Category Archives: News & Achievements Archive

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

News & Achievements Archive

Drake news: Oct. 12

Drake students will now have access to a new state-of-the-art collaborative learning space with industry-standard business tools, thanks to a generous $1.5 million gift from American Equity founder and Drake University supporter David J. Noble.

On Nov. 10, Drake will host NPR Presents: Michel Martin, live in Sussman Theater at 7 p.m. This unique live event blends interviews with a panel discussion between some of Des Moines’ most dynamic young activists, storytelling, and live music.

And finally, the Drake University community met its new live bulldog mascot on Thursday. Griff, a retired show dog, is ready for the limelight as the University’s furry ambassador for athletics events, student celebrations, and community festivities.

News & Achievements Archive

SJMC news, Oct. 5

Iowa caucus season is always a lively time on the Drake campus, and this year is turning out to provide an unusually rich number of opportunities for students. A group of 20 journalists from around the world were on campus Sept. 24, hosted by the Iowa International Center. The group met with SJMC Dean Kathleen Richardson to discuss journalism education and open government issues and with political science professor Dennis Goldford, the Harkin Institute’s Flansburg Fellow, to learn about the caucuses. They also attended SJMC professor Lee Jolliffe’s first year seminar, Grassroots Politics on a Global Stage.

—Submitted by Kathleen Richardson, Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

News & Achievements Archive

Win a GoPro HERO4

Be a part of the dining program at Drake University. Your voice matters! By completing the Drake Dining Survey you help us direct and enhance dining services throughout campus. All Drake students, staff, and faculty are invited to complete the survey—one entry per person. All participants will automatically be entered into a drawing for a GoPro HERO4!

Utilizing an independent online research questionnaire, the Drake Dining Survey provides insight into your wants and needs. We analyze performance, spending patterns, purchase drivers, retail brand preferences, meal plans, and campus mapping to develop future solutions that will better serve the Drake community.

Now is the chance for your voice to be heard. We will make positive enhancements to the dining services provided based on your feedback and input.

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN SURVEY

—Submitted by Jennifer Bowersox, Unit Marketing Coordinator, Drake University Dining

News & Achievements Archive

Help make Drake’s campus more bike-friendly

First-year students from Erin Hurley’s FYS, Cycling and Social Change, wrote and and submitted a proposal to Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Community Kickstarter Grant Program to make the Drake campus and the surrounding neighborhood more bike friendly. If selected, the project will receive up to $10,000 to launch a bike rental program and add more bike storage options on campus.

In order to show Wellmark this project is worth investing in, please visit the Community Kickstarter page and vote for the “Make Drake a more Bike-Friendly Community”. You can vote once a day until Oct. 7. The more votes we get the better our chances of winning!

—Submitted by Renee Sedlacek, Interim Director of Community Engagement and Service-Learning

News & Achievements Archive

College of Arts & Sciences news

Dan Woodman, vice president of the Australian Sociological Society and faculty at University of Melbourne, recently made his first visit to a private college—our own Drake University. Woodman delivered a lecture on Millennials and the sociology of generations to students in Kevin Lam, Natalie Adkins, and Darcie Vandegrift’s classes. He taught a session of Vandegrift’s class, Global Youth Studies, and was hosted at breakfast by Drake students Heather Richmond, Elle Dietz, and Ben Weinberg. Drake students impressed Woodman with their engagement, knowledge of sociology, and thoughtful questions. The visit was sponsored by the Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship and the Sociology program.

—Submitted by Darcie Vandegrift, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department Chair

News & Achievements Archive

SJMC news: Sept. 21

Twenty journalists from 20 countries will join Drake students to talk Iowa caucus politics this Thursday, Sept. 24.

The journalists will first meet with Drake politics professor Dennis Goldford to learn more about caucuses and Iowa’s role in the presidential selection process, then meet with 19 students for presentations and discussion in Lee Jolliffe’s First Year Seminar, The Iowa Caucuses: Grassroots Politics on a Global Stage.

Students in the Iowa Caucus FYS will give a presentation for the visitors about how social media has changed young people’s experiences of presidential selection politics. The participants will also meet in small groups to talk about young adults’ experience of free press, democracy, and political participation—key issues identified by the U.S. State Department, sponsor of the visit.

Janet Norton, of the Iowa International Center, is working with Drake to make the Iowa segment of the visitors’ trip as informative and smooth-running as possible. The larger visit, encompassing other cities and learning experiences, is hosted by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and U.S. Department of State, and is part of the International Visitor Leadership Program. This particular study trip is called The U.S. Political System: Background for Journalists, and the journalists selected are from many continents and countries.

Among the guests are prominent journalists from Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Italy, Nigeria, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Tunisia, and Turkey.

—Submitted by Lee Joliffe, Associate Professor of Journalism