Kevin Lam to receive award for book
Kevin Lam, assistant professor of urban and diversity education, will receive a 2016 Critics’ Choice book award for his book, Youth Gangs, Racism, and Schooling: Vietnamese American Youth in a Postcolonial Context. The American Educational Studies Association (AESA) will present the award to Lam during the association’s annual conference in November. Learn more about Kevin and his book in the Drake Newsroom.

Maria Valdovinos to serve on Association for Professional Behavior Analysts board
Maria Valdovinos, associate professor of psychology, has been selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Association for Professional Behavior Analysts. The association’s nominating committee selected Valdovinos from among a list of nominees, submitted by affiliate organizations, to serve a three-year term set to end Aug. 31, 2019.

The Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and advance the science and practice of applied behavior analysis. To read more about Maria, visit the Drake Newsroom.

Drake recently received a $400,000 donation from Kemin Industries. The money will be used toward the purchase of a 500 megahertz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The gift is especially meaningful because the founder of Kemin Industries, RW Nelson, is a 1950 Drake graduate who majored in biology. The impact of the donation and the presence of a 500 MHz NMR on thousands of students cannot be overstated: It improves our analytical capabilities and guarantees that Drake students will continue to get a state-of-the art education. It also significantly upgrades the research capabilities of the faculty in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics, kinesiology, neuroscience, and the health sciences. In addition, the new instrument provides opportunities for collaboration between Drake faculty and students and other educational institutions and corporate partners in Iowa. The acquisition of the instrument also contributes substantially to the STEM@DRAKE initiative.

—Office of Development

Aaron Harpold
Groundsworker

What do you do at Drake?
I’m a groundsworker—I take care of horticulture on campus, like flower beds. Our team works with 130,000 square feet of beds. I’m also a certified arborist and take care of smaller trees on campus.

What’s your favorite spot on campus?
It really depends on the season. Right now I’m really digging the Quad in between the first year residence halls. When you walk down into the quad it’s like you’re in a different place. We’ve been noticing more students going down there, which is great. It’s a nice spot. Another favorite spot is the Meredith Atrium. That space is so secluded; the aspect of stillness and quiet remind me of my work in the Japanese gardens in Long Beach.

You haven’t always been in horticulture—what did you do before this?
I got my BFA from Carnegie Mellon and I was an actor in New York City in my 20s. I did some shows on Broadway and was in a few episodes of shows like Law & Order. One of my favorite name-drop stories is when I read two lines of Shakespeare with Al Pacino’s hand on my back for a movie—it got cut, but I was floating on that experience for probably a week.

On Tuesday, Sept. 27, students in FYS 038 hosted a homecoming carnival at Ruby Van Meter (RVM) School, the special education middle school and high school for the Des Moines Public School System. Nearly 150 RVM and 21 Drake students participated in the event.

Drake students planned the 10 stations with interactive games and prizes, including face painting, pie toss, duck derby, and temporary Drake tattoos. Drake students made sure the stations were friendly to all ability levels and considered ways in which to adapt such activities. Through this project, Drake first-year students were able to explore, grow, and build by engaging with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Ruby Van Meter students were able to interact in meaningful ways will peers close to their own age in a fun environment.

In addition to the homecoming carnival, Drake first-year students are learning alongside these individuals with various disabilities through bi-weekly visits to Ruby Van Meter. Thoughtful reflection following these school visits remains integrated in the course through both in-class discussion activities and out-of-class assignments. These activities and interactions at Ruby Van Meter stimulate classroom discussion and allow Drake students to reach their course objectives by informing students of the various resources and services provided by the Drake/Des Moines community. Not only are students involved within the Des Moines community, they also strengthen their interpersonal skills in a different environment that Drake students may not generally encounter.

—Anisa Fornoff, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Lisa West, associate professor of English, will present a lecture, “The Dangers of Botanical Knowledge: Women, Witches, Collectors,” at the Viaduct Gallery of the Des Moines Social Club on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. The lecture is one of a series of events connected to Fatal Flora, a photography exhibit by Molly Wood, held at the Viaduct Gallery Oct. 7–30.

Basketball season is right around the corner! Now is the time to purchase tickets for premium men’s basketball matchups against Wichita State and UNI and a women’s basketball contest against Iowa. Reminder: Undergraduate students can attend all regular season home games using their Drake Card. Faculty and staff can take advantage of discounted pricing for single-games by visiting the Drake Athletics Ticket Office during regular business hours (M-F, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.) or by calling 515-271-3657 or emailing tickets@drake.edu.

A full schedule for both men’s and women’s basketball is available at www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.

—Tom Florian, Drake Athletics

It is with great enthusiasm that I share Tess Cody has accepted Drake’s offer to become our Prevention Coordinator–Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct. Tess was one of two finalists selected by the search committee. She will begin her new role on Monday, Oct. 17, and will be located in the Student Inclusion, Involvement and Leadership (STIIL) suite in the Olmsted Center.

Since graduating with her undergraduate degree from Luther College, Tess has worked in the field of sexual and domestic violence. Most recently, Tess completed her master’s degree in community development from Iowa State University. During her tenure at the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Tess managed their violence prevention program and associated grant through the Center for Disease Control. Tess comes to Drake having received extensive training on public health models and tools. In addition, she has helped train local domestic violence service providers in prevention work, led a community readiness assessment initiative, and coordinated a healthy relationships program.

Most recently, Tess has worked at Crisis Intervention Services (CIS) serving as the supervisor of their violence prevention team as well as supervising Drake’s Violence Intervention Partner program. Her experience building new partnerships and networks on all of the campuses within the CIS service area—including with existing and new student groups—will most certainly benefit our campus community. Through these efforts, she developed collaborative projects with campus groups and organizations, conducted staff and student trainings, and coordinated campaigns and volunteer opportunities at eight different colleges in south central Iowa. Many of our students and employees are already familiar with Tess through her collaborations at Drake, and we are excited to have her lead our prevention efforts and add to the conversation on campus.

I want to extend our appreciation to the members of the search committee: Stephanie Sledge (Chair), Diane Eischeid, Brett Niederhauser, Anisa Fornoff, Kerry King-Jordan, and students Grace Rogers and Russell White.

—Jerry Parker, Interim Dean of Students

The Office of Institutional Research & Assessment is pleased to announce that Gregory Lin has joined us as assessment coordinator. In this role, Gregory will support the improvement of student learning and enhancement of successful academic programs through student learning outcome assessment.

Previously interim assistant director of institutional effectiveness & planning at Parker University in Dallas, Gregory brings a holistic, end-user focused approach to assessment. Gregory brings a diverse and eclectic background in arts and sciences that allows him to meet the assessment needs and goals of departments and programs. Through Gregory’s passion for how student learning assessment can improve student learning, we aim to organize and assess student learning in a significant and meaningful way. Please join me in welcoming Gregory to Drake.

—Kevin Saunders, Institutional Research and Assessment

Please save the date for Larry Cox’s retirement party on Oct. 26, 2–4 p.m., in Levitt Hall. Larry is retiring after 32 years of proud service to Drake in the IT department as a network engineer. We hope you’ll join Larry’s ITS colleagues to wish him all the best in his retirement

—Carla Herling, ITS