Category Archives: News & Achievements Archive

Students provide 4 tons of donations to Goodwill

Instead of students throwing their stuff in dumpsters after the spring term when moving out, large crates were placed in the halls to collect donations for Goodwill. Stalnaker was by far the busiest donation bin over the week. Here is the bin count from each location.

Stalnaker: 8
Carpenter: 4
Herriott: 4
Morehouse: 5
Jewett: 2
Crawford: 3
Ross: 2
Goodwin: 4
Total: 32

The bins brought in around 8,000 pounds of donations—enough to provide 400 hours of training for people in Goodwill programs.

—Jerry Parker, Dean of Students

GIS project presentations

Students in Drake’s Applications of GIS course, which is taught in the environmental science and policy program, collaborated with Facilities Planning and Management (FPM) on two projects this semester.

First, the students developed an online, interactive map of campus. This map will help new and prospective students learn more about campus landmarks and sustainability projects.

Second, students mapped several hundred trees on campus, and linked tree locations to FPM’s tree maintenance records. This map and database will help FPM track tree maintenance needs across campus. In the future, certain trees of special interest may be added to the interactive online map.

Through this collaboration, the students gained hands-on experience in planning, implementing, and presenting a GIS project to solve a real-world problem.

Click here to view.

—Kevin Moran, Executive Director Facilities Planning and Management

SJMC news: Week of May 16

Advertising students are award winners from the American Advertising Federation. At the recent American Advertising Awards Show, Des Moines chapter, Drake junior Bailey Zander won a Gold American Ad Award as well as Student Best of Show. Additionally, these other Drake advertising students won awards:

  • Kelsea Graham—1 gold and 1 silver
  • Brooke Vaske—1 gold
  • Jeffrey Hersheway—1 silver

All gold award winners’ entries are automatically entered at the regional-level competition, which includes student work from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. This is the second time in three years that a Drake student won the Student Best of Show award.

Junior Sam Fathallah also won a silver award for work he did while interning at a local ad agency.

—Dorothy Pisarski, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Faculty accomplishment: May 16

Kimberly Huey, associate professor of physiology in the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, was recently named as a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). This elite membership status recognizes members who have provided significant service to ACSM. These members have demonstrated high standards of professional development and commitment to the goals and long-range activities of the college through presentation of papers and peer and public education. At Drake, Kimberly teaches a number of physiology courses in CPHS and maintains an active research program that investigates muscle function on both the basic science and applied levels.

—Craige Wrenn, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

Student tree planting event

Drake received the Tree Campus USA Award for 2016. Consideration of this prestigious award is in part due to student involvement in the tree program on campus. On Monday, April 17, approximately 20 students donated their time to plant eight trees west of the Goodwin Kirk parking lot along 30th street. There were seven 5-6 foot white pines and one 15-gallon Swamp White Oak trees planted by the students, and led by Aaron Harpold, Drakes certified arborist. In addition to the students donating their time, they purchased and donated two of the trees. Facilities Planning and Management would like to thank Aaron Harpold, Sophia Siegel, and Jamie Wall for organizing the student event and for their contributions to keep the Drake campus beautiful!

—Aaron Edwards, Building and Grounds Manager

Faculty accomplishments: May 8

Lee Jolliffe, professor of journalism, has a chapter in David Sachsman’s new book After the War: The Press in a Changing America, 1865-1900 (Transaction, 2017).

The chapter is “ ‘Black Fiends’ and ‘Atrocious Murders’: Redefining ‘Sensationalism’ through Coverage of Interracial Crime in the Nineteenth Century”. Jolliffe looked at reporting of interracial murders featuring European-, African-, Asian-, and Native Americans and learned that the elements traditionally ascribed to “sensationalism”—the large headlines and incendiary graphics of the New York yellow press—are not the only indicators of that style. Smaller inland newspapers with tiny circulations and lacking the budgets for giant headline fonts and complex engravings, also practiced sensationalism. Their use of it appears in headlines, language use, overplaying of stories for impact, highlighting any presence of race, blaming, fear-mongering, inclusion of gory details, and calling readers to action—often lynching or cheering for summary justice. The overarching purpose of the interracial murder coverage appeared to be a strong enforcement of a social norm that races must be kept separate or mayhem would ensue.

—Lee Joliffe, School of Journalism and Mass Communication