Read the latest issue of Blue, Drake University’s alumni insider. In this issue, you’ll find Bulldogs pursuing excellence and transforming lives in ways that will positively impact their communities for decades to come.

What’s Inside:

— The family of Holly Morrison Dierks, LA’76, is inextricable from the Drake Relays. The Morrison connections to the Relays date back to the early 1900s.

—  Drake men’s golf alumnus and two-time PGA major champion Zach Johnson, BN’98, was recently named the United States Ryder Cup team captain.

— You helped us break records in the All In 2022 Giving Challenge. See where we ended up! 

— Drake University changed the life of SJMC Dean Kathleen Richardson, JO’76, GR’01, LW’02. Her opening letter is an honor to our past and an inspiration for our future.    

— Donor generosity has transformed student lives. Hear the powerful stories your generosity is helping fuel.    

— Mark your calendar for the Drake Relays Alumni Tent Party and get a full schedule of events inside this issue. We’ll see you there! 

— Bruce Heintz, University Communications and Marketing

April is Occupational Therapy Month! Occupational Therapy faculty and students are excited to share some occupations that we use with the clients we serve and explain more about the profession. Please make note of the location and time as they vary throughout the month. All activities are free, however some may have limited capacity due to supplies/materials.

April 1, 12 p.m., OT Building (3003 Forest Ave)
Spring craft – flower pot and mini chicks – Dr. Yolanda Griffiths (Maximum of 12 participants), others can attend, watch, socialize and learn.

April 14, 12:30–1:30 p.m., Cline Atrium
Sensory Based Mindfulness Activities – Zentangle & Aromatherapy – Dr. Christine Urish

April 18, 12–1 p.m., Cline Atrium
How Sensory Impairment Impacts Faculty & Students in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) – Dr. Nicci Kuhl & Dr. Rachel Allen-McHugh

April 25, 11:30–12:30, Cline Atrium
How OT’s adapt tasks for children and adults – OT Students: Zayla Jyawook, Jenna Gregoire, Morgan Tegtmeier

To learn more about occupational therapy visit, aota.org.

To learn more about occupational therapy at Drake visit, drake.edu/ot.

— Christine Urish, Occupational Therapy

Thank you to all the students who attended this semester’s focus group. We appreciate that you took the time to come and give feedback on our dining services. Drake Dining is working hard to always address feedback in a timely manner to ensure the best experience for each of our guests.

During our last focus group, some of the popular comments included the improvement of the variety of options including increased vegetarian and vegan choices. Some things to look for during the remainder of the semester are:

• Big City Bites campaign that will feature cuisines from those areas
• Weekly promotional events
• Revamped social media channels with daily updates of menu features
• Addition of several sous chefs and an executive chef to help oversee the quality and freshness of every meal

We will continue to have focus groups every semester and we hope to see you there. At any time if you have feedback, we welcome you to reach out to our Dietitian Samantha Matt at samantha.matt@drake.edu. You can also find us @DrakeDining on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook or scan our QR Code that can be found throughout the dining hall.

— Shaelyn Hankins, Dining Services

Drake will be participating in this summer’s Des Moines Corporate Games. This annual company-based competition runs June 1–July 31, promoting company pride and corporate wellbeing through healthy competition. Join Drake’s team and compete for a chance to win individual and team medals as well as the Corporate Games trophy.

Events range from team-based to individual and competitive to recreational. This year there are both in-person and virtual opportunities. All in-person activities will be held in the evenings and on weekends and are free (except for golf cart rental). You are welcome and encouraged to participate in as many events as you wish. These games are open to all faculty, staff, student employees, interns, and retirees.  Please email linda.feiden@drake.edu for more information.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Volunteers are needed to help with the festivities of the 112th Drake Relays. Volunteers will receive a Drake Relays T-shirt when they check-in for their shift.

Roles include:

• Assisting with starter blocks
• Distributing medals to participants at Drake Road Races
• Assisting at field events

Find all the volunteer shifts below:

• Drake Road Races
• Grand Blue Mile
• Drake Relays

Thank you for making America’s Athletic Classic the world’s best track and field meet.

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