Category Archives: News & Achievements Archive

News & Achievements Archive

Risky Business Week

University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA) has developed a number of free risk management webinars to help bring information about the value of risk management to our campus during Risky Business Week. Drake University is a member of URMIA and as such, all faculty, staff, and students can register to take the free risk webinars below. Consider participating on your own or in a group (discussion group, lunch and learn, etc.).

Webinar 1: Managing Risks with Student Groups (Monday, Nov. 2, 11 a.m.)

Webinar 2: Mitigating Travel Risks with University Policies and Procedures (Tuesday, Nov. 3, 11 a.m.)

Webinar 3: Can It Begin with Me? Risk Leadership on Campus. (Wednesday, Nov. 4, 11 a.m.)

Webinar 4: Working with Researchers to Manage Laboratory Risks (Thursday, Nov. 5, 11 a.m.)

Webinar 5: Data Breach 201 (Friday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m.)

Register for Risk Management Week webinars here. You’ll find full descriptions of each webinar on the register page. (NOTE: when you register, it will look like you are placing an order but the webinars are free so $0 will show on the order form). If you have any problems registering, contact Donna Blunck at x3116.

—Submitted by Donna Blunck, Director, Risk and Insurance

News & Achievements Archive

Drake news: Oct. 26

The former head of digital strategy for the Obama White House and the president of production for the website Funny or Die are among the confirmed participants in “Digital Democracy: The Yahoo Conference on Technology and Politics” to be held at Drake on Nov. 12.

The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University celebrated CHARACTER COUNTS! Week in Iowa with a proclamation by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and the announcement of a high-profile award for former Major League Baseball player Casey Blake.

Plus, three Drake students were quoted in an article in The Washington Post, “What is a democratic socialist? Bernie Sanders tries to redefine the name.”

News & Achievements Archive

Take part in Recreational Services’ Murder Mystery

Murder Mystery is a wellness incentive program coordinated by Recreational Services as a way to promote a daily fitness routine. It will take place at the Bell Center starting today, Oct. 26, and run through Friday, Oct. 30. Each day participants should sign in at the front desk of the Bell Center to access a clue. By the end of the week, each participant will have enough clues to solve the murder mystery. Each participant to correctly solve the mystery will receive a coffee mug. This program is free for all Drake students, faculty, and staff. Just sign in at the desk today, and start collecting your clues!

—Submitted by Ellen Lowe, Assistant Director Recreational Services – Wellness

News & Achievements Archive

Klaus Bartschat receives Will Allis Prize from American Physical Society

Klaus Bartschat, the Ellis & Nelle Levitt Professor of Physics, was awarded the 2016 Will Allis Prize for the Study of Ionized Gases from the American Physical Society (APS). APS represents over 51,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world.

Klaus received the award “for fundamental theoretical and computational contributions to the understanding of charged-particle and photon collisions with atoms and molecules and for providing critical data and insight to the plasma modeling community.” His research is of fundamental importance for basic physics and has broad applications in many areas of research and industry.

The Will Allis Prize was established in 1989 in recognition of the outstanding contributions of Will Allis (1901-1999), an American theoretical physicist, to the study of ionized gases. It is awarded in even-numbered years.

Klaus is the 14th honoree in the award’s history; recent recipients hail from noted research institutions including the University of California at Berkley (2014), the Queen’s University of Belfast (2012), and the University of Michigan (2010). More information can be found at www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/allis.cfm.

Klaus will receive $10,000 and deliver an invited talk at the 47th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, in June 2016. He will also be honored at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC), to be held in Bochum (Germany) in October 2016.

Read more about Klaus here.

News & Achievements Archive

Office of Residence Life moves to online housing registration

The Office of Residence Life is proud to announce that through a strong partnership with Drake Technology Services, we have migrated the paper-based, entering first-year student housing registration process to an online application available as of Oct. 1. The online process will make the housing and dining service application experience easier for the students and families preparing to start their journey at Drake, as well as enhance the roommate matching process.

We could not have accomplished this task without the hard work of the Drake Technology Services staff, who completed the project on time and on budget for the incoming first-year students.

—Submitted by Lorissa Lieurance, Assistant Dean of Students, Director of Student Life

News & Achievements Archive

SJMC news

National Public Radio’s senior diversity editor, Luis Clemens, met with SJMC faculty on Friday, Oct. 9, to discuss best practices for addressing diversity and inclusion throughout the JMC curriculum. He later met with SJMC students to discuss the journalism profession and offer tips on obtaining internships and jobs.

—Submitted by Kathleen Richardson, Dean, SJMC

News & Achievements Archive

Foreign language conversation hours

It is difficult to keep up language fluency without speaking regularly, so Drake’s Department of World Languages and Cultures wants to help.

Arabic Club

Arabic Club offers the opportunity for students, faculty, and administrators to practice speaking in Arabic on Wednesdays in Medbury, Room 219 between 1:15 and 3:15 p.m. All levels of speakers are welcome. In addition to practicing speaking, the group explores history, geography, culture, and other topics of interest to the group. Drop-in attendance is welcome.

For further information, contact Adjunct Instructor Nahed Waly, nahed.waly@drake.edu.

Spanish Conversation Hours

Spanish Conversation Hours are scheduled for Mondays 2–3 p.m., and Thursdays 12:30–1:30 p.m. in Meredith, Room 228. Students, faculty, and administrators of all levels are welcome. The group is very encouraging of all participants and no long-term commitment is required to attend. A native speaker facilitates the conversation for those interested in practicing Spanish in an informal setting.

For further information, contact Visiting Assistant Professor Inbal Mazar at inbal.mazar@drake.edu

—Submitted by Drake International

News & Achievements Archive

First-year students grow partnership with Ruby Van Meter School

Through the combination of LEAD 060 and FYS 038, Drake first-year students engaged in a service activity at Ruby Van Meter School, a local Des Moines middle school and high school that serves students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This service event involved hosting a homecoming carnival celebration.

The carnival took place on Sept. 29. The students of FYS 038 developed all the ideas and content for the carnival games and worked to ensure students of all abilities were able to participate. Examples of games included a whipped cream pie toss, prize walk, photo booth, duck derby, bean bag toss, and catapult game. Through this project, Drake first-year students were able to explore, grow, and build their communication skills by engaging with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

—Submitted by Anisa Fornoff, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice

News & Achievements Archive

Drake faculty receive upwards of $219,000 in grant funding

Principal Investigators: Robert Stensrud & Matt Bruinekool
Project Title: Council of State Administrators of Vocational
Rehabilitation (CSAVR) -Drake VR Counselor Support Network
Project Summary: This project will provide scholarships to students who pursue MS degrees in rehabilitation counseling and agree to take positions with state vocational rehabilitation agencies for internship and employment. The project also will create a national clearinghouse for matching open internship and job positions with students willing to travel to those locations. Guest speakers will be involved in speaking to classes via Skype, mentoring students via email, and assisting faculty in showing alternate employment settings.
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Amount Awarded: $199,999

Principal Investigator: John Harrell
Project Title: Impact of Sedentary Time Accumulation on Cerebrovascular Reactivity
Project Summary: Funds will be used to test increases in cerebral blood flow in highly sedentary and non-sedentary young adults. Further, the research is aimed at investigating a specific mechanism (cyclooxygenase) of cerebral vasodilation.
Funding Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Iowa Space Grant Consortium
Amount Awarded: $10,000

Principal Investigator: Adina Kilpatrick
Project Title: Using Synthetic Biology and Molecular Biophysics Tools to Design and Characterize Auto-Fluorescent Biosensors
Project Summary: Funds will be used for the development of a project-based molecular biophysics laboratory course for the spring 2016 semester. The goal of the project is to use tools from synthetic biology and molecular biophysics to design and characterize fluorescent biosensors that can be used in the detection of ions or to investigate protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions. Biosensors containing cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins will be used to investigate the calcium-dependent interaction between calmodulin and the ryanodine receptor, two proteins involved in excitation-contraction coupling in muscle cells.
Funding Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Iowa Space Grant Consortium
Amount Awarded: $5,000

Principal Investigator: Neil Hamilton
Project Title: Logistical Support for Conference on Soil and Water Policy
Project Summary: Funds will be used to host a conference at Drake on soil and water policy on Nov. 19-20, to determine the interface between science and policy in protecting and enhancing soil and water resources.
Funding Agency: USDA Agricultural Research Service
Amount Awarded: $5,000

—Submitted by Jayne Smith, Director, Sponsored Programs and Grant Management

News & Achievements Archive

New issue of Drake Blue hot off the press

The fall issue of Drake Blue magazine explores Drake’s unique role in the Iowa political process, how fine arts alumni are finding success in their fields, and the benefits of non-conventional pairings of majors at Drake. Look for updates from Drake’s colleges and schools, check out upcoming events in the alumni calendar, and catch up with news from alumni of all years. You can see the whole issue—plus online exclusives—at www.drake.edu/magazine

—Submitted by Beth Wilson, Editorial Director