Category Archives: Archive

News & Achievements Archive

Drake students researching radiation shielding solutions for space travel

Inside Science, the publication of the American Institute of Physics, and ABC News published an article describing the efforts of a student-led, interdisciplinary collaboration at Drake to design radiation shielding and artificial gravity systems for interplanetary travel.

According to the article, a spaceship bound for Mars carrying passengers would need to provide some kind of radiation shielding in order to protect the people aboard.

That’s where Drake comes in. An undergraduate team of researchers from Drake, with the project name of Magneto-Ionization Spacecraft Shield for Interplanetary Travel, or MISSFIT, is working to calculate the tradeoffs among different engineering solutions for radiation shielding and artificial gravity.

The project team is led by Athanasios Petridis, professor of physics and astronomy. Petridis said the project gives undergraduate physics students valuable experience conducting original research. 

The team of students shared their progress on the project the April 2021 meeting of the American Physical Society.

Read the full article

— Julianna Dubin, College of Arts & Sciences

Campus Announcements Archive

In Memoriam: Joanne Brown

Joanne Brown, beloved associate professor emerita of English at Drake, passed away at her home Aug. 5, 2021, in the presence of family. Joanne earned her master’s (1969) and doctorate (1980) from Drake University. She then became a tenured professor in the English department where she taught business writing and authored four books.

In her retirement, Joanne taught courses at the RaySociety, now referred to as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Drake. She also continued to pursue her passion for theatre. Her final stage appearance was at age 84 in Marjorie Prime as Marjorie.

Joanne was a long-time volunteer and active in her community. She was dedicated to literacy and served as a tutor at the Adult Literacy Center, located at Drake from 1976–2018. She also volunteered as a children’s theatre teacher, Des Moines Community Playhouse board member, and facilitator of book groups at Temple B’nai Jeshuran.

Joanne was known for her loyalty, independence, and generosity, and will be remembered with love and gratitude by colleagues, friends, and family alike. Donations in Joanne’s memory may be made to Temple B’nai Jeshurun or to Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. A funeral service was held on Sunday, Aug. 8, and can be viewed online.

Read Joanne’s full obituary and leave a message of condolence.

For Staff Archive

Let’s Talk About It: Critical Race Theory and the Drake Community

Critical Race Theory, or CRT, has been a prevalent topic in the news lately. And, lots of attention is being paid to CRT and college campuses. But what is CRT? Why are we hearing about it so much right now?

Drake staff are invited to join a conversation with Jen Harvey, Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion, on Tuesday, Aug. 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Olmsted Center, Parents Hall South. Registration is not necessary.

This inclusive discussion will cover ways we can better understand different reactions to CRT, sort through our own perspectives about it, and get prepared to support students and their families in understanding what CRT does (and doesn’t?) have to do with a Drake education.

— Jen Harvey, Campus Equity and Inclusion

Campus Announcements Archive

“See something, say something:” Catalytic converter theft

During the Spring 2021 semester, Drake Public Safety issued a safety alert for the theft of catalytic converters from cars in University parking lots. We have begun to receive additional reports of stolen catalytic converters from Toyota vehicles in campus parking lots, so once again, we are asking members of the campus community to “say something, if you see something.”

Throughout Des Moines and the rest of the country, catalytic converters are probably being stolen for scrap, or they could be reselling them to people installing them in cars. All cars have catalytic converters, so although the recent thefts have been aimed at Toyotas, any car could be the subject of a theft.

Because removing a catalytic converter typically requires getting underneath the vehicle with a metal saw or some other type of heavy-duty cutting tool, DPS is asking people to watch for suspicious activity in and around parking lots. 

During the summer months, we see less cars on campus and those cars may be unattended for longer periods of time.  At times during the summer, campus community members and guests may park unregistered vehicles in the lots and risk ticketing. Having only registered vehicles in our lots helps us to prevent criminal activity both in the lots as well as in and around buildings. DPS officers will continue to enforce the requirement that all cars parked in Drake parking lots have a Drake parking pass. Any car found in a Drake lot without a Drake parking permit may be subject to towing or being booted.

If your car has had its catalytic converter stolen or you have observed someone underneath vehicles or tampering with cars, we ask that you contact Drake Public Safety at 515–271–3860 or contact the Des Moines Police Department by calling 911.

— Scott Law, Director of Public Safety

Strategic Updates Archive

RaySociety renamed Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Drake University

Drake University’s lifelong learning organization known as the RaySociety received a $100,000 grant from The Bernard Osher Foundation to strengthen and expand its programming. As a result, the RaySociety was renamed the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Drake University. The name change signifies its inclusion as one of 125 lifelong learning institutes on university and college campuses across the country supported by the Osher Foundation.

“The RaySociety has been a recognized leader in the field of lifelong learning for nearly two decades,” said Tracy Beck, manager of OLLI at Drake University. “This grant along with our new national affiliation as an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will allow us to enhance our programming and serve more people in the community. We will continue to be the same great organization, just bigger, better, and with a nationally recognized name.”   

Beck said one of the benefits of joining the Osher Foundation is having access to a national network of resources, ideas, and colleagues to help strengthen its academic and social offerings. She said the grant funding will allow OLLI at Drake to increase its membership by providing scholarships for those who need help covering membership costs. In addition, funding will provide necessary technology upgrades to be able to deliver courses in both virtual and in-person formats.   

The RaySociety was established at Drake in 2004 and named after Governor Robert D. Ray, who served as Iowa’s 38th governor and later in his career as the 11th president of Drake University, and his wife Billie Ray, former teacher and first lady of Iowa. The organization has evolved into a respected lifelong learning program offering more than 60 non-credit courses and 10 lectures each year taught by Drake faculty and community leaders.

“This is an exciting growth opportunity for lifelong learning at Drake,” said Drake University President Marty Martin. “As we transition from the RaySociety to an Osher Institute, we will always honor Governor and Mrs. Ray for their instrumental support and involvement. With Mrs. Ray’s enthusiastic support, we will continue to build upon their legacy as we expand course opportunities, grow membership, and better serve our community.”

There will be no changes to membership costs and class structure during the transition period. Membership to OLLI at Drake is $50. The membership year runs from July 1 through June 30. Course registration for the Fall 2021 semester will open Aug. 9. Important to note: OLLI is now located at the Alumni House. For more information about OLLI at Drake, visit drake.edu/olli.

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Cake and Community: What are your hopes for the coming year?

You are invited to stop by Old Main 202 on Tuesday, Aug. 24, to have some cake and share your hopes for the coming semester.

While much is still unknown, we do know fall semester is fast approaching, students will be arriving, and Drake will be a hive of activity in just a few short weeks. As our community gathers to do the work and share the joys of another academic year, the Provost invites you to pause and consider: What are our best hopes? What are we particularly looking forward to this semester? How will we reconvene as a community?

Drop by Old Main, outside Office 202, for a piece of cake and to write a sticky note for the wall. As you do, read what others have to say, and add a sticker to those that resonate with you.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

Traveling abroad? Order a passport now

Are you thinking about traveling or studying abroad in 2022? Now is the time to order your passport! The U.S. State Department has announced that it now takes an average of 18 weeks (4.5 months) to process a passport.

Given the circumstances, if you want to travel or study abroad in J-Term or Spring 2022, you need to apply for a passport immediately.

If you’re considering studying abroad in the spring, you need to apply for your passport as soon as you’re done reading this message. Many countries require a student visa to study abroad, and you need your passport before you can apply for your visa. 

Important Things to Consider:

1. You must apply for a passport in person if this is your first passport or you are renewing a passport that was issued under age 16.

2. Search for the nearest location to apply for a passport on the U.S. Department of State website.

3. If you have a passport, make sure that it’s valid and doesn’t expire less than 6 months after your program or travels end. Most airlines require that your passport remain valid for a full 6 months after you plan to return.

4. Expedite both the processing time and shipping. You need to expedite every aspect of the passport process. Thousands of students who want to study abroad will be applying their passports, in addition to everyone who wants to travel internationally.

If you have questions, reach out to the Global Engagement Office!

—Karen Williams, Global Engagement

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Using passphrases instead of passwords

A password is typically composed of ten or fewer letters, numbers, and symbols. It could be a single word like “yourname”, a word that is obfuscated with other characters like “Dr@ke123”, or a string of random characters such as “B@3!&O$$”. Those examples go from least secure to most secure in terms of password choice, but EVERY password fewer than ten characters can be cracked within three weeks using modern computer technology.

A passphrase, however, is longer than a password and can contain spaces between words. An example would be “The road to success is always under construction!” A passphrase doesn’t have to be a proper grammatically correct sentence, but passphrases often have spaces between words and are always significantly longer than the average password.

So why would you use a passphrase instead of a password?

  1. Passphrases are easier to remember. You are more likely to remember a phrase you create than a short but complicated password.
  2. Passphrases satisfy complexity rules easily. The combination of upper- and lower-case letters as well as punctuation in passphrases usually meet systems’ password complexity requirements.
  3. Passphrases are much more difficult to crack.Most highly efficient password cracking tools break down around ten characters. These tools cannot guess, brute-force, or pre-compute passphrases, especially if they are more than 15 characters.

Are passphrases always better?

Not necessarily. A long password – 14 characters or more – comprised of random uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols is just as difficult to crack as any passphrase, but it’s much harder to remember. If you are using a password manager, which will allow you to securely store and easily retrieve passwords, the security and usability differences between passwords and passphrases will not be significant. However, if you are setting passwords that you must remember and enter by heart, then passphrases will always be better choices.

Recommendations for creating and using passphrases:

  1. Ensure your passphrase is a minimum of 15 characters.
  2. Include at least four words, though five is even better.
  3. Use punctuation in the passphrase. Including a number further increases the complexity and is required by some systems.
  4. Don’t create passphrases from common quotes, sayings, or songs. It should be meaningful to you, but not easy to guess.
  5. Use a unique passphrase for every account you own. That way, if one passphrase is compromised, your other accounts will remain secure.

Regardless of how complex a password or passphrase is, hackers will still attempt to trick you into divulging login credentials, often via email.

Because of this ongoing threat, ITS simulates phishing and will assign training to those most susceptible as part of our larger cybersecurity strategy. If you believe you’ve been targeted by phishing, see Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to) for next steps.

— Christopher Mielke, ITS

HR Information Archive

Griff II’s top 5 tips for National Wellness Month

August is National Wellness Month. Here are Griff II’s top five tips for promoting self-care, managing stress, and promoting healthy routines.

Drink More Water: Whether canine or human, hydration is important for the mind and body—especially during the dog days of summer. Water is key to digestion, moving nutrients through your body, lubricating your joints, helping keep your skin clear, and can help with weight loss—if that is a goal of yours.

Play Outside More: Fresh air is good for the body and mind. Spending time in nature has been shown to lower blood pressure and heart rate, manage stress, improve memory, and elevate your mood.

Go for a W-A-L-K: Walking is simple, free, and it benefits you in many ways–it benefits your mental health, helps manage weight, gives you more energy, and assists with pain management. If you are not a regular walker, now is a great time to start. Just a 30 minute walk a day will render benefits.

Take a BIIIIIIG Stretch: Griff II strongly recommends that you start each day with a good stretch. Regular stretching helps preserve mobility, keeps your muscles flexible, and protects your joints and muscles from injury. Griff II suggests, and experts at Harvard Medical School agree, you focus on your lower extremities (calves, hamstrings, hip flexors in the pelvis and quadriceps in the front of the thigh).

Take a Snooze: Sleep plays a huge factor in our mental and physical well-being. Making sure you get enough sleep will help you keep your weight steady, reduce your risk of depression, help manage anxiety, keep your memory sharp, and your immune system strong. Griff II recommends you maintain a pattern of going to bed at night and getting up in the morning around the same time every day. We’re creatures of habit—this is a good habit to cultivate.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Update: Campus printing changes 

Drake printers/copiers are leased from and maintained by Laser Resources Inc. (LRI) and we are entering into a new agreement with them this summer.  

A project team, made up of staff members from ITS, Student Services, Finance, and LRI representatives, has been meeting weekly. In June, LRI staff held initial meetings with representatives across campus to discuss printing, scanning, and copying needs for their departments. 

LRI is currently scheduling follow up meetings with departments to let them know about expected printer changes and the replacement timeline for their area. The printer order has been placed, but we don’t know when the new devices will arrive on campus. Much like other electronics, there have been global supply chain issues that may cause delays. We hope, however, that they begin arriving by mid-August. 

As printers arrive, we will be prioritizing installation in academic and student areas. Our intention is to switch over the devices of each department or area all at once, rather than having a mix of devices. We will also be updating our step-by-step printing guides as the new devices arrive on campus. 

Want to learn more? We’ve created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page at drake.edu/its/printing. Additional questions and answers will be added as the project progresses and more information becomes available. Also, more information including which devices will be in each location, and other changes, will be shared in future OnCampus articles.  

—Kris Brewster, ITS