All posts by Aaron Jaco

Campus Announcements Archive

Service-learning match grants

The Ronald and Jane Olson Endowment for Global Service-Learning is providing support for two $500 service-learning match grants for the 2015–2016 academic year. Applications are currently available with a due date of Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. Applicants will be notified by Dec. 22 regarding award status. Apply today!

The Olson Global Service-Learning Match Grant funds are designated to enhance global service-learning projects by providing additional funds that would otherwise not be accessible.

Requirements:

  • Funds or in-kind donations of at least $500 must have already been raised.
  • Projects must have a strong global service-learning emphasis.
  • Student applicants must have demonstrated faculty/staff support.
    Please note that we are NOT able to reimburse for individual’s mileage.

Direct additional questions to Maria Rohach, global learning program coordinator, at maria.rohach@drake.edu.

—Submitted by Maria Rohach

Campus Announcements Archive

Business continuity & disaster recovery planning

Since project inception in January 2015, the Information Security team within Drake Technology Services’ Infrastructure & Security Services unit has been working to develop business continuity and disaster recovery plans for processes and technologies in use at Drake. An off-site datacenter, designed to hasten and ease recovery of our most critical technology assets, has been leveraged to help reduce downtime in the event of an outage and ensure that data is secured and available for recovery, if needed.

Meanwhile, DTS staff conducted tabletop Business Continuity Planning (BCP) exercises using a potential disaster scenario, designed to help guide conversation around plan updates and potential changes to plans. These exercises help to ensure adequate continuity is in place to maintain University processes should a real disaster occur. Ongoing work throughout the year will help ensure our plans are up to date.

—Submitted by Jeff Sabin, Information Security Officer, Head of Infrastructure and Security

Strategic Updates Archive

STEM@DRAKE construction update

Significant pre-construction activity is underway relative to the STEM@DRAKE project. At the Holiday Breakfast on Thursday, members of the campus community saw the latest building renderings and floor plans. There is excitement and appreciation for the inclusion of gender-neutral bathrooms and dedicated lactation rooms in both buildings.

Members of Drake’s Grounds Department—Aaron Harpold and Jeff Bosworth —were on hand to discuss how the project will affect trees. Attendees voted on the type of trees they would like to see planted as part of the effort to replace nearly double the number of trees that will be lost during construction. While removing trees is a difficult reality of construction, tremendous effort is being dedicated to a tree plan that will ensure both replacement and reclamation as part of the project. Watch for more details in coming weeks on this and other aspects of the STEM@DRAKE project.

 —Submitted by Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

HR Information Archive

Drake welcomes new staff members

Nine new employees began at Drake in November:

Greg Christie, Drake Technology Services
Joseph Bedwell, Drake Technology Services
Giancarlo “John” Amato, Alumni & Development
Jackson Dahlquist, Drake Athletics
Nicole McAllister, Law School
Ana Karen Valencia Aguilar, Head Start
Madeline Mongar, College of Business and Public Administration
Justice Simpson, University Communications
Tracy Bainter, Provost’s Office

Campus Announcements Archive, Strategic Updates Archive

Provost open forums this week

To meet President Martin’s goal to have a strong leadership team in place as soon as possible, we are pleased to present three candidates this week for our new Provost.

The Provost search committee invites your participation in the campus forums this week with three highly qualified candidates. Please make time Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to meet the following candidates:

Dr. Darrell Radson
Dean and Professor
Foster College of Business
Bradley University
Peoria, IL
Monday, Nov. 30, 3–4:15 p.m.

Dr. Alzada Tipton
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
Elmhurst College
Elmhurst, IL
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 3-4:15 p. m.

Dr. Sue Mattison
Dean, College of Professional Studies
University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Green Bay, WI
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 3–4:15 p.m.

The CVs for each candidate are located on the homepage of blueView on the right-hand side. A Qualtrics survey will be sent to campus for the committee to learn your impressions of the candidates.

—Darcie Vandegrift, Associate Professor of Sociology

Campus Announcements Archive, HR Information Archive

Benefits Open Enrollment ends TODAY

If you wish to change your current medical, dental and/or wellness elections for 2016, you MUST complete new enrollment forms. Enrollment forms can be found in the Forms Library.

If you wish to participate in Drake’s flexible spending account plans during 2016, you MUST complete a new enrollment form.

ALL FORMS must be received by Human Resources NO LATER than 4:30 P.M. TODAY!

—Submitted by Marlene Heuertz, Assistant Director, Benefits

Featured Events Archive

Fine arts events this week

Ongoing: Are We Global Yet?
Take advantage of the current Anderson Gallery exhibit “Are We Global Yet? The Art and Politics of Public Space (including the virtual),” which has been described as “powerful,” “thoughtful,” and “ingenious” by visitors from other universities and was recently featured on the front page of The Des Moines Register.

The students of the Curating Capstone are available to provide tours for any interested groups or classes. They will speak to specific issues represented in the exhibit or provide tours of the entire exhibition. Contact Gallery Director Heather Skeens at 515-271-1994 or heather.skeens@drake.edu.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Other free, open to the public events this week:

Keys to Excellence Piano Series presents: Nicholas Roth
Monday, Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Sheslow Auditorium

String Chamber Ensemble Concert
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m.
Sheslow Auditorium

Combo Night
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m.
Turner Jazz Center

Jazz Ensemble II
Thursday, Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.
Turner Jazz Center

Violin and Viola Studio Concert
Sunday, Dec. 6, 4:30 p.m.
Sheslow Auditorium

Featured Events Archive

Comparison Projects hosts next event in series

The Comparison Project will present its fifth event in a yearlong series on death and dying. A community interfaith dialogue will feature scholars and medical professionals from four different religious traditions. The panel will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, at Dunn’s Chapel at Iles Funeral Homes, 2121 Grand Ave.

Norma Hirsch, assistant professor of osteopathic medicine at Des Moines University, will moderate. Panelists include Sayeed Hussain, a pediatrician at West Des Moines Children’s Clinic, Pramod Mahajan, associate professor of pharmacology at Drake University, You Bin, a Fulbright Visiting Scholar of Religion from Minzu University in China, and Josephy Moravec, professor of theology and philosophy at Mercy College.

Among other questions, the panel seeks to explore what happens after death and what postmortem rituals relatives should practice from the perspective of representatives from Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Chinese religions. The panelists will focus particularly on the tensions between traditional theologies and rituals of death, and the way in which death has increasingly become the domain of medicine and law. To learn more, visit the Drake Newsroom.

—Submitted by Drake International

Campus Announcements Archive

Phishing education

phish·ing
noun
The activity of defrauding an online account holder of confidential information by posing as a legitimate company.

We’ve all been the target of a phishing attack. Whether it’s a warning of an expiring email account or an “urgent message” from a financial institution, these attacks put the confidential information of our students and employees at serious risk, and require significant personnel and technology resources to resolve.

Faculty, staff, and students of Drake are no exception, and the attackers have been making their email attacks even more difficult to spot. Several of the attacks recently spotted have used a forged copy of our webmail login page to convince people to give up their username and password.

The login page below is from an email phish that we received, but there’s nothing on the page giving it away. The page gives the appearance of legitimacy but is designed to steal passwords and information.

phishing

However, the URL at the top gives it away. As you can see, pilatesg.com isn’t affiliated with Drake or with Microsoft, our email provider. If you are ever asked by email to take an urgent action regarding your account, go to the page you know and trust rather than following a link.

Drake webmail is located at: outlook.com/drake.edu

Links to safe login pages for Blackboard, blueView, EMS, and more are also located at the following pages:

www.drake.edu/facstaff/

www.drake.edu/students/

If you think you’ve received a legitimate email but aren’t sure, don’t take chances! Call Client Services at 515-271-3001 or email informationsecurity@drake.edu. If you think you may have already opened a malicious link, call or email right away to get your password changed.

Drake utilizes a service called PhishMe to provide education on these types of attacks—what attackers are after, how they get through our spam filter, how to spot them, and, most importantly, what to do if you’ve been targeted. For more information on phishing and how to avoid becoming a victim, please visit the DTS Information Security website.

—Submitted by Jeffrey Sabin, Information Security Officer

Strategic Updates Archive

Campus community budget discussion

The President’s Council invites you to attend a campus community budget discussion on Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. in the Shivers Hospitality Suite. The event will be recorded and made available on the continuous improvement channel on blueView for those who are unable to attend.

Individuals are strongly encouraged to submit any questions you have about budgeting before the discussion at Drake via the Conversations site “Provide your Feedback” function. Questions/comments can be anonymous. You can also submit questions or comments after the discussion using the same tool.

Following the event, everyone is invited to stay for a Drake Social Club event from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

—Submitted by Andrea McDonough