The University of Nebraska Press recently published Associate Professor Jennifer Perrine’s manuscript, “No Confession, No Mass.” Jennifer’s manuscript won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry for 2014. Jennifer is also the author of In the Human Zoo, recipient of the Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize, and The Body Is No Machine, winner of the Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award in Poetry.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, the Des Moines Symphony accompanied Michael Cavanaugh on the music of Billy Joel at the Des Moines Civic Center. Cavanaugh was personally picked by Billy Joel to play him in the Broadway hit musical “Movin’ Out.” Drake faculty performing with the symphony that night were regular members Clarence Padilla (clarinet), Bob Meunier (percussion), Jennifer Bloomberg (oboe), Sue Odem (oboe), Tim Gale (bassoon) and Ashley Eidbo (double bass). In addition, faculty members Leslie Marrs (flute), Jim Romain (sax), and Dan Peichl (horn) joined as substitutes and extras giving Drake nine musicians who played at that concert.

Teri Koch, professor of librarianship, participated in a panel on “The Importance of Outreach in Shared Print Projects” at the Charleston Conference. This conference is the preeminent gathering of librarians, publishers, resource managers, and vendors, in Charleston, South Carolina, that focuses on issues in book and serials acquisitions. Teri discussed the Central Iowa Collaborative Collections Initiative, a ground-breaking shared collection among Drake University and five other Iowa colleges and universities.

Art and Design Professor Phillip Chen is one of only four artists whose work was selected for permanent installation in the John and Mary Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building at The University of Iowa. Application standards were notably high, requiring no fewer than ten artworks in museum collections, exhibitions in at least five museums, and national grants or fellowships. The four finalists are: Phillip Chen, Viola Frey, Susan Hettmansperger, and Charles Ray. Phillip’s artwork is also included in the Art Institute of Chicago’s current exhibition, “Homegrown: The School of the Art Institute in the Permanent Collection,” through Feb. 15, 2016. His recent print, “Federgeist,” has been selected for exhibition at the International Print Center New York, Nov. 19–Jan. 2016, and at Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 13–Dec. 13.

The most recent volume of dsm magazine (Nov/Dec) featured a story on the book project about the religions of Des Moines that Tim Knepper, professor of philosophy, is writing with a local photographer.

Since the story was written, the book has been picked up by Carol Spaulding-Kruse’s Drake Community Press, which partners local book projects with Drake curricular and extracurricular opportunities and donates the proceeds of the sale of the book to local nonprofits. Students will be doing much of the work for the book: research, writing, editing, layout/design, fundraising, community building, marketing and advertising, documentary work, and web design. Most of the content collection and writing will occur next semester in a class that Carol and Tim are co-teaching.