Category Archives: Archive

Campus Announcements Archive

Faculty and staff invited to discuss spring 2016 Engaged Citizen Experience

The Office of the Associate Provost, Art Sanders, will host a meeting to discuss the spring 2016 Engaged Citizen Experience on on Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 9 to 11 a.m. in Medbury 115. Faculty and staff are invited to join this discussion on finalizing the title of the theme and potential cocurricular events.

The tentative theme for the Engaged Citizen Experience is “Making Democracy Work,” a broad topic provided by students. Consider how this theme may take advantage of the 2016 presidential election.

Coffee, decaf, tea, water, and a snack will be available at the meeting. While no RSVP is required, please register through this Eventbrite invitation so we can order the right amount of food and drink.

Submitted by Office of the Associate Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

27th Street on campus closed Aug. 13

As Drake prepares to take ownership of 27th Street (between Forest and Carpenter Avenues) and Carpenter Avenue (between 25th and 27th Streets), there will be no parking allowed on the west side of 27th Street starting Thursday, Aug. 13. Barricades will be in place on Thursday to prevent parking and to allow for curb painting. Please make other arrangements for parking your cars on the 13th.

Beginning Monday, Aug. 17, parking on the east side of the street will be considered commuter lot parking requiring a Drake University commuter permit. The west side of the street will be treated as a fire lane and no parking will be permitted. Look through the 27th Street FAQ for more information about these changes.

Submitted by Finance and Administration

News & Achievements Archive

Physics researcher, professor receive National Science Foundation grant

Principal Investigator: Oleg Zatsarinny
Co-PI: Klaus Bartschat
Project Title: Development of a general ad effective program B-spline R-matrix program for charged-particle and photon collisions with atoms, ions, and molecules
Project Summary: This research will consist of the further development of a highly successful suite of computer programs to calculate accurate atomic data for a wide variety of electron- and photon-driven processes. This work will support many experimental projects, ranging from industrial plasma modeling to fundamental research performed at next-generation light sources. The results will be published in high-impact peer-reviewed professional journals. They will be presented at international scientific meetings, and the next version of the computer code will be written up and made available to the public. A post-doctoral researcher as well as undergraduate students will be trained through developing and testing individual modules of the package, thus giving them a first glimpse of supercomputing.
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $182,172 (Year 1: $72,465)

Submitted by Sponsored Programs

News & Achievements Archive

Athletics: Drake faculty/staff days

All Drake University faculty and staff are eligible to receive four complimentary tickets to Drake volleyball’s home opener match against Western Illinois, tomorrow (Sept. 15) at 6 p.m. in The Knapp Center. Tickets may be picked up p at the Drake Athletics Ticket Office Monday–Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or at the ticket window on game day. Must show valid Drake Card (ID) at time of pick up.

Faculty and staff can also get free tickets to the following fall athletic events:

Women’s Soccer
Drake vs. Iowa State
Sept. 20, 1 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex

Men’s Soccer
Drake vs. Missouri State
Oct. 3, 7 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex

More information is available at www.DrakeTix.com/promotions
Questions? Call 515-271-3647 or email tickets@drake.edu.

—Submitted by Tom Florian, Assistant Director, Ticket Operations and Donor Management

News & Achievements Archive

In memoriam

Retired Drake public relations professor Ronda Menke Haas died on Tuesday, Aug. 4, after a sudden and brief illness. She was 64 years old.

Ronda retired in 2013 after teaching in the Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication for 23 years. She was a mentor, a friend, and an inspiration for generations of public relations students and for her fellow SJMC faculty members. Ronda had the warmest heart and the highest standards. Her focus on ethics especially has had a profound impact on her students and on the public relations community nationwide. Ronda led a full, interesting life.

We offer our sympathies to Ronda’s husband, Marty Haas; her son, Jason Menke; daughter-in-law Tamara; and grandchildren Andrew, Kennedy, and Carter.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 5 p.m. at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in West Des Moines, with a reception to follow.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund or to the Drake PR Professional Preparation Fund in honor of Ronda Menke Haas. The fund was set up to help pay for public relations graduates’ PR certification exam.

—Kathleen Richardson, Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

News & Achievements Archive

Christa Olson named to community board

Christa Olson, vice provost for international programs, recently accepted a seat on the Board of Directors of the Iowa International Center (IIC).

“I am delighted to serve on the board of the IIC and to explore how the IIC and Drake University can deepen their collaboration and together foster more global and intercultural connectivity in the Greater Des Moines community.”

Together with the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Des Moines Public Library, Drake University partners with the Iowa International Center to present the Iowa International Center Dialogue Series. The series offers the public free monthly forums led by experts on relevant international issues.

The mission of the IIC is to build cultural respect at home and around the world, one person at a time. For more than 75 years, the IIC has afforded international resources to Iowans, new Iowans, and international visitors to Iowa. The IIC works with the U.S. Department of State to facilitate visits from leaders of emerging nations through the Sehgal Foundation International Visitors Center and is creating new educational opportunities via the Ray Resource Initiative, thanks to the support of former Iowa Governor and Mrs. Robert Ray.

Submitted by Drake International

News & Achievements Archive

School of Journalism and Mass Communication news

Associate Professor of Journalism and Associate Dean David Wright, a former professional sports videographer, was featured in a Des Moines Register article about the wonderful hands-on opportunities for students created by Drake’s expanded relationship with ESPN.

Four SJMC alums—Rachel Vogel Quinn, JO’10; Jess Hoffert, JO’11; Mario Rossi, JO’15; and Annelise Tarnowski, JO’15—launched an Iowa-focused storytelling podcast, Middle of Somewhere. The inaugural podcast is now posted.

Add “hot music scene” to Des Moines’ list of attractions for both college students and young professionals. Tobi Parks, a musician and copyright expert with Sony Music in New York, is moving to Des Moines this fall to partner with The Des Moines Social Club and Drake University to create Station 1 Records, a nonprofit label to promote local bands. Several Drake students are already interning with Station 1, and Parks is working with journalism, music, and business faculty on a J-Term 2016 class that will take students behind the scenes of the music industry.

Submitted by Kathleen Richardson, Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

News & Achievements Archive

Drake welcomes 14 new employees

The following employees joined the Bulldog family in July:

Earl “Marty” Martin, President

Jacqueline Kalin, Drake Athletics

Rachael Pruett, Drake Athletics

Kathleen Griner, CPHS

Lynn Kassel, CPHS

Nihal Mulla, CPHS

Cassity Gutierrez, CPHS

Jayna Fischbach, CPHS

Ann Burkhardt, CPHS

Michelle Rogers, Institutional Research

Natalie Larson, Office of Admission

Shonna Floyd, Office of Admission

Areli Estrada-Godinez, Facility Services

Lanny Carlson, Head Start

Submitted by Human Resources

Featured Events Archive

Drake Day at the Fair is Aug. 13

Drake Day at the Iowa State Fair, long associated with its signature blue-and-white tent along Rock Island Ave., has been revamped in 2015 with a new date, location, and format. Drake Day at the Fair will be held on the opening day of the fair—Thursday, Aug. 13—with “Discover Drake” events held throughout the day at our tent along Grand Avenue. This new, high-traffic space will be Drake’s home base for organizations and events including:

  • Meet-and-greet with President Earl F. “Marty” Martin, 11 a.m. to noon
  • Student-athletes
  • The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center, which conducts research, provides programming and training, and publishes scholarly works focusing on leadership, ethics, and civility
  • The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, which will hold a free drawing for an Apple TV
  • The RaySociety, Drake’s lifelong learning organization open to all individuals across Central Iowa

Drake will also have a booth in the Varied Industries Building every day of the fair. Volunteers are still needed to the VI Building (includes air-conditioning and complimentary food and drink)—sign up today!