Please join alumni and development staff, campus colleagues, and friends as we celebrate Blake’s seven years of service to Drake University as director of alumni relations on Thursday, March 10, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. We will gather at the Alumni House, 2700 University Ave., to wish him well as he takes on new professional opportunities.
—Heather Hendrix, Administrative Assistant 1
LEAD 100 students will conduct a Bike Drive the week of March 21–25 in the Olmsted Breezeway each day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., where students, faculty, and staff can drop off their bikes. The bikes are being collected to create a bike library on Drake’s campus, available to students, faculty, and staff for their biking needs throughout the year and throughout the city. This initiative is part of the Drake Bike Friendly program with assistance from a grant from Wellmark.
—Submitted by Art Sanders, Associate Provost
What do you do?
I’m an assistant professor of international business, and the main course I teach is the globalization seminar, which is required of all undergrad business majors. So by the numbers, I get to work with almost a third of all Drake undergraduates at some point in their time here.
How did you end up at Drake and in teaching?
I spent 10 years in corporate America, and one day I was in a personal development seminar in which they told us to make a Venn diagram of passions, talents, and the least amount of money we were willing to make. Upon completion of my diagram, I decided I was not in the right position. The very next week, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about the shortage of Ph.D. professors in business. I talked with some advisers and decided to take the plunge.
You’ve studied (and experienced) a lot abroad …
I spent a year of undergrad in Europe, part was in France and part was in Russia. In Russia, I lived Krasnodar, not too far from Chechnya, so we were very close to the conflict [the outbreak of The First Chechen War happened at the time]. Most Thursdays we didn’t have class because there would be bomb threats at the university. I also spent a year teaching English in Brazil and have gone back there several times, including in 2014 for the World Cup. I speak Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Russian.
How do all these experiences affect how you teach?
My students hear a lot of stories; my experiences allow me to talk students about study abroad in a firsthand sort of way. It also helps me relate to the international students who enroll at Drake, because I understand the dynamics of what it’s like to be the only student who’s not from a certain place.
Learn more about the many new resources and initiatives at Cowles Library during an open house today. The event will be split into two 25-minute sessions (4:05–4:30 p.m. and 4:35–5 p.m.) covering a variety of topics. More information can be found on the Cowles Library blog.
The Fulbright Scholar Program offers several kinds of grants for students to study, conduct academic research, engage in the creative and performing arts, or teach English in a range of countries after they earn their bachelor’s degree. The most common types of student awards are: 1) Study/research grants, in which graduates design their own projects to conduct abroad; and 2) English Language Teaching Assistant (ETA) programs, which place graduates in classrooms abroad to assist in teaching English while serving as cultural ambassadors for the United States.
I seek faculty help in identifying potential applicants and encouraging them to contact me for further information.
Who might be a promising potential Fulbright applicant? Generally, it’s a student …
For study/research grants, the student must also:
If a promising student comes to mind, please suggest the Fulbright program and encourage him or her to contact me at karen.leroux@drake.edu to learn more about available opportunities. You can also find more information at www.drake.edu/international/postgraduate/
If you have further questions about the Fulbright program for students, please contact me as well.
—Karen Leroux, Associate Professor of History and Coordinator, Post-Graduate Scholarships–Drake International
Dogtown After Hours is the largest student-run event held on campus. On the night of Friday, April 1, the Olmsted Center will be filled with food, entertainment, and fun! This event is FREE for all Drake students, and you don’t want to miss it!
What is going to be at Dogtown After Hours? Go like our Facebook page ‘Dogtown After Hours‘ and follow us on Twitter (@Drake_DTAH) for more updates on the event! We will be releasing this year’s theme via our Facebook and Twitter pages this week, as well as the events that are going to take place. See you all on April 1!
—Emma Haselhuhn
This past Saturday, Drake officially broke ground on Collier-Scripps Hall, the new building that will be home to the School of Education, the department of mathematics and computer science, and The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center. The building derives its name from lead donors Jim Collier, who received his Master of Arts in Education from Drake, and Ric Scripps and Debbie Engstrom Scripps, who received their Bachelor of Arts in Teaching degrees from Drake; Debbie is also a former member of the Drake Board of Trustees.
As the first free-standing academic building construction in 20 years, this is certainly a monumental and exciting project. The STEM@DRAKE complex will enable us to offer new academic programs in the sciences, including kinesiology, occupational therapy, and athletic training, bringing in new students and bolstering our efforts to meet the community’s needs in the fields of science, education, technology, and math. It also brings the School of Education on to campus, a move that has long been anticipated and will ensure that our mission of providing an exceptional learning environment for all of our students is being met.
This new complex and the renovations to existing buildings that comprise the STEM@DRAKE project will not just benefit those students, faculty, and staff engaged in the specific departments or programs that will be housed there. This initiative will provide new study and collaboration spaces for students and faculty alike. The Collier-Scripps building will be home to The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center, an important part of our continuing commitment to engage in our surrounding community and to advance our values of civility and leadership. The gender neutral bathrooms and nursing and lactation rooms that will be included in both Collier-Scripps and the science connector building represent our priority to provide an inclusive learning and living environment for faculty, staff, and students.
Many members of our campus are hard at work to ensure the STEM@DRAKE project is completed on time and on budget, and I extend my thanks to them. Throughout the process we will have some growing pains, and I appreciate the community’s understanding that some temporary disturbances due to construction are a necessary function of progress. I encourage you to visit www.drake.edu/buildingstem for more details about STEM@DRAKE and for updates on progress. This investment in Drake’s future is one that will benefit the University for years to come, and your support is greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Marty
As part of STEM@DRAKE construction, 27th Street will close permanently on March 14. No parking or thru traffic will be allowed; two handicap parking spaces at the south end of the west side of 27th Street will remain open. Sidewalks along 27th Street will also be shut down. For an overview of closures, visit the Building STEM@DRAKE website.
Drake welcomed five new employees in February:
—Human Resources
We are happy to announce the second book of the University Book Club! Cowles Library has 11 copies (hint: ask for the book on reserve at the checkout desk) available of Thirteen Ways of Looking.
The purpose of this book club is simple: Encourage reading for the sake of reading, and increase conversation among faculty, staff, and students across campus through the medium of books.
Details are available here: 13 Ways of Looking—University Book Club
The book is also available in audio format from Audible.com, at various DM-area public libraries, and Amazon (in addition to the Cowles Library copies: http://bit.ly/aubc-spr2016).
So, read the book and let Sara Heijerman (sara.heijerman@drake.edu) know if you have any questions or interest in discussing; the face-to-face discussion session will be March 22 at 4:45 p.m. Happy reading!
—Sara Heijerman, Manager, Campus Card Office
