When we make it a habit to share pronouns we create an environment where we learn not to assume, based on someone’s appearance, what a person’s gender is or how they want to be referred to in the third person (what pronouns they use). Whether or not any one of us might ourselves be worried we will be misgendered, proactively offering ours is a meaningful practice to cultivate a community of inclusion and belonging.

Great news for our virtual experiences! The most recent upgrade for Zoom makes it possible to add pronouns so they always show up in your profile. Make this change. 

Also, an upgrade to make pronouns visible in Blackboard and Starfish is also coming soon, and we have drafted a proposed policy on pronouns. Take a moment to read the proposal and share your feedback.

— Jen Harvey, Associate Provost, Campus Equity and Inclusion

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 First Year Student
• Outstanding Student Organization President
• Outstanding Residence Hall Leader
• 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 10, 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 Inclusion, Involvement, & Leadership

The Iowa Statewide Tornado Drill will take place on Wednesday, March 23, at 10 a.m. The statewide drill allows us to test our planning and readiness and practice seeking appropriate shelter in case of a real tornado. Faculty, staff, and students should participate in the drill by following campus severe weather plans and going to the lowest level of their building, away from doorways and windows. 

March is Severe Weather Preparedness Month in the State of Iowa. Every year on the fourth Wednesday of March, the State of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department in conjunction with the Governor’s office run a statewide tornado drill. In years past Drake participates in this drill while testing our own procedures and protocols. The University will test its campus notification system, consisting of the sirens located in the blue light phones at the same time the City of Des Moines and Polk County test emergency sirens.

Tornado Facts:

• Tornadoes may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
• Funnel clouds usually last less than 10 minutes before dissipating, and many only last several seconds. On rare occasion, cyclones can last for more than an hour.
• Tornadoes may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
• The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 mph, but may vary from stationary to 70 mph.
• Damage paths of tornadoes can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.

Know the Terms. Familiarize yourself with these terms to help identify a tornado hazard:

Tornado Watch: Tornadoes are possible. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for information.

Tornado Warning: A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately! Most injuries associated with high winds are from flying debris, so remember to protect your head.

— Chris Nickell, Environmental Health & Safety

For the next six Fridays (March 25–April 29), Professor Herbert Moyo, Drake’s Spring 2022 Principal Global-Scholar-in-Residence, sponsored by the Principal Center for Global Citizenship within the Office of Global Engagement, will be giving a series of presentations about religion in Africa, focusing especially on traditional African religion and African Christianities in southern Africa.

Among the topics to be covered are:

• African cultural and religious worldviews in general (3/25),
• Messianic African Christianities (4/1)
• Healing in African Zionist churches (4/8)
• Traditional healers and the ancestors (4/15)
• Witchcraft (4/22)
• Protestant Christianity (4/29)

Professor Herbert Moyo is associate professor of theology and religion at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. His research focuses on the philosophical analysis of religio-cultural practices among the Nguni in Southern Africa, including African religio-cultural practices, African Christianities, Indigenous African ritual practices, and the marriage between African indigenous religio-cultural practices and Christianities.

Each seminar will be held from 12–1 p.m. in Medbury Honors Lounge.

For more information, please contact Professor Herbert Moyo (moyoh@ukzn.ac.za) or Tim Knepper (tim.knepper@drake.edu).

— Annique Kiel, Global Engagment

Drake welcomes Samantha Nordstrom to the position of Title IX Coordinator. Samantha brings to the role both experience and enthusiasm for civil rights law and the work of the Title IX office. Samantha earned her law degree from Drake Law School in 2018 and went on to clerk for the Iowa Court of Appeals before serving as a Civil Rights Specialist for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Please join us in welcoming Samantha back to Drake. For information about the Title IX office, the role of the Title IX Coordinator, and resources available to the campus community on issues of sex discrimination and misconduct, contact Samantha at samantha.nordstrom@drake.edu or visit the Title IX resource page. 

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

A roundtable discussion on race will be held Thursday, March 24, from 1–3:30 p.m. at the Hearst Center for the Arts located at 304 W Seerley Blvd, Cedar Falls, Iowa. The discussion is part of the traveling exhibition Our Town: Reclaiming the Narrative that goes to different places throughout Iowa and invites discussion of local and national issues and visions on race. The roundtable will be hosted by Joy Briscoe, executive director of Black Leadership; Cheryl Dong, assistant professor of history, UNI; Matthew Gilbert, Esq., chair economic development, NAACP; and Rocki (Joshalyn) Johnson, administrator and host of North Side Updated. The event will be moderated by Lenore Metrick-Chen, associate professor, Drake University.

— Lenore Metrick-Chen, Associate Professor of Art History

Drake University’s Ambassador-in-Residence, Terry Branstad, will be hosting the Ambassador’s Book Club on Friday, May 6. The Ambassador has chosen China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now by David Shambaugh as the book to be discussed. All Drake students, faculty, and staff are welcome. Alumni are encouraged to attend as well. To register, please email ambassador@drake.edu expressing your intention to attend. Please direct any questions, comments, or concerns to luke.clausen@drake.edu.

Below is a description of the book. To make a one-on-one appointment with the Ambassador or request him to attend or speak at a Drake event, class, or meeting, visit: drake.edu/branstad/.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China over 70 years ago, five paramount leaders have shaped the fates and fortunes of the nation and the ruling Chinese Communist Party: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping. Under their leaderships, China has undergone an extraordinary transformation from an undeveloped and insular country to a comprehensive world power.

In this definitive study, renowned Sinologist David Shambaugh offers a refreshing account of China’s dramatic post-revolutionary history through the prism of those who ruled it. Exploring the persona, formative socialization, psychology, and professional experiences of each leader, Shambaugh shows how their differing leadership styles and tactics of rule shaped China domestically and internationally: Mao was a populist tyrant, Deng a pragmatic Leninist, Jiang a bureaucratic politician, Hu a technocratic apparatchik, and Xi a modern emperor. Covering the full scope of these leaders’ personalities and power, this is an illuminating guide to China’s modern history and understanding how China has become the superpower of today.

— Luke Clausen, JO, AS

The Iowa statewide tornado drill will take place on Wednesday, March 23, at 10 a.m. The statewide drill allows us to test our planning and readiness and practice seeking appropriate shelter in case of a real tornado. Faculty, staff, and students should participate in the drill by following campus severe weather plans and going to the lowest level of their building, away from doorways and windows. 

March is Severe Weather Preparedness Month in the State of Iowa. Every year on the fourth Wednesday of March, the State of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department in conjunction with the Governor’s office run a statewide tornado drill. In years past Drake participates in this drill while testing our own procedures and protocols. The University will test its campus notification system, consisting of the sirens located in the blue light phones at the same time the City of Des Moines and Polk County test emergency sirens.

Tornado Facts:

• Tornadoes may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
• Funnel clouds usually last less than 10 minutes before dissipating, and many only last several seconds. On rare occasion, cyclones can last for more than an hour.
• Tornadoes may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
• The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 mph, but may vary from stationary to 70 mph.
• Damage paths of tornadoes can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.

Know the Terms:

Familiarize yourself with these terms to help identify a tornado hazard:

Tornado Watch: Tornadoes are possible. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for information.

Tornado Warning: A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately! Most injuries associated with high winds are from flying debris, so remember to protect your head.

— Chris Nickell, Environmental Health & Safety