After months of tough practice, one of Drake Mock Trial’s teams was able to advance at the regional level by placing second in the Great Plains Regional Tournament. Because of this, Drake Mock Trial will advance to the Opening Round Championship Series in St. Paul, Minn. Success there would lead Drake Mock Trial to the national competition for a second year in a row.
-Submitted by John Wingert
Drake University faculty and staff members are invited to take advantage of discounted pricing on 2016 Drake Relays ticket pages. Tickets are available at the following discounts:
All-Session Tickets (Thursday-Saturday):
$89.00 each (Regular $95.00)
All-American Tickets (Friday Night & Saturday):
$60.00 each (Regular $65.00)
Gold I Tickets(Friday Day & Saturday):
$66.00 each (Regular $70.00)
Gold II Tickets (Friday Day & Friday Night):
$55.00 each (Regular $60.00)
Don’t miss out on any of the action on the blue oval. Get your tickets today by calling 515-271-3647 or visiting the Drake Athletics Ticket Office Monday-Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Questions? Contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647 or tickets@drake.edu.
— Tom Florian, Assistant Director of Ticket Operations and Donor Management
Three advertising students took home awards from the American Advertising Awards dinner on Feb. 20 in Des Moines. Vicki Chai won a gold award, and Paityn Langley and Kelsey Rooney won silver awards. In addition, SJMC alumnus Caleb Bailey won Rookie of the Year honors and Jason Boucher won the Silver Medal award.
—Kathleen Richardson, Dean, SJMC
Dianna Gray, College of Business and Public Administration
What do you do?
“As the outreach coordinator, I’m part recruiter, part adviser, and part alumni connector for the graduate programs in the College of Business and Public Administration.”
What’s something you’re currently working on?
“Most people feel an affinity with their undergrad but maybe not their graduate school institution if they’re pursuing it part time. So we do semester kickoffs and events to tie them all together across the four grad programs in the CBPA. We do an annual networking event, and we also started the CBPA graduate association—of which I’m the co-adviser—that is made of students and led by students.”
Why do you do what you do?
“When I went to school, it wasn’t a matter of whether I was going to college, it was a question of where. I knew that I wanted to do something with nontraditional aged-students because both my husband and my mom went back as nontraditional students. While they had good jobs and worked hard, once they got their degrees, it was like boom, their career kind of exploded. I thought, ‘I want to be part of that and help those people.’”
“When you see the names of people that are graduating … it’s rewarding to see you can change somebody’s life by just having a conversation with them and telling them what the advantages of our programs are.”
Urban Plains—the 2015 senior capstone website for the SJMC magazine media, news and digital media production students—won the student interactive multimedia “Best of Festival” award at this year’s Broadcast Education Association contest.
The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an international refereed exhibition of faculty creative activities and a national showcase for student work. There were 1,500 entries from more than 175 institutions. The awards will be presented at the BEA convention in Las Vegas in April.
Urban Plains was previously named best online magazine by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; best online edition at the Iowa College Media Association contest; first place for multimedia story in the Associated Collegiate Press Awards; and has received multiple awards for individual writing, design, photography, and video in those contests and in
the Telly Awards.
—Kathleen Richardson, Dean, SJMC
Students head to National Food Recovery Dialog Conference
On Jan. 4, Laura Leben, senior environmental science major, was awarded $4,280 through the Slay Fund to bring eight members of Next Course – Food Recovery Network to the National Food Recovery Dialog Conference on April 2–4. The conference brings together student leaders and experts in the area of food recovery, food justice, and environmental law and policy to celebrate achievements, engage in workshops and discussions, and listen to speakers.
On April 4, these Drake students will also be attending a national lobby day for food recovery on Capitol Hill and have the opportunity to meet with legislators and discuss the issues of fighting waste and feeding people.
Alumni Achievement awards
Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Science’s Alumni Achievement awards were presented during the annual Pharmacy & Health Sciences Day on Feb. 18. Recipients of the annual Alumni Achievement awards are honored for their exceptional contributions to the college, distinction in their careers, and/or civic and community contributions. In addition, the college issues its Young Alumni Award to one alumna or alumnus within 10 years of graduation.
“It is an honor to recognize these distinguished alumni for their achievements,” said Renae Chesnut, dean of the college. “Their professional accomplishments, commitment to our students, and dedication to their communities is inspiring.” For a full list of the recipients, visit the Drake Newsroom.
FDA-funded study supports generic substitution of epilepsy drugs
Researchers are now more comfortable than ever that generic drugs may be used without risk or loss of effectiveness, according to new results from a federally funded study conducted by researchers at Drake University, the University of Cincinnati, and eight other major research institutions.
These findings were published online Feb. 12 in The Lancet Neurology. Tim Welty, professor and chair of clinical sciences in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was second author on the paper, alongside lead author Michael Privitera at the University of Cincinatti Medical Center. For more information on the project, click here.
Junior marketing and accounting double major receives AMA Scholarship
Eunice Chang, a junior marketing and accounting major, has been awarded the 2015 Iowa American Marketing Association Scholarship. The $1,500 scholarship is awarded annually in partnership with Casey’s General Store to an undergraduate member of AMA Iowa in recognition of outstanding leadership, high academic achievement, and active participation in the marketing profession. Learn more about Eunice in the Drake Newsroom.
M.P.A. cohort to be offered in Ames
Drake will hold information sessions this summer for students who are interested in taking courses in Ames toward a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree. Classes for the two-year Ames M.P.A. cohort program are held on weekends, and courses are taken one at a time to allow in-depth exploration of each topic.
Applications for the Fall 2016 cohort, which has an emphasis in executive leadership development, will be accepted through Aug. 1. Information sessions will take place at the Ames Chamber of Commerce and Mary Greeley Medical Center. Classes are held in Mary Greeley Medical Center. Click here for more information.
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 University’s Department of World Languages and Cultures wants to help.
Spanish Conversation Hours are scheduled for Mondays, 1–2 p.m., and Fridays, 2–3 p.m., in Meredith 204. The group supports all levels of Spanish speakers with an opportunity to practice Spanish, and 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.
—Submitted by Drake International
The first 1,000 Drake faculty, staff, students, alumni, and family members who sign up for the Grand Blue Mile (GBM) are eligible for a free entry using the discount code DUGRIFF16. Recognized as one of the top road miles in the country, the GBM is a local favorite for walkers, joggers, and competitive runners alike. The 2016 GBM is Tuesday, April 26, at 6 p.m. Sign up NOW at www.grandbluemile.com
—Carolyn Hill, Assistant Director, Drake Relays Operations
