Welcome back to Drake for another great year!

The SJMC faculty and staff kick off the academic year by welcoming all of our students back to Drake — both on campus and online!

SJMC internship coordinator named global fellow

SJMC internship coordinator Carlyn Crowe, at left with Drake community engaged learning director Renee Sedlacek, has been named a Global Service Learning Faculty Fellow. Crowe is leading a service learning travel seminar to Monterrey Tec in Mexico in January Term 2019.

SJMC students, grads win social media awards

Social media work by SJMC students and grads were recognized at the recent Des Moines Social Media Club’s 2018 Hashie Awards.

The SJMC Instagram won second place for best business account. The Instagram is run by SJMC students under the direction of multimedia professor Chris Snider. SJMC students involved in the award-winning work included Autumn Meyer, Kylee Bateman, Andrew Beall, Maddie Topliff, Luc Pham and Malik Metivier.

In addition, Niki Smith, JO’08, MCL’15, Drake associate director of communications and marketing, won the social media young professional of the year award.

Other awards won by Drake in the contest:

Excellence in Social Media by a Student: First place, Student Alumni Association for work on All In
Social Media Campaign of the Year: Second place, #GriffGivesBack
Best Non-profit Instagram: Second place, @OnPaintedStreet
Best Non-profit Twitter: Second place, @DrakeRelays

Ad alums named to hall of achievement

The American Advertising Federation has announced that two Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumna will be among the eight inductees into its national Advertising Hall of Achievement Class of 2018.

Abbey Klaassen (JO’02)  and Evin Shutt (JO’01) will be honored at the annual induction ceremony on Nov. 13 in New York City. Klaassen is president of 360i, a New York digital marketing agency. She was previously editor and associate publisher at Advertising Age magazine. Shutt is chief operating officer and partner at 72andSunny advertising agency in Los Angeles.

The Advertising Hall of Achievement recognizes “top advertising thought leaders age 40 and younger,” according to the American Advertising Federation. The 25-year-old hall honors “young, talented individuals who are making a significant impact in the advertising industry and through philanthropic work in their communities.”

Important dates to drop/add classes

SJMC dean’s assistant Mallory Quinn sends a reminder about a few important drop/add dates:

  • Friday, Aug. 31 – Last day to add a class
  • Monday, Sept. 10 – Last day to drop a class without a “W” appearing on your transcript
  • Students can drop classes through MyDUSIS in their MyDrake portal for the first 10 days of class, without needing a drop slip.
  • Courses that are tied to other courses as co-requisites (such as lab sections) will require a hard-copy add/drop slip to ensure students are adding a section to replace their dropped section. Please see Mallory in Mer. 119 if you have any questions or need any help.

Drake Magazine seeks first-year editors

Drake Magazine, an award-winning, student-produced publication, is hiring two assistant editors for the 2018-19 school year. The magazine is looking for first years who are ready to dive in and get to work with some of Drake SJMC’s other hardworking, creative minds.
About the position: The Assistant Editor is a first year with a strong work ethic and desire to get involved with a college publication. The assistant editor will sit in at all editor meetings, edit articles, provide feedback, coach writers and fact check all articles. Two assistant editors will be hired, one for print and one for online. Applications are due on Friday, Aug. 31 by 5 p.m.
Please contact Editor-in-Chief Morgan Noll with any questions at morgan.noll@drake.edu.

Electronic checkout workers needed

More paid work-study students are needed for the SJMC’s electronic media checkout service. The checkout service is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, and 2-7 p.m. Sundays. Afternoon shifts starting at noon are largely available, as is Sunday 5-7 p.m. Contact SJMC multimedia engineer Ray Fredregill (ray.fredregill@drake.edu) if you are interested.

Meredith Hall building hours policy for 2018-19

Meredith Hall is unlocked during the following hours when classes are in session:

Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
Monday-Friday: 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Saturday: 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Students with SJMC majors can swipe into the building with a Drake ID even when the building is locked from 7 a.m.-2 a.m., Sunday-Thursday. Students who are already in the building when it is automatically locked are allowed to stay in the building. Students who need 24/7 access to swipe into the building should talk to their faculty member or adviser about how to obtain all-hours access.

Volunteer opportunity with eating disorders association

Volunteers are needed to help with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Des Moines, IA Walk on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 9-11 a.m. at Gray’s Lake.

The walk is designed to gain awareness of and funds for eating disorder programs, education outreach, and support for individuals and families. NEDA seeks to build community, inspire activism, and work with a diverse group of individuals that support NEDA’s goals and interests. Thirty million people suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life and eating disorders are widespread across college campuses.

Contact Emma Lehman, Midwest engagement assistant, at elehman@nationaleatingdisorders.org or 312-351-5602 to volunteer or for more information.

Internship opportunities on campus

The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement is hiring two interns for the academic year: a public policy, office and event-planning assistant, and a communications assistant. The position requires eight to 20 scheduled hours per week; pay starts at $7.25/hour. Directions on how to apply are available via Handshake, the University’s new site for job postings and on-campus interviews. See https://wwww.drake.edu/sjmc/about/currentstudents/jobs/ for updated instructions on how to access the new system; create a profile and upload your materials, and search and apply for jobs.

University Communications and Marketing is hiring student interns for the 2018-19 academic year. Applications are welcome from all interested undergraduate students; however, preference will be given to those students who have:

  • Completed one year of studies and/or an internship
  • Previously held some sort of paid employment
  • Demonstrated an ability to produce compelling social media content

Other Requirements

  • Sincere passion for the University and a strong commitment to strengthening its brand and reputation
  • Confidence and maturity, with a commitment to acting professionally at all times
  • Discretion, given that the department handles sensitive and confidential information

Hours/Pay

  • All positions pay $10 per hour
  • No student may work more than 20 hours per week while classes are in session
  • No work is to be completed during final examinations

The available positions are:

Marketing Specialist

  • Help develop and implement marketing strategies for specific programs and initiatives, which may extend across campus and/or to the public – in the metro, around the nation, and worldwide.
  • Conduct research, analyze data, participate in strategy discussions, help write marketing plans and/or coordinate specific projects with campus partners
  • Create original content twice per week for University social media, under the co-direction of Admission and UC&M, showing glimpses of what life is like at Drake
  • Scheduling is flexible. Up to 15 hours per week during Fall and Spring semesters; an additional 12 hours per week available during J-Term, if desired.
  • Hiring Contact: Betsy McKibbin, Director of Marketing, betsy.mckibbin@drake.edu

Communications Specialist (two positions)

  • Research, write and edit feature-style articles for digital and print communication (generally 1-2 stories per month, approximately 500 words in length each), as well as some marketing-oriented content to be repurposed across vehicles and platforms
  • Research, write and distribute low- to medium-impact news releases that are largely local or regional in reach
  • Compile DU in the News, a news coverage report for trustees and the University’s senior leaders
  • Create original content twice per week for University social media, under the co-direction of Admission and UC&M, showing glimpses of what life is like at Drake; also plan, develop and post more generalized content for these accounts
  • Monitor the University’s social media accounts, and assist in responding to concerns and questions that arise on those platforms
  • Compile the student version of OnCampus, the University’s campus newsletter
  • Scheduling is flexible. Up to 19 hours per week during Fall and Spring semesters; an additional 10 hours per week available during J-Term, if desired.
  • Hiring Contact: Ashton Hockman, Assistant Director of Communications, ashton.hockman@drake.edu

Graphic Designer (two positions)

  • Manage assigned projects, from developing concepts to creating final designs
  • Serve as principal designer on assigned projects that are low- to medium-impact
  • Assist with high-impact design work, as needed
  • Create original content twice per week for University social media, under the co-direction of Admission and UC&M, showing glimpses of what life is like at Drake
  • Scheduling is flexible. Up to 19 hours per week during Fall and Spring semesters; an additional 10 hours per week available during J-Term, if desired.
  • Hiring Contact: Dexter Jacobs, Assistant Director of Brand Integration, dexter.jacobs@drake.edu

Photographer/Videographer

  • Organize photo/video shoots
  • Serve as principal photographer/videographer for assigned shoots
  • Assist with other photo/video shoots, as assigned
  • Select images and update the University’s photo archives
  • Create original content twice per week for University social media, under the co-direction of Admission and UC&M, showing glimpses of what life is like at Drake
  • Scheduling is flexible. Up to 20 hours per week during Fall and Spring semesters.
  • Hiring Contact: Justice Simpson, Assistant Director of Brand Integration, justice.simpson@drake.edu

Temporary home for Drake student services

The University’s student services office has relocated temporarily to the lower level of Hubbell Dining Hall next to the C-Store. 

Have a news item for the Memo?

The SJMC Monday Memo is a weekly newsletter to keep members of the wider SJMC community updated on School news, achievements, events and opportunities. If you have an item for the Memo, please send it to Dean Kathleen Richardson (kathleen.richardson@drake.edu) or SJMC webmaster and multimedia professor Chris Snider (christopher.snider@drake.edu). SJMC alums and other professionals can also contact Chris to have the Memo delivered via weekly email.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication strives to create a community of scholars that represents the complexity of the human experience in regards to race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, economic status, political views, gender identification, religion, age and physical abilities. We are committed to creating a welcoming and supportive environment for all our faculty, staff, students and visitors, and celebrating our differences through the lens of the First Amendment value of freedom of expression.