Drake is excited to announce DU England: Harlaxton as our second cohort-model semester study abroad program.  The program will be offered each fall, starting Fall 2023, with Professor of Psychology Maria Clapham as the inaugural Drake Faculty-in-Residence teaching on the program.

Harlaxton College is one of the most unique study abroad locations in the UK based at a Victorian Manor and has been operating for over 50 years. Set in 300 acres of beautiful countryside in the heart of England, Harlaxton allows our student cohort to enjoy the British Midlands with the ability to be in London in about an hour.  Harlaxton’s central location in Lincolnshire also brings other major cities and towns within easy reach, allowing academic and culturally important sites to be visited in an afternoon, a day out, or weekend away. The Drake cohort-model program will include the Harlaxton semester experience, with students taking classes taught by British and visiting faculty members, as well as additional specialized activities and excursions exclusive to Drake courses.

Campus visit from Harlaxton representative on Feb. 20 & 21

A representative for Harlaxton College, Jordan Hall, will be visiting Drake University on Monday, Feb. 20, and Tuesday, Feb. 21.  If you are interested in learning more about Harlaxton, we can set up an advising appointment with you and Jordan to get more in-depth information of this exciting new program.

In addition, you are invited to attend a program information session on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 4 p.m. in Olmsted TMR132 to learn about studying at Harlaxton this upcoming fall semester.

If you have questions about DU England: Harlaxton or want to schedule an advising appointment, reach out to studyabroad@drake.edu. To apply to DU England: Harlaxton for fall 2023, you can apply through Terra Dotta here.

— Maria Rohach, Global Engagement

The web-based Drake Undergraduate Social Science Journal (DUSSJ) is now accepting paper submissions for its Spring 2023 edition. Any current Drake undergraduate (or recent graduate) is eligible to submit a paper on a topic in the social sciences (political science, international relations, anthropology, sociology, economics, history, philosophy, religion, and social psychology). Submissions may be short analytic essays or longer research papers. Papers that feature thoughtful, original analysis, polished writing, and careful citation are especially welcome!

No more than one submission per person will be considered. Submissions will be peer-reviewed by a student editorial board. When submitting a paper, please indicate if it is a research paper or short analytic essay. Also, please indicate the primary discipline and any secondary discipline(s).

Questions and submissions should be directed to the DUSSJ faculty advisor Professor Li and DUSSJ Acquisitions Editor at advisor.dussj@gmail.com. 

— Kaiya Kielb Young, AS’23

To be considered for need-based grants and scholarships or federal student loans in the Summer 2023, Fall 2023 or Spring 2024 semesters, complete the 2023–2024 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The form is available at www.studentaid.gov. The FAFSA is available to U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens.

If you need assistance completing the FAFSA, please contact the Office of Student Financial Planning.

— Ryan Zantingh, Financial Aid

Did you know that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides tax benefits for education? The tax benefits can be used to get back some of the money you spend on tuition or loan interest or to maximize your college savings.

Even if you normally wouldn’t file a tax return because of your income level, be sure to do so! If you don’t, you’ll miss out on tax credits that would put money in your pocket.

Learn more here.

— Ryan Zantingh, Financial Aid

Welcome Weekend 2023 planning is underway, and we want you to be a part of it. There are multiple opportunities to participate in the PMAC program this year, so we hope to see many applications. These roles include FYS PMACs (working with a group of students), Event Planner PMACs (planning Choose Your Own Adventure events and facilitating Welcome Weekend activities), and Social Media PMAC (a unique role within the Event Planner PMACs that will run the new Instagram page to showcase our awesome PMACs and all the fun activities of Welcome Weekend)

To hear more about these roles and get all your questions answered, please attend our information session on Friday, Feb. 3, in Sussman Theater in Olmsted. The session will be around 30 minutes long and will be very helpful if you want clarification on any part of the process.

You can sign up here: PAB: PMAC Information Session’22/’23 (signupgenius.com)

In addition, you can follow the @drake.pmacs Instagram account for more information about the position.

Applications are due Feb. 12 at 11:59 p.m. For questions, email pab@drake.edu.

— Lesly Velazquez, junior

Kickstart this semester with Academic Coaching Workshops. The Access and Success team will work with you to develop a success plan for calendar planning, time management, study strategies, goal setting, creating habits, test anxiety, mindfulness and how to find motivation.  Come to all of the workshops or just the topics you need support with. The workshops will take place in Cowles Library, Room 45. 

— Brooke Sanders, Academic Excellence and Student Success

Drake undergraduate students are invited to participate in a pilot documentation project entitled “Drake in China: Past and Present.” There is a $450 stipend available for undergraduate researchers this spring semester (up to two awards).

Are you interested in China? Are you interested in finding out more about how Drake engaged in modern and contemporary China, or the other way around?

Are you interested in writing your own history, and first, learning to create a research guide/annotated bibliography of sorts that would help future students from different disciplines find areas of possible research?

Do you have 10+ hours per month and 40+ hours this spring?

If you answered yes to the questions above, keep reading:

The project will be co-facilitated by En Li, assistant professor of history, and Hope Bibens, associate professor of librarianship. We are looking for undergraduate researchers to create a collection of materials related to Drake University’s historical engagement in China and to explore possible platforms to showcase their research. Sample topics include but not limit to:

• First Chinese students came study at Drake, 1890s;
• First missionaries sent from Drake to China, early 20^th century;
• Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s visit to Drake, 1959;
• Exchange students between Drake and China since the 1980s;
• Drake Football Team’s visit to China in 2018;
• The “Teach in China” program;
• The Branstad archives recently acquired by Drake;
• Gift exchange between Drake and China.

Researchers are encouraged to submit their projects for publication in the Drake Undergraduate Social Science Journal(DUSSJ). The digital/physical exhibit will be featured during the Asian Heritage Month in May 2023.

This project is generously supported by a Drake Research Grant from the Provost’s Office. There are spots for two researchers. Selected researchers will be awarded a stipend of $450 upon completion of the research.

What do you need to do to receive a $450 stipend?

• Choose a topic that you are interested in, related to Drake and China;
• Conduct the research by collecting, categorizing, and interpreting primary sources;
• Identify a platform to publish/exhibit your research by the end of the fall semester.

Selection criteria:

• value of the proposed topic and intellectual inquiry;
• feasibility of the research scale (within one semester);
• creativity of the proposed platform to publish/exhibit the results to engage the broader community;
• previous research experience and research ability;
• previous knowledge about China—being able read and write in Chinese is not required, but would be a plus.

If you are interested in participating, please submit your proposal by filling out the form below by Feb 3, Friday. Selected candidates will be notified via email by Feb 10, Friday.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoNlnj7XopG4VmQN5yfV36ZPteqB8WPPg9PCTY1rubGy4ccQ/viewform?usp=pp_url

For research and China related questions (for example, what might make the Drake Football Team’s visit to Drake an interesting topic), please contact En Li (en.li@drake.edu); for archive related questions (for example, what would be considered to be valuable archives to collect from the Football Team’s trip to China, and what would be feasible platforms to publish/exhibit the results), please contact Hope Bibens (hope.bibens@drake.edu); for experience about being a student researcher at the DIC project, please contact Kaiya Kielb Young (kaiya.kielbyoung@drake.edu).

— Kaiya Kielb Young, AS’23

The Office of Residence Life is accepting Resident Assistant Applications for the 2023–2024 academic year. RA’s must be leaders, role models, and resources for their residents; however, just as important, they must be team players that work with and support other staff in their own hall as well as other halls on campus.

 The application deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (during J-Term).

RA informational sessions:

• Tuesday, Nov.15, 2022, 6 p.m. – Pomerantz Stage, Olmsted
• Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, 12:30 p.m., Pomerantz Stage, Olmsted

Application link:
https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cMTHHjc68IDS3wG

If you have any questions regarding the application or interview process itself, please contact Randy E. McMullin (randy.mcmullin@drake.edu).  We would encourage you to reach out to your own RA or another RA should you have questions about the position from a student perspective.

— Randy E McMullin, Residence Life