The All Staff Council Recognition Committee recognized Continuing Education & Professional Development with a Bulldog Applause for all they do at Drake. This department is greatly appreciated and we wanted to share with the campus a little more about this group and the importance of their work.

How many staff members are in the department? 
CEPD is comprised of five individuals: Chuck Sengstock, Kelly Marckres, Kendra Colbert, Jean Hansen, and Tracy Davies

What is the primary function of the team?                               
We provide professional learning opportunities to PreK-12 teachers, counselors, administrators, and athletic coaches. We also specialize in implicit bias training

Our mission is to provide relevant, high-quality face-to-face, online, and blended learning opportunities to PreK-12 teachers, athletic coaches, and administrators as well as provide professional learning opportunities to law enforcement agencies across Iowa.

What staff member has been on the team the longest?
It is a tie or close to it, related to who has been here the longest:
Jean Hansen—16 years, Senior Online Instructional Designer
Kendra Colbert—16 years, Budget manager and Assistant to the Director

Who is the newest team member and their job title?
Kelly Marckres- Director of Curriculum and Agency Accounts

Where are your team members located on campus?
All of CEPD works remotely but Chuck. Kelly comes in one day a week. We meet in person once a month on Wednesdays. Collier-Scripps Hall is our homebase.

What are some recent accomplishments that others in the University might not know about?
We recently produced a training video for Fareway Stores covering what to do in case of an active shooter. All 12,000 plus Fareway employees across seven states have watched this video.

How does this staff foster a sense of community and belonging through their activities or sharing together here at Drake?
Our bond as a team is we genuinely feel the courses and services we provide are making a difference in the lives of teachers, their students, and our communities.

Other noteworthy information:
We have won multiple international awards for course and program excellence from the United States Distance Learning Association.

We are recognized as a leader in online course and program design and were one of the first organizations in the country (2006) to design and adopt a consistent user interface across all of our online offerings.

—  Teresa Downs, On Behalf of All Staff Council