchase. 

— Kyle McVay, Bulldog Shop

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to pick up a free Thelma’s Ice Cream sandwich outside of the Olmsted Center on Friday, April 15, courtesy of the offices of the Provost and Dean of Students.

Look for us at the Principal Plaza, on the southeast corner of Olmsted, beginning at 1 p.m. and until the treats are gone.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Robert Collis, visiting assistant professor of history, is spearheading an event, with the support of the Drake University Center for Teaching and Research in the Humanities, in which several Ukrainians, including our own Professor Vira Babenko, assistant professor of mathematics, will join us by Zoom to tell us of their experiences of the Russian attack and occupation of their country.

The discussion will take place April 19 from 1–2:15 p.m. in Harvey Ingham Hall, Room 134, and on Zoom (https://drake-edu.zoom.us/j/81937085671; Meeting ID: 819 3708 5671).

This is an opportunity for you and your students to hear first-person living history from people close to these events.

Speaker biographies:

• Vira Babenko, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Drake University, is a native Ukrainian. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mathematics from Dnipro National University in her hometown of Dnipro before coming to the United States for a Ph.D. program at the University of Utah. A lot of her relatives are now in Dnipro, Kyiv and Zaporizhzhya. She is remotely helping coordinate volunteering efforts and raising funds for families with little kids displaced to her hometown due to the war.
• Olga Daubs was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, during Soviet rule. She earned her master’s degree in history from Kharkiv National University and owned an event planning business in Kharkiv before immigrating to the United States in 2013. Today, she and her husband own a photo studio in Madison, Wisconsin. Her parents remain in Kharkiv. Olga is an active volunteer with Wisconsin Ukrainians, Inc., raising funds and awareness of the tragedy caused by Russia’s invasion of her home country.
• Marina Delargy was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. She has over ten years of diplomatic experience with Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as serving in an international organisation. She is currently a student at King’s College of London, where she is a candidate for two simultaneous programmes – MSc Russian and Eurasian Politics and Economics, and National Security Postgraduate module. Her focus is on Russia’s cognitive warfare and its impact on societies. Her mum Raisa escaped from Kyiv in March, but all her friends and the other members of her family decided to stay and protect Ukraine.
• My name is Anastasiia Miroshnikova, and I am from Kharkiv, Ukraine. I’m 20 years old. I am a student of Ukrainian Leadership Academy, and before the war started I was living in Mariupol. It’s a beautiful city.  When the war started I was living underground with the rest of the students. It was tough. I decided to escape Ukraine, hitchhiked to Poland, and came to the USA. I felt like while I was here in Cincinnati, Ohio I could be more helpful for my country. So I decided to raise money for medical and army supplies for my friends who have joined the army. They’re the same age as me and also students of the ULA. Currently I have already sent 10 huge boxes of medical supplies, over 1,000 tourniquets and a drone to Ukraine. Link for donations: https://fundly.com/m2/help-ual-raise-money-for-the-ukrainian-army.

— Robert Collis, History

The Office of Admission is accepting 2022–2023 Student Ambassador applications, with an application due date extended to Sunday, April 10, at 10 p.m. and two recommendations due by Wednesday, April 13.

Each year, eight to ten student ambassadors are hired to represent Drake University. These students are chosen to serve on our admission team as we welcome, serve, inform and inspire future Bulldogs through campus tours, virtual programs, student panels and outreach as well as office projects. Our goal is to recruit a dynamic group of applicants then hire eight to ten new student ambassadors who, when added to our current team, will reflect and represent the richness of diversity in demographic, academic, and extracurricular components of the Drake student body. Qualifications and the application process are outlined in the informational sheet at the link below. All qualified applicants who meet the application deadline will participate in a group interview in April based on their availability. 

See this link for information, the application, and recommendation forms:  https://tinyurl.com/22DUAMBASSADORAPP. 

Additionally, all students are welcome to join the Admission Cole-ition and volunteer to provide campus tours during group visit programs after attending a training session and shadowing a tour! Information sessions will be offered next fall for anyone interested in joining the Admission Coleition team!

Please contact admissioncoleition@drake.edu with any questions about the Student Ambassador program or Admission Coleition.

— Deneen Dygert, Admissions

The Drake University Athletics Ticket office is looking for students or staff to help with the 112th Drake Relays, Thursday, April 28, through Saturday, April 30. Food will be provided.

Job Duties include:
– Selling tickets in the ticket windows
– Assisting with AXS mobile app questions
– Scanning Tickets at Gates
– Other duties as assigned

A very high percentage of tickets will be delivered to people’s smartphones. For a preview of the app and commonly asked questions, click here: Draketix.com/axsmobileid.

Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfY0bZVCPkCHfiweTsFh5bsx-1oNkCOAjlUj7UQD5U9g71IRQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

— Logan Krause, Athletics

Please join faculty from the Department of Political Science and the Department of History for a second panel discussion about the ongoing war in Ukraine. This event will be held Wednesday, April 13, from 12:30–1:45 p.m. in the Reading Room at Cowles Library. The Iowa United Nations Association will be streaming the event on Facebook Live.

Panelists include:

• Amir Busnov (B.A. in International Relations from Drake University): Following his graduation from Drake, Mr. Busnov completed his Masters in International Affairs from the Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy. He recently returned from Ukraine where he has been serving as a Monitoring Officer with the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Special Monitoring Mission.
• Rob Collis (Visiting Assistant Professor of History): Professor Collis specializes in European and Russian history, and has published widely on Russian history.
• Debra DeLaet (Professor of Political Science): Professor DeLaet has particular interest in the politics of international law and the role of the United Nations in global politics. Her scholarship focuses on human rights and global gender issues.
• David Skidmore (Professor of Political Science) has a scholarly interest in U.S. foreign policy decision-making. His scholarship focuses on U.S. foreign policy and international political economy.
• Kieran Williams (Assistant Professor of Political Science): Professor Williams has a special interest in the politics of Central and Eastern Europe. His publications include several works relating to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

This panel will offer a follow-up to the forum we offered last month focusing on the history of the conflict and region. Our follow-up panel on April 13 will be particularly focused on international security and international law concerns related to the war in Ukraine. Panelists will make brief introductory remarks, and a majority of our time will be devoted to audience questions and discussion. Light refreshments will be served.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar is considered one of the holiest months of the year for Muslims. To support our Muslim community, Hubbell will extend dinner service to 8:30 p.m. beginning Saturday, April 2, and continue through Monday, May 2.  To learn more about Ramadan, visit:

livescience.com/61815-what-is-ramadan.html

urdupoint.com/islam/des-moines-ramadan-calendar-sehar-aftar-timing.html

islamiccenterdm.com/

— Division of Student Affairs

The Adams Leadership Awards are an annual, campus-wide tradition to celebrate the achievements of student leaders and organizations at Drake University. Each spring we honor students and organizations who have made valuable contributions to the campus community through their outstanding commitment to leadership.

Please consider nominating any Drake students and student organizations who have exhibited strong leadership and excellence throughout the 2021–2022 academic year. Nominations can be submitted by any Drake student, faculty, or staff member. Award categories include:

• Outstanding Bright College Student
• Outstanding Transfer Student
• Outstanding Equity and Inclusion Program
• Oreon E. Scott Outstanding Senior of the Year
• …and many more!

View a full list of awards and the nomination form here. The nomination deadline is Sunday, April 10th at 11:59 p.m.

All award nominees and winners will be recognized at the Adams Leadership Awards ceremony and reception, taking place in Sheslow Auditorium on Wednesday, May 4, at 6 p.m. (Save the date! All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to attend.)

If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Economos, director of student leadership programs, at kristin.economos@drake.edu.

— Kristin Economos, Office of Student Involvement and Leadership