Scott Snyder, of the Council on Foreign Relations, will give a lecture on the North Korean nuclear threat Monday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. in Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center. Snyder is senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves as co-chair of the advisory council of the National Committee on North Korea and has provided advice to non-governmental organizations and humanitarian organizations active in North Korea. His newest book is South Korea at the Crossroads: Autonomy and Alliance in an Era of Rival Powers (Columbia University Press, 2018).

The lecture is sponsored by the Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship, East Asian studies minor, and the department of political science.

Kayla Jenkins, College of Arts & Sciences

Nicholas Roth, professor of piano, will present the next concert of the Keys to Excellence piano series. The event is free and open to the public, and begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 27, in Sheslow Auditorium.

The program features several short works by Russian mystic Alexander Scriabin, and two substantial pieces by Nikolay Miaskovsky. Miaskovsky, a close friend of Sergei Prokofiev, was known as the “musical conscience of Moscow” during his tenure on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, and his work is virtually unknown in the United States.

The concert concludes with Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker Suite (arranged for piano duet) performed with Pablo Valladares, a Drake senior majoring in piano performance.

View the news release to see the complete program.

A unique event, combining classical guitar music and stargazing, will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at Drake’s Municipal Observatory located at Observatory Road in Waveland Park, Des Moines.

The event is free and open to the public. It will consist of a classical guitar concert by members of the Heart of Iowa Classical Guitar Society followed by a tour of the observatory and stargazing using the historic refractor telescope. The tour will be conducted by Charles Nelson, professor of astronomy. Classical and contemporary guitar pieces will be performed.

Please note, the telescope dome is kept at ambient temperature and may be cold at night. The conference room where the concert will be held is heated. For questions, contact Athan Petridis at athan.petridis@drake.edu.

Sharyn O’Connor, College of Arts and Sciences

Come out and cheer on your Bulldogs this week!

Football
Drake vs. Jacksonville
Nov. 18 at 1 p.m.
Drake Stadium

Volleyball
Drake vs. Northern Iowa
Nov. 18 at 5 p.m.
The Knapp Center

For questions, contact 515-271-3647 or tickets@drake.edu.

—Tom Florian, Drake Athletics

The Harkin Institute is pleased to welcome renowned political analyst Charlie Cook back to Des Moines to share entertaining insight, analysis, and stories about the state of American politics today on Nov. 30 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium.

Cook, a political analyst for National Journal magazine, editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report, and member of The Harkin Institute’s National Advisory Council, is widely regarded as one of the most astute impartial analysts of the Washington political scene.

The New York Times calls Charlie Cook “one of the best political handicappers in the nation” and describes the Cook Political Report as “a newsletter that both sides regard as authoritative.” Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gain insight you won’t find anywhere else.

Register here.

Emily Schettler, The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement

Join The Harkin Institute this Thursday, Nov. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Cowles Library Reading Room for a celebration of deaf and Chinese cultures and a presentation by the Institute’s disability research fellows.

Fellows Amy Hebert Knopf and Xuan Zheng of St. Cloud State University are researching programs for the deaf in the United States and China in an effort to build support for people with disabilities in China.

Learn more about their research and The Harkin Institute’s growing Fellows Program at this free public event. A Chinese dinner will be provided. Register here.

Emily Schettler, The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement

Drake International invites you to a reception in honor of global scholars currently teaching/conducting research at Drake. The reception will be held at the International Center located at 1213 25th St. on Nov. 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. There will be a short program at 4:15 p.m. Attendees are welcome to come and go as their schedule permits.

Jacquilline Nagila

The Comparison Project is hosting its next event in its lecture series on miracles this Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. in Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center. The lecture, “On the Role of Miracles in the Vimalakirti Sutra in Early Medieval China and Beyond,” will be presented by Shi Jingpeng, assistant professor in the School of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Minzu University of China in Beijing.

Jingpeng will speak about the role of miracles in the Vimalakīrti Sutra, an informative text for Chinese Buddhism in particular and Chinese culture in general. His published works include Basic Research on Nirvāna Studies in the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China, and From Dharma-body to Buddha-nature. The event is free and open to the public.

Monique Rodriguez, College of Arts and Sciences

Alpha Phi Omega is partnering with LifeServe to host a blood drive on Friday, Nov. 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Olmsted Center, Pomerantz Stage. To sign up for a time to give, register in the Olmsted Breezeway or contact serveapo@gmail.com. Please bring a valid form of identification, such as your donor ID card or driver’s license. Anyone is welcome to donate.

Jenna Cornick