The Bell Center will close at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31.
Bell Center Closing Early Halloween Weekend
Category Archives: Archive
SPARC Brown Bag Lunch Series
Please join us in our brown bag lunch series on Nov. 3 and Nov. 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in Howard Hall, Room 212. Our second session, Including Students on Grants, will discuss the policies, procedures, and normative practices for including students on your grant applications. The session is repeated, so you only need to attend one of the dates each month.
— Preston Miller, Sponsored Programs Administration & Research Compliance
A Grand Beginning: The First Grand Blue Brunch
On Sunday, Sept. 13, Drake Dining hosted its very first Grand Blue Brunch!
The Grand Blue Brunch was created to give Sunday brunch a little something extra and offer students, friends and family a chance to enjoy a relaxed afternoon together. Guests gathered around the table, caught up with one another, and enjoyed a special brunch experience right here on campus.
Since this was our first Grand Blue Brunch, it was also a chance for us to try something new and see what our guests thought. We loved seeing the dining hall filled with people enjoying their Sunday and making the most of the afternoon.
This first brunch was just the beginning of something we’re excited to bring back. We look forward to hosting more Grand Blue Brunch events throughout the year and creating more opportunities for the Drake community to gather, enjoy brunch and make memories together.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first Grand Blue Brunch and helped make it such a great day! We can’t wait to do it again. Keep an eye out for future Grand Blue Brunch dates and join us for the next one!
— Taylor Webb, Dining Services
Paws for Success Recap: Advice from Drake Student Leaders
Last week, we hosted our latest Paws for Success session for first-year students. As part of the session, we asked student leaders on campus to share their top advice for building community and finding belonging at Drake.
Watch a video to hear the advice shared by student leaders!
— Marina Verlengia, New Student Programs
Help Shape Drake’s Future: Join a “Student-Ready” Focus Group (and Earn $10 in Bulldog Bucks)
The Drake community has spent some time during the past few years trying to better understand how we can support students at Drake to better achieve their goals while at Drake and after graduation. One key area being explored is how we can make Drake a “student-ready” institution. A student-ready institution provides holistic support to its students and restructures systems to support student needs.
Currently, there is a faculty committee focused on reviewing Drake’s ability to be a student-ready institution and ways the campus community can play a role in achieving this goal. This past spring, the faculty committee met with campus stakeholders and assessed faculty practices and University systems related to this area to understand where we are. While this helped us develop a picture of Drake’s current practices, WE NEED YOUR HELP to better understand the undergraduate student viewpoint on what is being done and what improvements can be made to achieve the goal of being a student-ready institution.
We invite you to participate in one of several undergraduate student focus groups dedicated to assessing our University’s preparedness to be a truly student-ready institution. These sessions will gather your insight into how Drake currently is and, in the future, can do better to support you and effectively prepare you for both academic success and future careers. The first 50 students who participate in a focus group will receive $10 in Bulldog Bucks. Sign up for a session below.
Please note that for efficiency, artificial intelligence will be used during the meetings to record and transcribe the discussions. The findings from student focus groups will be combined with data from corresponding faculty and staff focus groups to generate a comprehensive report outlining ways actionable changes and best practices for faculty and suggestions for institutional system modifications to make Drake a more student-ready institution.
Friday, October 2nd, 1:00p to 3:00p, Johansen 301: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-student4
Friday, October 9th, 9:00a to 11:00a, Johansen 301: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-student5
Friday, October 16th, 1:00p to 3:00p, Library 201: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-student-6
Friday, October 23rd, 1:00p to 3:00p, Johansen 301: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-student7
Friday, October 30th, 1:00p to 3:00p, Johansen 301: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-student8
— Maria Valdovinos, Professor of Psychology
Committee on Student Ready Institution Needs Your Feedback
This past spring, the Faculty Senate created an ad hoc committee focused on a review of Drake’s ability to be a student-ready institution and ways the campus community, and in particular faculty, can play a role in achieving this goal. If you are not familiar with the term, a student-ready institution provides holistic support to its students and restructures systems to support student needs.
Also, this past spring, the ad hoc committee met with campus stakeholders and assessed faculty practices and university systems related to this area to understand where we are. While this helped us develop a picture of Drake’s current practices, WE NEED YOUR HELP to better understand what faculty are already doing in this area, how faculty are using current related university systems, and what improvements can be made to achieve the goal of being a student-ready institution.
We invite you to participate in one of several faculty focus groups dedicated to assessing our university’s preparedness to be a truly student-ready institution. These sessions will gather your insight into how we currently are and, in the future, can do better to support our students and effectively prepare them for both academic success and future careers.
Please note that for efficiency, artificial intelligence will be used during the meetings to record and transcribe the discussions. The findings from faculty focus groups will be combined with data from corresponding student and staff focus groups to generate a comprehensive report outlining actionable changes and best practices for faculty and suggestions for institutional system modifications to make Drake a more student-ready institution.
Friday, Oct. 2, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Johansen 301: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-faculty3
Friday, Oct. 9, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Johansen 301: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-faculty4
— Maria Valdovinos, Professor of Psychology
FAFSA for 2027–2028 Award Year Available Now
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2027–2028 award year (Summer 2027, Fall 2027, and Spring 2028) is now available at studentaid.gov.
US Citizens and eligible non-citizens should complete the 2027–2028 FAFSA to be considered for need-based grants, federal work-study, or to take advantage of federal student loan programs.
A new feature on the 2027-2028 FAFSA is that it will process instantly once all FAFSA contributors have completed their sections. Your FAFSA Submission Summary can be viewed at that time. However, this change to immediate processing does not affect the timeline of when Federal Student Aid sends the FAFSA results to Drake, or when 2027-2028 financial aid packages are anticipated to be emailed for continuing students.
Please contact the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@drake.edu or 515–271–2905 with any questions.
— Kristi Fuller, Financial Aid Office
First-Gen Faculty/Staff Directory
Drake defines a first-generation student is a college student whose parents/legal guardians have not received a bachelor’s degree from a four-year university.
In an effort to make more connections between first gen students and first gen faculty/staff, we are creating a directory to share on our website that lists our first gen faculty and staff. This was a project we started Fall 2025 that was put on hold due to new website. We are ready to get to work on this again.
If you identify as first generation and would like to be listed on this directory, please email Marina at marina.verlengia@drake.edu by Monday, Oct. 19.
— Marina Verlengia, New Student Programs
Drake Law School Prospective Student Open House
Prospective students are welcome to attend the Drake Law School Open House on Friday, Oct. 16, starting at 1 p.m. Our open house is intended for students that are looking to enroll in the Fall of 2027 or 2028. During this event students will hear from the dean, admissions staff, and current students. If you are looking to learn more about Drake Law School and get a tour of our facilities, we encourage you to register for our event.
— Jill Costanzo, Law School
Drake Theatre Presents: ANTIGONE Oct. 1–4 in the Coleman Studio Theatre
Drake University Theatre continues its 2026–2027 season with Sophocles’ timeless tragedy Antigone, directed by Michael Rothmayer, associate professor of theatre arts.
Written in 441 BCE, Antigone delivers a thrilling exploration of morality, power, and civil disobedience. The plot centers on the fiery conflict between Antigone, who risks everything to give her disgraced brother a proper burial, and King Creon, who enforces his tyrannical laws with an iron fist—only to face devastating consequences.
Rothmayer’s production takes a sleek, modern approach to the classic text, anchored by the central theme: “What doesn’t bend, breaks.” By framing the story through a contemporary lens, the production highlights enduring themes of female empowerment, civic duty, and the human cost of unyielding authority.
Performance Dates:
Thursday, Oct. 1: 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 2: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 3: 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 4: 2 p.m.
Location: Coleman Studio Theatre located inside the Harmon Fine Arts Center on Drake University’s campus
Tickets are on sale now. To purchase tickets online, visit tix.com/ticket-sales/drakefinearts or call the Drake Fine Arts Box Office at 515–271–3841.
— Gabe Borken, AS’27
