Category Archives: Archive

News & Achievements Archive

Office of Alumni Relations welcomes three new staff members

The Office of Alumni Relations is excited to share the addition of three new staff members to our team.

Heather Hendrix is the administrative assistant/receptionist to the Alumni Relations team. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, with a degree in elementary and early childhood education. Prior to Drake, she served as a patient service representative at UnityPoint.

Kim Jones joins the team as the assistant director of alumni relations. Kim returns to Drake having previously served on the publications team from 1985 to 1992. Her responsibilities include student and campus engagement and working with young alumni and the Young Alumni Committee. She holds a B.F.A. from Arizona State and previously served as the head women’s softball coach at AIB College of Business from 2012 to 2015.

Nicki Kimm is joining the Office of Alumni Relations following 10 years in the Dallas Center – Grimes Community School District. She serves in the role of administrative assistant supporting the Alumni House team.

—Submitted by Blake Campbell, Director, Alumni Relations

Strategic Updates Archive

New Occupational Therapy program hits milestone

We are pleased to announce that at its December meeting, the Accreditation Council on Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) voted to grant candidacy status to the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Drake.

As a result of this action, Drake may admit students into the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program according to the approved timeline (May 2016). The board noted the following:

Strengths:

  • There is strong support from Drake University for the occupational therapy doctorate program with support from administration and other faculty members to assist in program development and implementation. This is the first rehabilitation profession program at Drake.
  • The program has hired a very experienced program director and two full-time faculty members, all with doctorate degrees.
  • The program has an adequate number of fieldwork sites that cover the lifespan, variety of populations, and health care settings.
  • The curriculum reflects a thorough and thoughtful course of study with an emphasis on service-learning.

Congratulations to Ann Burkhardt, Kathy Griner, Jayna Fischbach, their staff Carmalee Woods and Cassie Paterson, and the staff in the Experiential and Student Affairs offices, for their work to prepare the report and participate in many discussions related to the 50 standards. They are to be congratulated for their expedient work in submitting a high-quality report that will pave the way for a successful program at Drake!

—Submitted by Renae Chesnut, Interim Dean, CPHS

News & Achievements Archive

2016 Baby Bowl

Drake women’s basketball will host the 2nd annual Baby Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, during halftime of its game versus Missouri State. Children 12 months and younger are eligible to compete. This is a crawling-only competition.

We invite you to register your baby or encourage friends and family to do so. Be sure to sign up early, as space is limited. Registration is open now until Jan. 8, or until all slots are filled. Contestants will be notified on Jan. 11. Racers will receive two complimentary tickets to the game for parents/guardians. The winner of Baby Bowl 2016 will take home $125; 2nd and 3rd place will take home $75 and $50 respectively. All contestants will receive a Drake Bulldogs baby bib for their efforts.

Visit www.draketix.com/babybowl for more information.

Questions? Please contact Tom Florian, assistant director of ticket sales, at 515-271-4949 or thomas.florian@drake.edu.

—Submitted by Tom Florian

For Students Archive

DELTA Rx’s Next Top Entrepreneur Competition

  • Do you have an idea for an innovative health care solution?
  • Are you looking to grow as an entrepreneurial leader?
  • Share your idea and win CASH prizes!

DELTA Rx’s Next Top Entrepreneur Competition is taking place in February 2016, and you don’t want to miss out on this unique opportunity!

The competition is open to all students, regardless of major, with a health care innovation. During three rounds of competition, you will develop your creativity and presentation skills through business plan presentations, problem solving, and feedback from innovators. The competition judges will represent the pharmacy, health care, and business sectors. Participants can register as an individual or in a team.

LEARN MORE:
Information sessions to provide competition guidelines and recommendations will be held 4–4:30 p.m. in Harvey Ingham 004, on Feb. 8, and in Harvey Ingham 019 on Feb. 9. You can also learn more here.

SIGN UP: To register yourself or your team, email deltarx@drake.edu.

—Submitted by Sarah Dean

For Faculty Archive

Important: Changes to merging courses in Blackboard

In an effort to better serve you, DTS is making some changes to how we merge courses in Blackboard. I am excited to report that instructors will no longer have to worry about merging their own courses. I am currently working with our Banner-Blackboard integration to automatically merge courses.

While we work on finalizing this process, I will be merging your courses so you can concentrate on what matters to you the most, teaching your courses. Please email me at maryjane.blystone@drake.edu and include the following information:

  •  Course CRN to be merged (e.g., COUNT-123-4567)
  • Name of the course to be merged (e.g., Accounting Spring 2016)
  • Which content to copy to the new course if any already exists.

Let me reassure you, this is a temporary solution until we are set to have the system merge courses automatically. We will notify you once this process is complete.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.

—Submitted by Mary Jane Blystone, LMS Technology Specialist

HR Information Archive

Another year to celebrate

Congratulations to the following staff and faculty members who celebrated service anniversaries at Drake in November and December.

November:
Maria Almanza-Arriaga, Facility Services
Carolyn Anderson, Head Start
Teresa Bartschat, RaySociety
Mary Cecil, Campus Mail Operations
Renae Chesnut, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Shannon Cofield, President’s Office
Kendra Colbert, School of Education
Alice Cronin, Residence Life
Ashlee Cummings, Head Start
Christine DeWall, Alumni & Development
Christine Ditter, Student Financial Planning
Lindsey Feikes, Office of Admission
Claudia Frazer, Cowles Library
Mary Beth Holtey, College of Arts & Sciences
Karl Kaiser, Facility Services
Mark Kloberdanz, Counseling Center
Kristi Longtin, Law School
Krista Magill, Law School
Tamara Masters, Head Start
Elvira Meija De Luna, Facility Services
Brandi Miller, Student Financial Planning
Christine Miller, Law School
Timothy Nelsen, I Have a Dream Foundation
Michele Nelson, University Communications
Peggy Nielsen, Head Start
Kevin Pendra, Facility Services
Crescenciano Roman-Mendoz, Facility Services
Judith Russell, Head Start
Aimee Schmidt, Athletics
Charlene Skidmore, Honors Program
Anthony Squire, Drake Technology Services
John Stacy, Facility Services
Ramiza Suvic, Facility Services
Carole Tillotson, Law School
Jennifer Woodley, Alumni Relations
Elizabeth Young, Head Start

December:
Daniel Anderson, Athletics
Randi Boelkes, Office of Student Accounts
Pamela Brennan, Cowles Library
Elizabeth Burns, University Communications
Mary Butterwick, College of Business and Public Administration
Mary Byers, Head Start
Blake Campbell, Alumni Relations
Brina Coppi, Student Records and Academic Information
Amy Cutler, Law School
Simon Dominguez, Facility Services
Jacqueline Fortin, Facility Services
Edward Frederiksen, Facility Services
Thomas Ginn, Facility Services
Kathleen Hickman, CBPA
Jennifer Hogan, Drake International
Lindsey Horner, Athletics
Alicia Mann, DTS
Cheri McDaniel, Ray Center
Gerald Parker, Student Life Center
Robert Rigg, Legal Clinic
Hazima Rizvic Mustafic, Facility Services
Nanette Schroeder, Head Start
Lola Spear, Students Services Center
Debra Strang, Head Start
Kathy Veach, Finance and Administration
Nathaniel Werden, Public Safety
Gary Williamson, Athletics
—Submitted by Laura Schwarz, Administrative Support Specialist

Campus Announcements Archive, For Faculty Archive

Deadline to submit final grades

Instructors, your ability to submit final grades will end at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23. (Online grade entry for the Law School will remain open until Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016.) This deadline was set by the faculty and appears in Section 2.135 of the faculty manual.

I greatly appreciate your efforts to submit your grades by the 10 a.m. deadline.

From that point, staff from your dean’s office and the Student Records Office will work together—expeditiously—to reconcile grades for courses that students have repeated (for a better grade) and to calculate students’ GPAs. This work must be done quickly yet carefully so that, among other reasons, informed decisions can be made with regard to students’ academic probation/suspension.

We will begin this process promptly at 10 a.m. on Dec. 23, as we must complete it by close of business, before the University adjourns for winter break.

If you have any questions about how to submit your final grades, please contact your dean’s office or Kevin Moenkhaus (kevin.moenkhaus@drake.edu or 271-3902) in the Student Records Office.

Thank you, and best wishes as your semester draws to a close.

—Submitted by Kevin Moenkhaus, Director, Student Records and Academic Information

For Students Archive

A message from public safety & student life

As we begin to wind down the semester, Chief Law and I ask that each of you keep the following in mind

Stay safe: Each and every one of us represents Drake University. Respect each other, respect yourself, and watch over each other during these last few weeks of the fall semester. If you plan to participate in social activities this weekend or next prior to finals, please do so in a manner that ultimately highlights the best of who you are and who we are as a University. Remember:

  • Take advantage of the Drake Safe Ride program.
  • Utilize the Drake Guardian App.
  • Be an active bystander: If you see a fellow Drake student at risk, intervene to help.
  • If you see something, say something by calling Drake Public Safety at 515-271-2222 or the Des Moines Police Department at 911.
  • If you choose to use alcohol, do so responsibly. Drake offers exciting and enriching social activities and cocurricular events throughout the semester that are alcohol-free alternatives.
  • Pay attention to your surroundings.

Enjoy the holiday break: If you will be going home for winter break, be sure to spend your time reconnecting with family and friends and recharging your batteries for what promises to be an exciting and eventful spring semester.

Get excited for J-Term: For those of you participating in J-Term travel seminars, please immerse yourself in the opportunity to further understand what it means to be a responsible global citizen. If you are taking an on-campus J-Term course, we hope you enjoy this educational experience.

Celebrate December graduates: To those whose journey here at Drake is coming to an end and who will be graduating on Dec. 19, congratulations! You are entering into an esteemed group of Drake alumni, and you will carry that honor with you throughout the rest of your life.

The Division of Student Life and the Department of Public Safety wish all of you and your families the very best as we move into 2016—good luck with your final exams!

—Jerry Parker, Acting Dean of Students, & Scott Law, Director, Public Safety