Drake honored for partnership with DMARC

Tuesday, April 24th, 2018

Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) today announced the winners of the association’s 2018 Engaged Campus Awards. Drake University received IACC’s Community Partnership Award in recognition of the University’s longstanding collaboration with Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC).

Iowa Campus Compact received 50 nominations from 12 colleges and universities across the state for this year’s Engaged Campus Awards. Nominees included students, organizations, faculty, staff and alumni who have built community-campus partnerships, community service programs, service-learning courses, and lead institutional engagement.

“Our member colleges and universities are committed to strong community partnerships,” said Executive Director Emily Shields. “These awardees represent the kinds of people, projects, and collaborations we need to move Iowa forward.”

Drake University has collaborated with DMARC on a number of academic courses and service projects that have helped to reduce food insecurity and increase interfaith understanding in central Iowa. For example:

• Since 2012, DMARC has served as a community partner for Drake’s First-Year Seminar course titled “The Real Hunger Games,” which focuses on the topic of food insecurity.
• In 2017, the Drake Community Press published a book on central Iowa’s faith communities, with all proceeds from sales going to DMARC.
• In 2018, three social and service fraternities at Drake University hosted a “Food for All” food drive, with all donations benefitting DMARC’s food pantries.

Also this year, IACC recognizes Drake University senior Gabrielle Miller as a runner-up for its Student Leadership Award. Miller is a founding member of the Drake Next Course Food Recovery Chapter, has served as a service-learning ambassador in the Office of Community Engaged Learning for three years, and is a student worker at the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement.

Awards will be presented at the annual Engaged Campus Awards and Summit on May 9, 2018 at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. The event is sponsored by Coe College and the University of Northern Iowa. The awards seek to promote and encourage deep community-campus collaborations that result in stronger student learning and positive impacts on community needs.

Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) is a statewide association of college and university presidents providing leadership for the civic mission of higher education and strengthening the capacity of our member colleges and universities to prepare all students to become engaged citizens.

See below for a list of all honorees:

• Civic Mission Leadership: Dr. Theresa Donofrio, The Esther and Robert Armstrong Assistant Professor of Rhetoric, Coe College
• Community Leadership: Carrie Romo, Alumna, Central College
• Emerging Leadership: Eric Rucker, Director of the Simpson Youth Academy, Simpson College
• Student Leadership: Jane Nguyen, Honors Student, University of Iowa / Co-Founder, Conversation Center / Co-Founder and President, aKDPhi Sorority
• Emerging Innovation: Community Energy & Climate Action, University of Northern Iowa Conservation Corps
• Community Partnership: Layers of Maquoketa Steering Committee and the University of Iowa
• Community Partnership: Des Moines Area Religious Council and Drake University
• National Service Members of the Year: Kelly May, Part-time Iowa College AmeriCorps Program Member, Coe College and Alexzandra Tillman, Full-Time Iowa College AmeriCorps Program Member, Iowa Western Community College

More information about Iowa Campus Compact is available at www.iacampuscompact.org