Welcome to JMC Days!
JMC Days, the week devoted to all things SJMC, will feature daily snacks in the Meredith Hall back lobby near the atrium, career development activities and special events. Submit answers to the daily Centennial Quiz on SJMC history and be admitted into a drawing for a Starbucks gift card! The daily question will be posted in the back lobby.
Cool Jobs Expo this evening
SJMC alumni and friends with cool jobs will be featured at the third annual Cool Jobs Expo today, Monday, Oct. 21, from 5-7 p.m. in (and near) Meredith Hall. The expo will feature employers presenting, in 15-minute drop-in sessions, about their work. Register in the Meredith Lobby starting at 4:30 p.m. Bring your business card to share with potential employers.
Cool Jobs Expo presenters will be:
Kim Gratny, Coach, Consultant, Facilitator, Trainer (horses included — look for them near Olmsted lot), fullCIRCLE creative + coaching
Molly Hull, Director of Brand Development, Clarity Coverdale FuryEric Pedretti, Director of Sales, PSM Marketin
Cass Grueber, Volunteer Coordinator, Animal Rescue League of Iowa
Derek Lippincott, Digital Media Specialist, Greater Des Moines Partnership
Barbra Jotzke-Torrier, Director of Development and Communications, Whiterock Conservancy
Allison Smith, News Director, and Amy Schmelzer, Operations Manager, KCCI-TV
Rusty Martin, Communications Director, Iowa Senate Democratic Research Staff
Niki Smith, Associate Director, Communications and Marketing
Erin Smith and Griff, Beautiful Bulldog Contest and Drake University Communications
Mike Lovell, Investor Relations Director, Meredith
Abby Delaney, Digital Marketing Manager, Bankers Trust
Ashley Beall, Communications and Research Specialist, Iowa House of Representatives Republican Caucus Staff
The employers (most of them are Drake alums) will be making mini-presentations every 15 minutes
Schedule:
- 5 p.m. Registration – Meredith front lobby
- 5:15/5:30/5:45 Sessions start (10 minutes each, 5 minutes to rotate)
- 6:00/6:15/6:30 Sessions start (10 minutes each, 5 minutes to rotate)
- 6:45-7 p.m. Meet-and-Greet/Q&A session (no formal presentations) in rooms and lobby
- VOTE for the coolest job and EVALUATE the Expo for a prize drawing!
- Get a pic with Griff — but he’s leaving at about 6:15 p.m., because he gets dog tired quickly
DBS to host open-door podcast this week
To celebrate JMC Days, Drake Broadcasting System President Adam Heater is hosting a podcast and wants YOU to be his guest. This two-hour special has a total open-door policy, meaning anyone can come and join and stay for as long or as little as you’d like. If you’ve ever wanted to do a podcast but don’t have the time or know where to start, come on by!
Adam will be in the podcast booths in Mer. 6 on Tuesday, Oct. 22, from 5-7 p.m. If you’re not able to stop by, join the Livestream on the DBS Facebook page and ask some questions for Adam and his guests in the comments.
Visit with SJMC alum, screenwriter John August
Screenwriter and novelist John August, JO’92, will deliver the Hawley Foundation Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. in Sussman Theater in the Olmsted Center. His topic will be “Professionalism in the Age of the Influencer.”
In addition, August will be available to talk with students on a drop-in basis on Thursday from 1:45-2:45 p.m. in the Meredith Magazine Center, Mer. 111.
August’s screenwriting credits include the live-action “Aladdin,” “Go,” “Frankenweenie,” “Corpse Bride,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and both “Charlie’s Angels” movies. He received a 2004 BAFTA nomination for his screenplay for “Big Fish” and wrote the book for the Broadway musical version. He received a 2006 Grammy nomination for lyrics for “Wonka’s Welcome Song.”
August’s middle-grade novel series, “Arlo Finch,” is currently published in 13 languages, with the third book in the trilogy, “The Kingdom of Shadows,” due out in February 2020.
He co-hosts the weekly “Scriptnotes” podcast with Craig Mazin, and runs the company that makes the popular screenwriting apps Highland 2 and Weekend Read. He also maintains a popular blog at JohnAugust.com, as well as websites like screenwriting.io aimed at supporting screenwriters. He’s a member of the Academy and serves on the board of directors of the WGA West.
National Transfer Student Week celebrated this week
Drake will celebrate national Transfer Student Week this week, Oct. 21-25:
- Monday, Oct. 21, noon-2 p.m.: Olmsted Breezeway Snacks & Swag
- Tuesday Oct. 22, 1-3 p.m.: Olmsted Breezeway Snacks & Swag
- Wednesday, Oct. 23, 8:30-10:30 a.m.: Olmsted Breezeway Snacks & Swag
- Wednesday, Oct. 23, 3-5 p.m.: Vision Boards in Pomerantz Conference Room (Olmsted)
- Thursday, Oct. 24, 2 p.m.: “Manage Your Energy — Don’t Burn Out” transfer workshop in 201 Cowles Library
Summer Dow Jones internships available
International journalists to visit SJMC next week
A group of nine English-speaking European journalists will be in Meredith Hall on Monday, Oct. 28, 2:30-3:30 p.m., in the TV studio, Room 5 in the basement. The group will tour SJMC electronic media facilities and are available to meet with students and faculty on a drop-in basis. The journalists are part of the U.S. State Department’s Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists, focused on “Media Responsibility in the Age of Disinformation.” They are being hosted in Iowa by the Iowa International Center.
Study abroad seminar to focus on the Holocaust
“Heritage and Holocaust,” a summer 2020 study abroad seminar, was recently approved. The three-credit class, which will be led by SJMC advertising professor Dorothy Pisarski and Jarad Bernstein, Drake’s director of communications, will travel to Germany and Poland, tracing the growth of Nazism. Participants will visit Munich, Nuremburg, Dresden, Wroclaw, Krakow and Warsaw, and see the former concentration camps of Dachau, Sachenburg, Gross-Rosen, Auschwitz and Birkenau. The group will depart the week after final exam week in the spring, and the trip will last two weeks. The faculty are applying for the Historical Foundations AOI. The course is cross-listed JMC and INTD.
To learn more about the travel seminar, visit the Terradotta portal https://drake-sa.terradotta.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=11205
Save the date: Happy hour for SJMC grad students
Des Moines-area SJMC graduate students and alums are invited to a happy hour at Juniper Moon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 4:30-6 p.m.
More videos posted to centennial website
More alumni videos have been posted to a website created to showcase the distinguished history and alumni of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Check out https://drakesjmc100.com for information about Our People, Places and Student Organizations. Listen to several alums’ SJMC Stories and contribute your own! The site will be updated throughout the year with news, events, testimonials and information about our centennial party on April 25 during Drake Relays 2020.
Meredith Hall building hours
Meredith Hall is unlocked during the following hours when classes are in session:
Sunday-Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
Monday-Friday: 7 a.m.-9:30 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.
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.