The 2025 winners of the Social Impact Research and Outreach Awards were announced today by Drake University’s Zimpleman College of Business. This annual program recognizes college faculty and staff who tackle pressing issues facing society through their scholarship and work in the community. Each of the three winning submissions will receive an award made possible by Larry and Kathi Zimpleman—valued at $5,000—for their contributions to addressing one or more of a range of social and environmental topics.
“Exploring where business adds value to society is more important than ever especially for those of us who believe in the power of the free market,” said Alejandro Hernandez, dean of the Zimpleman College of Business. “This year’s recognition of our faculty’s positive societal impact is central to Drake’s commitment to transform lives and strengthen communities.”
The winners and their work include:
Lendie Follett: Leveraging data analysis to expand Wesley Life Meals on Wheels service
Students in Dr. Follett’s two Fall 2024 sections of STAT 172-Data Mining and General Linear Models course used publicly available data to build predictive models that assisted Wesley Life Meals on Wheels program discern how to expand its services most effectively beyond Polk County to help alleviate rural senior citizen food insecurity. This outreach work effectively aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (Zero Hunger).
Claire Muselman: Empowering non-profit to use data-driven storytelling to advance its mission
Dr. Muselman developed a training program to enhance communication effectiveness for the staff of the non-profit Shelter Animals Count, which serves as a clearinghouse for animal shelter statistics. This project links to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being) as animal welfare is closely linked to community health, mental well-being for individuals, and social cohesion. The training empowered Shelter Animals Count staff to make complex data accessible, relatable, and compelling. As a result, the organization saw an increase in fundraising from $500,000 to over $2.5 million by the end of 2024.
Ina Purvanova: Adapting diversity training dynamically to meet the needs of participants and generate better outcomes
Dr. Purvanova and her coauthor use a segmentation approach to identify the usefulness of developing different diversity training programs for males and females, especially when some of them are skeptical of diversity training. This research, published in a high-quality academic journal, has the potential to impact many individuals who work at firms that implement diversity training. The work’s publication in Applied Psychology: An International Review and its alignment to SDG 5 (Gender Equality) distinguished this scholarship.