Category Archives: News & Achievements Archive

News & Achievements Archive

School of Education news: Week of April 11

Angela James lecture
Faculty, staff, and students are invited to a lecture by South African scholar Angela James, who will present on service-learning research at University of KwaZulu-Natal, one of Drake’s strategic partners in South Africa. The lecture will take place April 20, 9:30–10:45 a.m. in Room B-13 in the School of Education building.

Diversity Statement
The SOE had finalized our diversity statement:

“The Drake University School of Education is committed to diversity and inclusivity. As members of the School of Education, we strive to work toward an affirming learning and teaching environment. We do so by seeking to educate culturally responsive professionals who are able to work effectively with all stakeholders. Aligned with our commitment to academic reflection, collaborative learning and social justice, we seek to facilitate the development of our students as reflective practitioners, critical thinkers, and public intellectuals.”

This is posted online at www.drake.edu/soe/about/mission/

—Catherine Gillespie, Associate Dean, Professor of Education and Mary Collier Endowed Professor

News & Achievements Archive

College of Arts & Sciences news: Week of April 11

Phillip Chen receives prestigious foundation grant
Phillip Chen, professor of drawing and printmaking at Drake, recently received the 2015/2016 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. The foundation has awarded Phillip $20,000, for his work in printmaking. This is his second major art grant after receiving the Louis B. Comfort Tiffany Award in 2006. Learn more about the grant and Phillip in the Drake Newsroom.

Students present at the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies undergraduate student conference
Three students in the law, politics, and society program (Phoebe Clark, Alexandria Porter, and Alliyah Greaver) were selected to present research papers at the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies undergraduate student conference at Iowa State University’s Memorial Union on April 9. They each presented papers on the topic “Transforming Gender and Society.” Professor Nathaniel Holdren has been working throughout the semester with the students in preparation for their abstract submissions and paper research. The conference featured presentations and discussions by students from around the state.

News & Achievements Archive

“Music is Out of This World”

Sigma Alpha Iota annually hosts a Free Day of Music for kids between ages 5 and 12. “Music is Out of This World” will be held Saturday, April 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church (3223 University Ave., near Drake’s campus). During this time, the kids will move between “space stations” learning about different aspects of music, visiting our instrument planetarium, making an intergalactic musical instrument, and learning a space-themed song and dance to perform for their adoring fans.

Guardians, family, and friends are welcome to join us at 11:30 a.m. to watch the performance of the songs and dance they learned throughout the morning. A snack will also be provided during their time with us, so please note in the registration form if they have any dietary restrictions.

Registration will be open the day of the event, but for planning and food purposes, we encourage you to pre-register. You can learn about our event and register a child or children at https://sites.google.com/site/saifreedayofmusic2016/home. We hope that you can join us on our Out of This World adventure! If you have any questions, please email sigmaalphaiota.pichapter@gmail.com.

—Taylor Donaldson

News & Achievements Archive

Massage therapy for faculty, staff, and students

Drake Wellness is again making massage therapy available to Drake faculty, staff and students in the Wellness Center. Special Drake rates are offered at $30/30 minutes, $50/60 minutes, $75/90 minutes. Add-ons are also available. Contact massage therapist, Anne Boal directly at 515-988-8760 or anneboalwellness.com to schedule an appointment. Extended morning and afternoon appointment times are available.

—Anne Boal

News & Achievements Archive

Volunteer with the Adult Literacy Center

The Adult Literacy Center at Drake University is seeking volunteers eager to change the lives of local adults by helping them achieve basic literacy (reading, writing, and/or speaking) skills. A tutor training will be held Friday, April 22, 5–8 p.m., and Saturday, April 23, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m., at the School of Education.

Volunteers will learn about characteristics of adults who lack literacy skills, the potential causes for adult illiteracy, and skills for delivering multisensory reading instruction. Registration is required and can be completed by contacting Anne Murr at anne.murr@drake.edu or 515-271-3982.

Learn more about the Adult Literacy Center in the Drake Newsroom.

News & Achievements Archive

Spanish Language Conversation Table

Are you going to a Spanish-speaking country this summer or next semester? Would you like to begin learning a few words in Spanish for an upcoming study abroad semester or travel seminar? Do you want or need to keep up your foreign language fluency? Drake’s Department of World Languages and Cultures wants to help.

Spanish Conversation Table is scheduled for Mondays, 1–2 p.m., and Fridays, 2–3 p.m., in Meredith Hall, Room 204. All levels of Spanish speakers are welcome. The group warmly supports all participants with an opportunity to practice Spanish; no long-term commitment is required to attend. A native speaker facilitates the conversation in Spanish in an informal setting.

For further information, contact Associate Professor Eduardo Garcia Villada at eduardo.garcia@drake.edu.

—Drake International

News & Achievements Archive

CPHS news: Week of April 4

Rodney Carter, PH’76, dean of the School of Pharmacy and professor of pharmacy practice at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, was selected to receive the 2016 Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal of Honor, the highest honor given by Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. As part of this honor, he will deliver the 2016 Weaver Medal of Honor Lecture on Wednesday, April 27, at 2 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend the lecture, which is free open to the public. To learn more about Carter, visit the Drake Newsroom.

News & Achievements Archive

College of Arts & Sciences news: Week of April 4

William Klipec, associate professor of psychology, recently published a research manuscript that has implications for the treatment of cocaine addiction.

The article published in Behavioural Brain Research is titled “Loss of the trpc4 gene is associated with a reduction in cocaine self-administration and reduced spontaneous ventral tegmental area dopamine neuronal activity, without deficits in learning for natural rewards.” To learn more about William’s research, visit the Drake Newsroom.

In other publishing news, Avery Gregurich and Angela Ufheil, both writing majors, had creative nonfiction published in Oakland Arts Review (Vol. I Winter 2016), an international undergraduate arts journal.

News & Achievements Archive

SJMC news: Week of April 4

Lee Jolliffe authors chapters on free speech
SJMC’s Lee Jolliffe authored one chapter and is first author on another, in the newly issued book An Indispensable Liberty: The Fight for Free Speech in Nineteenth-Century America, edited by Mary M. Cronin, of New Mexico State University.

In the lead chapter of the book, “A Press Ablaze: Violent Suppression of Abolitionist Speech, Press, Petition, and Assembly,” Lee details the wide range of violence used against abolitionist speakers, publishers, preachers, and audiences. Using newly indexed 19th-century newspapers, she has discovered that far more violence was aimed at anti-slavery advocates than previous histories have led us to believe. A number of abolitionist speakers and preachers were murdered in the South, for instance.

In a co-authored chapter on the suffrage movement, “Incremental but Insufficient: Gains Offset by Suppression for Women’s Rights Speakers,” the authors found that jeering and harassment were the primary tools of anti-woman suffrage mobs, but sadly, previously unknown violence was again discovered. Lee’s colleagues in writing this chapter are Sandra Davidson, University of Missouri, and Paulette Kilmer, University of Toledo.

The book is available from Amazon or from www.siupress.com.


SJMC senior chosen to anchor coverage of national broadcasters convention
Broadcast news senior Brenna Paukert has been selected as an anchor for the production team providing live broadcast coverage of the 2016 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show’s StudioXperience in Las Vegas on April 16–22. The NAB Show is the largest gathering of media and entertainment professionals in the world, drawing more than 100,000 attendees.


Learn to shoot better smartphone video
Professor Chris Snider will teach a smartphone video workshop on April 13 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in Meredith Hall, Room 124B. Come learn the basics of shooting great video and test out some accessories to make your smartphone a more powerful video tool. See all the details here.


SJMC hosts high school journalism conference
The SJMC will host a high school journalism conference on campus April 6 that is expected to draw as many as 100 students and their advisers. The daylong conference, which will focus on leadership and innovation, is co-sponsored by the Iowa Newspaper Foundation, Simpson College, and Iowa State University.


Road trip!
SJMC magazine students and faculty will take their annual tour of New York City magazines and meet with industry professionals and Drake alumni on April 6-10. And SJMC students and faculty will take a bus trip to Minneapolis April 3–4 to visit alumni and professionals at Twin Cities-area businesses and agencies.

—Kathleen Richardson, Dean, SJMC