Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 32.00
Liaison Kevin Moran
Submission Date May 22, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Drake University
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:

Drake Environmental Action League (DEAL)
DEAL is a group of students committed to increasing awareness and sustainability on Drake's campus, in the community and beyond. They plan different events that aim to educate and involve students on Drake's campus in relation to environmental issues. They also actively work try to create meaningful changes to Drake's campus by actively working with other student organizations as well as faculty and staff to make Drake more sustainable.

Drake Outdoor Leadership Club (DOLC)
Drake Outdoor Leadership Clubs fosters environmental stewardship and appreciation for the outdoors through various outdoor recreation activities and service projects.

Next Course Food Recovery Network
Next Course Food Recovery Network works to donate unserved food from the dining halls to local shelters in the city and educates about food security and access.

Community Action Board (CAB)
CAB is a student-run organization that seeks to engage students in meaningful service and collaborative initiatives that inspire them to strengthen relationships with the communities of which they are a part of. The organization values streamlined dialogue with round tables that include service chairs from student organizations and members from the community. They also send regular newsletters with volunteering opportunities and community successes.

UNITY Roundtable
UNITY Roundtable is a group of multicultural organizations working towards inclusion and educational opportunities amongst them and the Drake community through dialogue and programming.


The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

Sprout Garden
The Sprout Garden is a community garden for neighborhood residents to grow and harvest food and learn about local food growth.


The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
No

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
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The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
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Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
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Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:

Earth Week and Earth Jam is hosted every year by Drake Environmental Action League (DEAL) and includes speakers and dialogues revolving around the environment and sustainability.


The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
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Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:

The Anderson Gallery was established in 1996 as a dedicated space for the exploration of contemporary art and design. Additionally, the gallery hosts curated exhibitions of historically significant work, as well as annual showcases of student work from the Department of Art and Design. The gallery recently presented a cultural exhibition, Our Town: Reclaiming the Narrative curated by Lenore Metrick-Chen, professor of art and cultural history, and students in the professor’s Black Americans and Photography course.

“The exhibit centers on the idea of individual agency—our ability to choose our actions or non-actions—and how it can lead to social change,” says Professor Metrick-Chen. “It celebrates the diverse works of people in Des Moines’ black communities whose individual choices and agency have led to civic engagement and social change for all citizens.”

Our Town offers a sampling of acts of agency and everyday bravery in Des Moines. The exhibition features short video interviews of local advocates including Dwana Bradley, editor in chief of The Urban Experience magazine, Laural Clinton, community and racial justice activist, and Elain Estes, former head of the Des Moines Public Library.

Several Drake students are also featured in the interviews, including Ayinde Ashford, a third-year student at Drake Law School, and Maleigha Williams and Bailey Mosely, senior students at Drake and members of the Coalition of Black Students. In addition, the exhibition will examine the work of Joanne Cheatom and Katherine Bryson, activists from the 1960s.

In tandem, with the celebration of the 50-year history of breakfast clubs for children in Des Moines initiated by the Black Panther’s Des Moines chapter and continued by Children and Family Urban Movement, the exhibition will feature a timeline examining the history of breakfast clubs and their impact in the community. The timeline will feature comments by present and former participants in the breakfast club, including Iowa state representative and former lieutenant of the Des Moines chapter of the Black Panther Party, Ako Abdul-Samad.


The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

Drake Outdoor Leadership Club (DOLC)
Drake Outdoor Leadership Club hosts a yearly spring break trip that includes conservation volunteerism and engages Leave No Trace principles. They also have several smaller, more local trips throughout the year.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
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Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
No

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
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The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
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Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

We have a student sustainability intern who works for Facilities Planning and Management. We also have several students who work as Service Learning Ambassadors for the Office of Community Engaged Learning that facilitate operations such as NextCourse and the Sprout Garden.


The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledges:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
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Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
No

A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
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Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.