A new ranking by The Economist of all U.S. four-year, non-vocational colleges and universities places Drake University 17th in the nation for value.

The Economist applied an original mathematical formula to the federal Department of Education’s data on college graduates’ mid-career earnings to identify the “gap between how much money [each college’s] graduates earn and how much they might have made had they studied elsewhere.” Out of 1,283 colleges, Drake ranked 17th for return on investment—just below Georgetown University and directly above Rensselaer Polytechnic University.

The Brookings Institution released its own value rankings this week, using the same federal scorecard data but a different mathematical formula. The rankings—which were much broader than The Economist’s, and included two-year colleges as well as four-year colleges—placed Drake in the top 100 four-year schools tied with Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Colgate and Syracuse among others.

Read more in the Drake Newsroom.

The University Bookstore is now owned by Follett. A services and general feedback survey is available at www.campusstorefeedback.com/ until Nov. 25. All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to participate.

—Submitted by Nancy Geiger, Student Information Analyst

Sarah McCoy, assistant professor of graphic design, is featured in the November/December issue of Midwest Living .

Katherine Lincoln, University archives associate, has earned the Society of American Archivists Digital Archives Specialist certification. The certification is earned through a sequence of required coursework and comprehensive examinations. It is built around the core competencies needed to understand, organize, preserve, and develop digital archives containing electronic records across multiple generations of technology.

Wade Leuwerke, associate professor of education and department chair, and two longtime colleagues recently published a textbook on college student success. Connections: Empowering College and Career Success is a textbook that helps first-time and returning college students develop the skills, attitudes, and behaviors critical for success in college and into their career. The book empowers students to take responsibility for their education through increasing self-regulation, critical thinking, positive thinking, goal setting, and intentional career planning. The authors also created the Academic and Career Excellence System (ACES) a norm-referenced, self-assessment of non-cognitive and college skills. Students utilize ACES and the text to determine strengths and build personal success plans to bolster skills critical for strong performance in college and beyond. Learn more about Wade and his book in the Drake Newsroom.

Anne Murr, coordinator, Drake Adult Literacy Center, received the Outstanding Educator Award from The Learning Disabilities Association of Iowa (LDA IOWA). LDA is dedicated to identifying causes and promoting prevention of learning disabilities and to enhancing the quality of life for all individuals with learning disabilities and their families. The award is given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the field of education to children, youth, and/or adults with learning disabilities.

Renee Cramer, associate professor and chair of law politics and society, published a new book about the cultural obsession with celebrity pregnancies. Pregnant With The Stars, published by Stanford University Press, examines the American fascination with, and judgment of, celebrity pregnancy and exposes how our seemingly innocent interest in “baby bumps” actually reinforces troubling standards about femininity, race, and class, while increasing the surveillance and regulation of all women in our society. Read more about Renee’s book here.