Professor Ken Kersch of Boston College will present “The Development of Constitutional Conservatism” on March 29 at 3 p.m. at Cartwright Hall, Room 213. The lecture, which is part of the Drake Constitutional Law Center’s Distinguished Lecture Series, is free and open to everyone.
Kersch is a professor of political science and was the founding director of Boston College’s Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. He is currently a distinguished research fellow at the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Kersch’s chief interests are in American political and constitutional development, American legal history, and American political thought. He is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Edward S. Corwin Award, the J. David Greenstone Prize from APSA’s politics and history section, and the Hughes-Gossett Award from the Supreme Court Historical Society. He has authored numerous articles and books, including The Supreme Court and American Political Development and Constructing Civil Liberties: Discontinuities in the Development of American Constitutional Law. He is also completing a series of books on conservative constitutional thought in the postwar U.S. and a book on American political thought.
The Central Iowa Chapter of the Risk Management Association is holding a free lunch and learn event on Friday, April 5, for those interested in a career in the financial industry.
Robert Messer, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer for American National Bank of Texas and chair of the Risk Management Association, is the featured speaker. He will discuss major shifts in our society and five essential skills for any organization or person that strives to prosper in the future.
The lunch and learn will take place in the Parents Hall South of the Olmsted Center at 11:30 a.m. Doors open at 11:15 a.m. The event is free to all students. Register by April 3. Space is limited to the first 50 registrants. Your registration includes both the presentation and lunch.
— Dianna Gray, College of Business & Public Administration
Casey Plett, an accomplished writer who has won the LAMDA Literary Award for Best Transgender Fiction, will provide a reading followed by a short discussion on Thursday, March 29, at 7 p.m. in the Cowles Library Reading Room. Plett writes and speaks to issues that are important to all communities, in particular, the LGBTQ community. Attendees will have a chance to hear good prose and learn about the literary conversation surrounding literature by and about people who identify as transgender. The event is sponsored by the Susan Glaspell Writers and Critics Series. For more information, contact Yasmina Madden at yasmina.madden@drake.edu.
Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Kappa Psi, and Kappa Alpha Theta will host an ethnic food drive March 26 through April 6. Tabling will take place in the Olmsted Breezeway from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The ethnic food drive aims to raise funds and collect food for the ethnically diverse population in Des Moines. The drive will benefit the Des Moines Area Religious Council’s 13 food pantries and the people they serve throughout the Des Moines community.
In addition to the ethnic food drive, the initiative involves educational programming for the Drake community. A panel of local representatives in the Des Moines area will discuss food insecurity on March 29 at 7 p.m. in CR 310.
Delta Sigma Pi will host its seventh semi-annual Leadership Lecture Series today, March 26, from 7 to 8 p.m. in Sussman Theater. Sue Mattison, provost at Drake, is the featured speaker and will discuss her career path, what a provost does, and give some career advice.
Drake University’s Center for Professional Studies will host a pair of one-day seminars that teach business professionals to understand and interpret financial statements. Each seminar provides attendees with the knowledge and skills they need to make good business decisions using the information contained within financial statements. Both seminars are held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.: the Friday, April 20 session focuses on financial statements for banks, and the Thursday, May 10 session focuses on financial statements of insurance companies. Gary Porter, distinguished lecturer in Drake’s College of Business and Public Administration, will lead both seminars. Porter has led numerous training programs for bankers in Chicago; he teaches a graduate-level course at Drake on the financial services industry and previously worked as a staff accountant for Deloitte & Touche. The cost of $229 (per seminar) includes all necessary materials and a catered lunch. More information and registration is online.
This free event will focus on women inspiring and encouraging one another in reaching STEM goals. The Women in STEM Social is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. in Levitt Hall. The night features guest speakers and a dessert reception. Optional tours of Drake’s new STEM facilities—Collier-Scripps Hall and the Science Connector Building—will be offered prior to the event. Attire is smart casual. The social is hosted by the Drake University Chemistry Club and Drake’s Women in Math and Computer Science organization. Register by March 30.
The work of several School of Journalism and Mass Communication students is among the finalists in the Society of Professional Journalists Region 7 contest. The finalists are in 10 categories ranging from news reporting to multimedia:
Kelli Welter, P2, was named national president-elect of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP).
Kelli Welter, second year pharmacy student at Drake University, was recently elected National President-elect of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP), a position that involves service and leadership for approximately 34,000 student pharmacist members across the United States. The one-year term will prepare Welter for her role as president of the association for the 2019-2020 academic year.
“I am excited to represent Drake University at the national level,” said Welter. “As a leader within the association, I hope to do my part to advance the future of pharmacy and create opportunities for professional growth for my fellow peers.”
Specifically, Welter said she is interested in strengthening collaboration and networking between APhA-ASP chapters, implementing more health and wellness initiatives at regional and national meetings, and easing the chapter reporting process so chapters can efficiently track the number of patients they are reaching at events.
Prior to her new role, Welter served as the APhA-ASP Generation Rx Chair and President-elect of the Drake University APhA-ASP Chapter. Additionally, she has spent the past four months as the Region 5 Regional Member-at-large.
The APhA-ASP is a subset of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the largest association of pharmacists in the United States. The Drake University chapter of APhA-ASP has close to 200 members. Its mission is to be the collective voice of student pharmacists, provide opportunities for professional growth, improve patient care, and envision and advance the future of pharmacy.
In addition to Welter’s election, Karli Brocherding, third year doctor of pharmacy student, earned a top-10 finish In the APhA-ASP Patient Counseling Competition. The 2018 competition, comprised of one student competitor from each student chapter, had 130 entries. Karli’s finish marks the third time in the last four years that a Drake student has achieved a top 10 finish.
Drake University’s pharmacy program, part of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is highly regarded among peer institutions nationwide as affirmed by U.S. News & World Report, which named the program fifth among private institutions and included it on its 2017 “America’s Best Graduate Schools” list.
The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences provides an intellectually stimulating learning environment with collaborative learning among students, faculty, and staff. Graduates are liberally educated professionals who are dedicated to serving their clients, patients, profession, and community. The college emphasizes excellence and leadership in professional education, service, and scholarship. For more information about the college, visit its website.
Members of the Human Resources team will be available Thursday, March 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Olmsted Center’s Drake Room. This is a convenient opportunity for you to talk with HR Partner Services about any HR topic that’s on your mind. You’re also welcome to schedule a meeting at the HR offices, 3206 University Avenue, if another time works better for you. We look forward to meeting with you and hearing your ideas for making Drake an even better place to work.
