On March 15, Mark Wiederspan, executive director of Iowa College Aid, sent a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley highlighting concerns about how future changes to the FAFSA will impact students whose families own family farms and/or small businesses.

Specifically, the FAFSA Simplification Act will require the net worth of a family farm or small business to be reported as an asset on the FAFSA, beginning with the 2024–2025 FAFSA. Family farms and small businesses (100 or fewer full-time employees) are currently excluded from reportable assets on the FAFSA.

If you share Dr. Wiederspan’s concerns, you can contact your legislators in congress. To lookup your legislators, click here.

— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid

Drake’s chapter of the American Marketing Association is hosting a special guest speaker, hall of fame television broadcasting executive Ray Cole, at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, April 13. Mr. Cole will be discussing his book, Hangin’ with Winners: A Lifetime of Connections, Anecdotes and Lessons Learned. All Drake students, alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters are welcome to join the AMA chapter members to hear the president and CEO of Citadel Communications share his experiences engaging with iconic leaders and changemakers in television, politics, and philanthropy including Jimmy Kimmel, Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Michael J. Fox, and more.

Mr. Cole, a native of Iowa, will be speaking and taking questions at the April 13 meeting which will take place at Aliber Hall, Room 101, at 9 p.m. The event is free and audience members will receive a free copy of Hangin’ with Winners while supplies last.

— Alejandro Hernandez, Dean, CBPA

The 2022 Baum Symposium will be comprised of a series of workshops focused on helping Drake faculty and staff respond ethically and compassionately to the shifts in higher education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and demographic trends in our student body.

Featured speaker Cathy Davidson, the author of The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, will speak virtually, on Wednesday, May 4, at 7 pm. This keynote will kick off an entire month of programming meant to help our faculty and staff address the ethical imperative of meeting our students where they are—emotionally, intellectually, and socially.

Register at Eventbrite. Zoom links will be sent to registered participants prior to the event.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

The proposed Student Pronouns Policy is now available for public review and comment on the Policies Under Review webpage.  In summary, any student may select their pronouns for use within the University community, consistent wit the student’s gender and/or gender identity. The policy will be posted for 20 days.

— Melissa Sturm-Smith, Associate Provost for Academic Excellence and Student Success 

Drake will celebrate Civic Action Week April 4–9! This is a campus-wide week of events for students, faculty, staff, and the broader community to learn, engage, and encourage collective responses to persistent societal challenges.

There will be opportunities to engage each day of the week through service opportunities, career panels, film showings, advocacy events, and more. Many groups are collaborating on events for the week, including Professional & Career Development Services, Student Activities Board, Office of Equity & Inclusion, and more.

The entire Drake community is encouraged to participate in some way. Share your engagement on social media by tagging @drakeservice #drakeserves for a chance to win prizes, including a Griff T-shirt!

Visit the Community Engagement website for more information or contact amanda.martin@drake.edu.

The Office of Community Engaged Learning is a department within the Academic Excellence & Student Success unit.

— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning

There will be three multi-faculty and student panel discussions on climate change Wednesday, March 30, from 6–9 p.m. in Olin Hall, Room 206. At 6 p.m., Dan Chibnall, David Courard-Hauri, Tom Rosburg, and Nanci Ross will discuss impacts of climate change; at 7 p.m., Amahia Mallea, Jennifer McCrickerd, and Abigail Stepnitz will address Responses; and at 8 p.m., a student panel will focus on advocacy both on and off campus. The event is open to the community, and will be an interactive discussion.

— David Courard-Hauri, College of Arts and Sciences

Art Week Des Moines returns June 17–23 aiming to create stronger value for local artists and our community.

What’s new in 2022?
New this year, the program focuses on neighborhood activations. Concentrating on one neighborhood each day (including the Drake neighborhood) brings art to new and unexpected places with concentrated activity and attention for our artist neighbors.

As always, Art Week Des Moines is open to all artists wanting to showcase their work among the creative expressions growing in Des Moines.

For those interested in exhibiting, organizing, hosting, or making something during art week, share what’s on your mind by filling out this form.

— Ryan Arnold, Director, Community Engagement 

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar is one of the holiest months of the year for Muslim communities. It begins Saturday, April 2, and continues through Monday, May 2.  Eid al-Fatr, the last day of Ramadan, is an official holiday within Islam.

Passover begins the night of Friday, April 15, and ends at sundown on Saturday, April 23, this year. In the Jewish community, this is a very sacred time, and many Jewish people observe the first day of Passover with a Seder meal. Some students may observe the Jewish tradition of not being able to work the first two and last two days of the holiday.

Faculty are required to provide students reasonable accommodations to honor their religious identities. It is especially important we honor this obligation as we communicate celebration, affirmation, and inclusion of all the diversity within the Drake community.

Students need to communicate the accommodations they require at the following link, so we can institutionally support clear communication between individual faculty and their students: https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d5qfVUKtuTQdg7b.

Any instructor with concerns regarding a given holiday, or the academic implications of a particular student’s religious observance, may seek guidance from the chair of their department, dean of their school, or the Provost.

— Jennifer Harvey, Associate Provost, Campus Equity and Inclusion