Kieran Williams, visiting assistant professor of politics, was invited to speak at Harvard on Nov. 18 at a special event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1989 revolution in Czechoslovakia. In September, he was a guest on the Cold War Conversations Podcast, as a witness to the August 1991 attempted coup in Moscow that set in motion the end of the Soviet Union. And, in May, he was cited by a regional court as an authority in a case of a disputed election in the Czech Republic.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the DELTA Rx Institute hosted the annual Next Top Entrepreneur Competition. We would like to thank all the participants for their pitches and congratulate the finalists:

• First Place: $1200 to Johnny Mills and Andrew Bjorlin (PharmD/MBA Candidates 2021) – RecycleRx
• Second Place: $800 to Breanna Moore (PharmD Candidate 2022) – AutoRx Prescription Pickup
• Third Place: $400 to Sedie Harms, Layne Davis, and Tessa Buehrer (PharmD Candidates 2021) – Pharmers Traveling to the Farm

We would like to thank our judges, Greg Johansen, Dalton Fabian, Sarah Dean, Tom Swegle, Jason Salton, Anthony Pudlo, Robert Loch, Felix Gallagher, and Debra Bishop.

— Kaylyn Maher, CPHS Communications Coordinator

Emma Robasse, PharmD/MBA Candidate 2020 in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is one of four dual-enrolled students nationwide to receive a 2019 Express Scripts Scholarship. The Express Scripts Foundation (ESF), in partnership with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, awards four $10,000 scholarships to dual-degree students each year.

The ESF recognizes that students interested in dual degrees may have increased financial need and provides these scholarships to offset tuition, fees, or books.

Learn more about this scholarship and how CPHS supports the diverse interests of students.

— Kaylyn Maher, CPHS Communications Coordinator

Drake Reiter, a fourth-year student pharmacist in the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, was announced as the winner of the 2019 Future Pharmacist Award during the Next-Generation Pharmacists Award Gala held on Oct. 25 in San Diego. Sponsored by Parata and Pharmacy Times, the national Next Generation Pharmacist™ awards program honors pharmacists, technicians, students and industry advocates in 11 categories who are defining the future of pharmacy.

The college has a stellar record for the Next-Generation Future Pharmacist Award with more finalists being selected for 7 years of the 10-year history of the award than any other pharmacy program:

• 2010 – Kathryn McDonald Starbuck
• 2012 – Huy Nguyen
• 2013 – Natalie Schmitz
• 2014 – Laura Vollmer (winner)
• 2015 – Natalie Roy
• 2018 – Matt Glasow (winner)
• 2019 – Drake Reiter (winner)

Learn more about this honor and Drake Reiter’s accomplishments.

— Kaylyn Maher, CPHS Communications Coordinator

Michi Matsukura, assistant professor of psychology, has received the National Research Foundation: Major Research Instrumentation (NSF: MRI) award—the first MRI award that Drake University has received in its history. The award allows Michi and her College of Business and Public Administration (CBPA) faculty collaborators to conduct a series of studies, using the eye-tracking system with capabilities of gaze-contingency programming (the paradigm that allows a computer display to change as a function of where an observer is looking) and pupillometry (the technique that measures changes in the diameter of the pupil as a function of cognitive processing). The CPBA research team is composed of Andrew Bryant (Marketing), Brian Vander Naald (Economics), Heath Henderson (Economics), Lori Solsma (Accounting), Alanah Mitchell (Information Systems), and Terri Vaughan (Actuarial Sciences).

Michi says, “I am extremely grateful to NSF for recognizing (1) this unique collaboration between visual cognition research and decision sciences as well as (2) our efforts to include and support a diverse range of students and faculty in the projects. Besides my own line of visual information-processing work, the system allows us to conduct a series of experiments to identify possible cognitive mechanisms that guide individuals’ ultimate behaviors, in the respective fields of the CBPA research collaborators. I am really excited to have this opportunity.”

Brandi Miller from the Office of Student Financial Planning has been honored by the Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (IASFAA) with the Meritorious Service Award!

This award recognizes a significant contribution to IASFAA and/or the financial aid profession. Selection is based upon leadership, work on an important project, or significant service to students, the association or the profession.

Please join me in recognizing Brandi’s achievements and thanking her for the service she provides to the Drake community and the financial aid profession!

— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid

Teri Koch, collection development coordinator & professor of librarianship at Cowles Library, has been selected as a fellow in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, a two-semester intensive professional development program to build a comprehensive understanding of the open education space coupled with practical know-how to lead successful open education initiatives that benefit students, especially Open Educational Resources (OER). Teri is one of 27 fellows selected from a competitive application pool for the program’s 2019-2020 cohort.

To help her understand the current status of OER at Drake, Teri is asking faculty who are using or are considering using OER in their courses to fill out a short form.

Read more about Teri’s participation in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program.

After careful consideration by the APA Fellow Committee, and upon the recommendation of the APA Board of Directors, the APA Council of Representatives has elected Maria Valdovinos, professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, to fellow status in the American Psychological Association, effective January 2020.

Fellow status is awarded, in part, on the basis of evaluated evidence of outstanding contribution in the field of psychology. A colleague who submitted a recommendation on Maria’s behalf stated in the application: “Maria’s leadership at Drake, in Iowa, and in professional organizations, coupled with her scholarly publications is very impressive. Even more impressive though is what she’s done in terms of building educational programs and mentoring students.”

Congratulations to Maria on this newly elected fellowship!