Faculty, staff, or students who need to report an issue or concern related to construction activity now have two ways to report: Contact Drake Public Safety at 515-271-2222 or email buildingstem@drake.edu. Public Safety will address your concerns with appropriate construction or facilities personnel, depending on the issue.
You can also see the latest progress on the STEM@DRAKE facilities at www.drake.edu/buildingstem/updates.
The Graduation Rate Report is online now! Want information on the graduation rate? You can find it on the OIRA website. This includes information about the four- and six-year graduation rate, how we compare to our peers, and retention rates. As always, if you need anything from OIRA, please fill out the Request for Information form on our site.
—Sandra Harris, Administrative Assistant 2
May Commencement Ceremonies
The commencement ceremonies for those students graduating at the end of this semester will be held in the Knapp Center on Saturday, May 15 (law) and Sunday, May 15 (undergraduate and graduate), at the times listed below. Out of respect for the students who have earned their degrees, I strongly encourage you to attend the appropriate event.
Law: Saturday, May 14, 7 p.m.
Undergraduate, Sunday, May 15, 10 a.m.
Graduate: Sunday, May 15, 2 p.m.
If you are planning on attending the undergraduate and/or graduate ceremonies, please RSVP—no later than noon, Tuesday, May 10—to http://2016springcommencementregistration.eventbrite.com
Because the Law School has a separate ceremony, Law faculty should notify your dean’s office directly.
Learning Symposium
I am pleased to invite you to register for the 2016 Drake University Learning Symposium. There is an exciting array of sessions—from creating inclusive working and learning environments to language across the curriculum, intercultural development inventory, and examining the lived experiences of students of color at Drake, among several others. The hardest part of registration will be limiting yourself to just two sessions. If you are needing a break from the end of the semester activities, please take 5-10 minutes to register. The Learning Symposium is sponsored through a partnership with the Sheraton West Des Moines and hosted by the Office of the Provost.
2016 Learning Symposium: “Inclusive Excellence ”
August 19 , 8 a.m.–3 p.m.
Sheraton West Des Moines—1800 50th Street, West Des Moines
Register and select the sessions you would like to attend—space is limited by the size of the rooms: https://2016drakelearningsymposium.eventbrite.com
We hope you join us at the Symposium to welcome our new provost into the learning community that is Drake University.
Provost Mobile Office Hour
Due to the number of events next week, I will be unable to hold my roaming office hour. My next scheduled mobile office hour is Tuesday, May 3, 10:30 a.m.–noon, Cowles Cafe.
—Joe Lenz, Interim Provost
My first Drake Relays is almost here! While I was on campus briefly during this time last year, I’m excited for my first Relays experience as a full-fledged Drake Bulldog. This is a week that I hope all on campus can enjoy, whether it’s student street painting tomorrow, the Beautiful Bulldog Contest on Sunday, or enjoying the competition next week. It’s a time to reunite with old classmates and students, welcome visitors to campus, and enjoy the company of colleagues and friends. I encourage you to get out and enjoy the festivities on campus and in the community—you can find a list here.
This year, we are also celebrating my inauguration, and I want to thank all those involved in planning for the event. Individuals from across campus have been instrumental in putting together what I’m sure will be an extraordinary ceremony, and I couldn’t be more appreciative. I would especially like to thank Professor Joseph Schneider and Trustee Cathy Lacy for co-chairing the planning committee. I’d also like to extend my gratitude to the entire Drake community for your enthusiastic participation in this event; I am immensely proud to be formally installed as the leader of this great institution in front of my family, friends, colleagues from other institutions, and all of you.
Enjoy Relays!
Marty
Drake MEDLIFE Chapter will be holding an informational seminar for the MEDLIFE mission trip to Cusco, Peru at 8 p.m. on May 2 in Harvey Ingham Room 134. This mission trip, taking place Aug. 6–14, will involve volunteering in mobile clinics and on a community development project and is open to all majors as well as the general public. Please whoever you think might be interested in going on this trip. Questions should be directed to annemarie.mccoy@drake.edu or brittany.watznauer@drake.edu.
—Annemarie McCoy
The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University honored Casey Blake, former Major League Baseball third baseman, at an all-star evening that featured ESPN anchor Chris Hassel and dozens of other special guests from the worlds of sports, television, and politics.
“An All-Star Evening to benefit CHARACTER COUNTS!” is a fundraiser for The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center, Iowa’s home for the CHARACTER COUNTS! and Excellence with Integrity programs.
Blake received the 2016 Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award, an award presented annually to an individual who consistently demonstrates good character as a public role model. Other special guests included NFL linebacker Pat Angerer, TV actress Bridget Flanery, and former U.S. Ambassador Mary Kramer. To learn more about Blake, visit the Drake Newsroom.
Do you know anyone who is trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and a great citizen? Consider nominating them for one of the Iowa Character Awards, presented by The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University. Anyone can submit a nomination, and Iowa citizens (ages 10 years and older), organizations, and communities are eligible.
Since 2005, over 100 Iowans have been recognized for displaying good character. The nomination form is based on the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship
Recognition is being awarded in several categories and nominations are due May 11. Learn more in the Drake Newsroom.
Actuarial science students and alumni pass Actuarial Exams
Congratulations to the following CBPA actuarial science students that passed the February 2016 Actuarial Exam C/4: Rebecca Deluga, Peter Gorski, Samuel Gray, Emily Hossley, Kramer Howell, Estuardo Menendez-Villa, and Kheng Hoek Teoh. We are proud to say that this matches our current annual record and look forward to breaking that record in 2016 as exams are available in June and October.
We also congratulate the CBPA actuarial science alumni that passed the February 2016 Actuarial Exam C/4: Angel Gentchev, Ellyn Ries, Ben Sloan, Joel Soo, Sarah Webster, Ben Williams, and Julia Wen Yi Yap.
Students, alumnus recognized at annual awards ceremony
Drake University’s College of Business and Public Administration hosted their annual awards ceremony Wednesday, April 6. Nearly 800 people attended the event, which honors students, faculty, and community leaders.
The ceremony recognized dozens of students for their accomplishments in academics, leadership, and community involvement. Fourteen seniors were honored for maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average throughout their academic career. Two students were awarded the highest honors of junior and senior student of the year. Dave Schulte, BN’83, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker and recipient of the CBPA Community Leadership Award. Schulte is CEO, president, and director of CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, located in Kansas City. Read more in the Drake Newsroom.
For the past 17 years, Peace Over Violence has run its Denim Day campaign on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Violence Awareness Month. The campaign was originally triggered by a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim.
The Office for Sexual Violence Response and Healthy Relationship Promotion is proudly endorsing this national day of recognition on our campus and encourages all of our campus community to wear a pair of jeans on Wednesday, April 27, and don a sticker that says “ask me why I am wearing jeans” as a symbol of solidarity for survivors of sexual violence on our campus. Show your support online by posting a picture of yourself in jeans using the hashtags #denimday and #drakesaam. For more information about Denim Day visit: http://denimdayinfo.org/
—Alysa Mozak, Coordinator for Sexual Violence Response and Healthy Relationship Promotion
Students, alumni, techies, artists, crafters, DIY lovers, nerds (aka anyone) are invited to the next Pop-up Creativity Fair—co-sponsored by Cowles Library, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Entrepreneurship Centers—on Friday, April 29, from 12 to 3 p.m. outside Cowles Library. Learn more on Facebook.
—Dianna Gray, Outreach Coordinator