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November 18
Turkey BINGO
Thanksgiving Buffet
Cap/Gown Orders for December Graduates
Dec. 17-Jan. 17
Christmas Break
To view this year's
academic calendar,
click here.
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If this is your first time sending a child off to
college, you're probably counting the days until he/she comes home
for their first extended break from school. We imagine both of you
have clear visions about what this visit will be like and, typically,
those visions aren't identical. Your student has changed and so have
you.
Less than three months ago he/she arrived at Clarke as
an adolescent. Your returning student will walk in the door a young
adult. You can be pretty sure he/she considers newfound freedom a
precious commodity, and you've probably made some changes as well while
adjusting to a different household.
Here are some potential family issues that could pop up
during the holidays:
- Just let
me sleep in. Your student has finished
his/her semester and probably will be exhausted. Although we're sure
you'll be really excited to see him/her and may have made lots of
plans, we suggest you give him/her some slack and extra sleep time
for a couple of days. Everyone will be happier for it.
- I need
to see my friends. The holidays are always a busy
time of year. Your house may be filled with your student's friends
or he/she will be out visiting them. Either way it will be helpful
to realize this is everyone's first long break. It's
understandable your student wants to catch up with his/her friends
and share college stories. Be patient, the first holiday visit is
almost always the most intense.
- I didn't
have a curfew at school. At Clarke your student
has a very individual schedule. He/she may nap between classes,
most likely goes out after 9 p.m. on weekends and tends to eat
whenever he/she feels like it. It will probably be most helpful if
you're able to renegotiate some of those old high school rules and
regulations and acknowledge the young adult who arrives on your
doorstep without compromising your standards for how to behave at
home.
- Didn't I
tell you I was a vegetarian? There
are many versions of the "Didn't I tell you..."
conversation. Your student may declare, "I'm 18 now and I
think my tattoo is awesome" or "I can't possibly attend
Aunt Mary's Christmas party; I have plans." Perhaps even,
"You're dead-wrong being a Democrat / Republican. How could
you possibly believe that?" Whatever the version, you can
count on your conversations being different than they were when
your student was in high school.
In the end,
probably the most important thing is looking forward to seeing the
transformation that less than four months at Clarke has made on your
student.
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Here
are a few things you might want to consider to help smooth your
student's homecoming:
Plan
Ahead.
Consider your family events, parties, vacations and anything else that
might impact your student's schedule. He/she probably will feel pulled
between spending time with family and friends. However, if you consult
with him/her before the holiday, the coordination is likely to be much
smoother.
Negotiate
Compromises.
Think about discussing your expectations with your student so that
together you can decide how many family activities he/she must attend,
what chores are not debatable and what he/she needs to be responsible
for while at home.
Promote
Independence. It may be time to be available for your student in a
different way. Make suggestions if asked, support him/her as you always
have and let him/her schedule appointments, run errands, do laundry,
etc.
Be Actively
Interested. How a question is asked is probably as important as what
is asked. Ask about a favorite class or book to recommend. If you're
chatting about academics, your student can check his/ her grades from
home using his/her PIN on Clarke's MyInfo.
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Residence
Life Holiday Break Hours
It's that time again--the countdown to Christmas
break! Residence halls will close on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. with
the last campus meal being served at 6 p.m.
Students leaving campus for the break will not have access
to their rooms over the four week period and will need to prepare
their room before leaving. This includes unplugging all items from
outlets, discarding all perishable food, taking out their trash,
finding a home for their fish and locking their door. Detailed
information covering all end-of-semester topics (closing, what to do if
your student/student's roommate is moving or checking out, graduation,
etc...) will be distributed to students beginning Tuesday, Nov. 16.
Students who need to remain on campus for a period of time
over the break must be approved through their resident director. Some
examples of reasons to be approved are: your student's athletic team is
actively practicing, your home is more than 500 miles away or your
student will be working at least 20 hours per week ON campus during the
break.
"Blackout" (a period of time during
break in which no students are allowed in the residence halls for any
reason) will take place from December 22 at 9 a.m. through December 26
at 3 p.m. If your son or daughter needs a place to stay during this
time, please have them contact their resident director and we will
arrange for them to stay at the home of one of our faculty members.
Residence halls will re-open at 1 p.m. on Sunday,
Jan.16 with food service resuming at 5 p.m.
NOTE: For the last three years, severe snow storms have
struck during finals week, causing campus to close and delaying finals
and residence hall closures until Friday. Should severe weather strike
again, visit the Clarke Web site at www.clarke.edu for up-to-date
information on schedules and closures.
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 Helping at Home
During the recent Autumn Free Day weekend, eight Clarke
students and staff served the local Delhi and Manchester communities
repairing a breached dam in the area. The Lake Delhi Dam failed in late
July, resulting in destruction and total loss of homes and businesses
in small towns below the dam.
The mission trip participants worked hard to get several
families back in their homes by painting, cleaning, removing ruined
siding, and putting up new plywood and insulation. One participant commented,
"Due to my experience on this trip, I learned that I don't need to
travel hours away to help someone. I can extend my hand to someone
nearby and have as much of an impact as going to another country."
Campus ministry mission trips offer Clarke students,
faculty and staff the opportunity to serve for an extended time.
Before, during and after each trip, mission participants reflect, pray
and learn about the lives of those least among us. The location of
these experiences is chosen by immediate needs and student interest.
For
more details on Clarke's campus ministry and upcoming events, click here.
Coming together in Faith
On November 3, two faith-based student groups, RELIEF and ALIVE, united
for the first student-created praise and worship night. About 25
students (including a group of very talented student accompanists)
gathered around the piano in candlelight to sing praise music in the
Sacred Heart Chapel. The prayer was reverent and inspiring.
In addition to its significance as the first praise and worship night,
the event moved two previously separate groups with similar missions
closer together.
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Clarke University Sees Significant Enrollment Growth
Clarke University recently announced a significant growth
in enrollment for the 2010-2011 academic year, with the university
seeing a 19 percent increase in first-year students and a 19 percent
increase in graduate students. Overall, Clarke saw an increase in total
enrollment of over four percent bringing the campus headcount to 1,255.
"We could not be more pleased to welcome one of our
largest freshman classes ever to Clarke University," said Clarke
President Joanne M. Burrows, SC, Ph.D. "Our thriving campus is
ready to meet the needs of these students as we prepare them to make a
great impact on the world."
Clarke's
traditional undergraduate program combined with the area's largest
array of adult and graduate programs to welcome 422 new students to
campus in August. The overall makeup of the campus includes students
from 28 states and 12 foreign countries.
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 Chemistry: It's Elemental
Does ice cream taste better when flash frozen at 320
degrees below zero? Clarke University students found out when the
Clarke chemistry department created ice cream using liquid nitrogen in
honor of National Chemistry Week. The frozen treats were one way the
department showed that chemistry is an elemental part of life during a
week-long celebration of the field.
Clarke kicked off the week with a lecture by esteemed
Clarke alumna Dr. Mary Jo Schmerr, who discussed the importance of the
natural sciences and the study of it from a young age.
Click here to read the full article.
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 Physical Therapy Department Provides Wheels
Even a severe wind advisory couldn't deter Clarke students from lending
a helping hand. The third-year physical therapy class gathered behind
CBH as they loaded hundreds of wheelchairs, walkers, canes and crutches
into semis, trailers, and trucks for delivery to Iowa City for Wheels
for the World.
Bill O'Dell, associate professor of physical therapy, gave his class
the idea for the project.
"We've done this in the past for COSPT, but it's not done often
enough," says O'Dell. "As a part of the Iowa Physical Therapy
Association, we're attempting to make this a state-wide function."
The 29 students in the class utilized their marketing skills to contact
11-13 nursing homes each to ask for donations. Once organizations
agreed to the donations the equipment was sent to one of 10 drop sites
across the state. PT grad Kelly Dougherty's dad made two trips to Sioux
City five hours away.
"We
do this for the people who can't afford these chairs," said
Heather Steele. "It makes a huge impact and opens their
world."
If
you've never purchased a wheelchair, they certainly are not cheap.
Amanda Shaker says, "It cost more to repair a wheelchair than to
buy a new one so a lot of places just throw them out." O'Dell
added, "A new chair costs between $350-500. These chairs would
otherwise end up in a landfill."
Wheels for the World is a non-profit organization that takes the
donated disability aids, repairs them, and sends them to developing
nations.
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Clarke
Students Awarded National STEM Scholarships
Three Clarke University students among 35 nationally will
receive $5,000 scholarships from the AFCEA Educational Foundation.
Clarke stood out as being the only institution to have three student
recipients.
Recipients of the scholarships are Shannon Ford, of
Woodridge, Ill.; Kari Klein, of Epworth, Iowa; and Amanda Stone, of
Barrington, Ill. The competitive scholarships were awarded to
education majors working toward a career teaching a science,
technology, engineering, or math (STEM) subject in a U.S. middle or
secondary school.
"Clarke is a leader in both teacher education and in
STEM subject areas," said Larry Bice, Ed.D., chair and assistant
professor of education at Clarke. "These awards are a testament to
the caliber of students we attract and are preparing to be the
innovative teachers of tomorrow. With this scholarship, each of the recipients
will have a unique ability to impact the future of math and science
education."
Click here to read the full article.
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Ford
earns Academic All-America honor
Clarke's Shannon Ford has been named a first team ESPN
Academic All-America All-District 7 women's soccer selection by the
College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Click here to read more.
Gordon's
top 10 showing leads Clarke to fifth-place finish
Clarke University
freshman Grace Gordon finished ninth individually this past Saturday to
lead the Crusaders to a fifth-place finish in the eight-team field.
Gordon finished the 5k race in a time of 20:23.04.
Clarke junior Dan McNamara paced the men's team with a time of 30:44.5
in the 8k race. The Crusaders finished seventh overall.
Spikers fall to
William Penn in MCC Tournament
William Penn
University claimed the third and final meeting with Clarke University
this fall, downing the Crusaders 3-1 in the opening round of the
Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament this past Saturday. Click here to read more.
St. Ambrose
sidelines Crusaders in MCC Women's Soccer Tournament
St. Ambrose
University ended Clarke University's women's soccer season this past
Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Crusaders in the MCC Tournament
semifinals in Davenport. Click here to read more.
Follow Crusader
Competitions
Stay up-to-date with the latest results and catch live streaming of
games at www.clarkecrusaders.com.
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Clarke
University is pleased to welcome Lindsay
Adolphs to the campus community. Adolphs, who serves as
the Director of Career Services, officially began in August.
Lindsay
was born and raised in Iowa City, IA where she earned an undergraduate
degree in psychology. She began working as an academic adviser at
Ashford University before enrolling in graduate school at Western
Illinois University. She earned a master's degree in College Student
Personnel. "It was during my two years as the graduate
assistant in the Career Services Office at WIU that I fell in love with
Career Services and knew I wanted to pursue it as a career." said
Adolphs.
When
asked why she decided to take a position at Clarke she stated, "It
was evident while walking across campus that those working at the
institution cared about students. The professionals I was with said
hello to all students we passed and knew the students names and a
little bit about each one. It was incredible and inspiring".
Lindsay
has been networking with local businesses to explore internship and
employment opportunities for Clarke students. Lindsay
also helps students review their resume, explore graduate school
options and more.
Career
Services is also excited to announce the hiring of new Internship
Coordinator Becky
Herrig. She comes to Clarke after a long teaching
career in the Dubuque School District. She will be working part-time,
and will work with students to facilitate Internships for
Credit. It is strongly encouraged that students pursue
internships as soon as they are able. Clarke's Internship for
Credit Program is for students who have completed 30 credit
hours and have a 2.0 GPA. This program allows students to
connect materials learned in the classroom with the real-world work
setting while exploring possible career opportunities.
Since the fall of 1999, Kate Zanger, Vice President for Student Life
has been leading a team of faculty and staff who contact the parents of
our first year students to find out the parent's perception of student
satisfaction with Clarke University. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10
being the highest we have an average score of 8.7 for satisfaction for
the fall 2010. Parents are asked questions about living situation,
academics and activities and have the opportunity to make suggestions.
A big thank you to the parents for their feedback.
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(563)588-6300
Academic Affairs
(563)588-6406
Admissions
(563)588-6316
Admissions Toll Free
(800)383-2345
Athletics
(563)588-8186
Bookstore
(563)588-6307
Counseling Center
(563)588-6571
Financial Aid Office
(563)588-6327
Residence Life
(563)588-6744
Safety and Security
(563)588-6393
Student Life
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Have a suggestion for a good topic or a story you'd like
to share? Our staff wants your feedback. Send to parentnews@clarke.edu and we may
feature it in our next issue.
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As parents and friends, we offer you a variety of
resources. From here, you will be able to get information about a
variety of topics. We welcome your visit!
Want to purchase the perfect sweatshirt? Learn More
Need to understand how to pay for college? Learn More
Concerned about security and safety? Learn More
Have questions about housing or food or counseling? Learn More
Want to know about fellow Clarke alums? Learn More
Interested in supporting Clarke University? Learn More
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