All posts by Aaron Jaco

For Faculty Archive

Speaking Center now open

Drake University’s Speaking Center in Cowles Library is now open for the fall semester. Students can book appointments online to see a tutor for help in researching, preparing, composing, and delivering speeches and presentations or for support with other situations requiring oral communication skills. Students, faculty, and staff members can also reserve the Speaking Studio to practice and record presentations alone or in small groups.

Location and Hours: The Speaking Center is located in Cowles Library, Room 18, on the lower floor just down the stairs and through the right door of the main entrance. Hours are:

  • Monday/Wednesday 3:30–8 p.m.
  • Tuesday/Thursday 11 a.m.—12 p.m. and 2–5 pm
  • Sundays 2–4 p.m.

Tutors are also available outside those hours on an individual basis, if scheduling allows.

To make an appointment, visit http://library.drake.edu/speaking. Appointments are scheduled for 30 minutes each, and students are encouraged to visit multiple times while preparing for a single event if they wish. Any questions or concerns should be directed to speaking-help@drake.edu.

Speaking Center Services: Speaking Center tutors are students with experience and training in speech pedagogy who are prepared to assist students when selecting and narrowing topics, organizing ideas, drafting and revising an outline, preparing visual aids, and practicing delivery. The Speaking Center’s new location provides access to research and reference librarians who can help students gather resources. Our facilities feature a tutoring room and a speaking studio, where presentations can be recorded and saved by students, faculty, and staff members.

—Submitted by Art Sanders, Associate Provost

For Faculty Archive

Writing internships available

It is not too late for students with strong writing skills from any academic discipline to apply for a writing internship position for 1-3 credit hours this fall. A variety of nonprofit organizations partner with the Writing Internship Program to provide service-learning and pre-professional experience to our students. Opportunities include social service, youth, cultural, and arts organizations. In addition, interns are needed to serve in the Iowa Downtown Economic Development Program through the Office of Community Engagement and Service-Learning. Students with a background in historical research, graphic design, cultural studies, environmental advocacy, health-related disciplines, government, social media, or youth services are especially encouraged to apply.

Requirements: Juniors with a 3.4 GPA or higher, or professor recommendation. Students should contact Carol Spaulding-Kruse, professor of English, at carol.spaulding@drake.edu to apply.

—Submitted by Carol Spaulding-Kruse

Featured Events Archive

Don your blue and white

Drake Athletics: Week of Sept. 21

Women’s Soccer
Drake vs. Creighton
Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex

Volleyball
Drake vs. Evansville
Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
Knapp Center

Football
Drake vs. Stetson
Sept. 26 at 1 p.m.
Drake Stadium

Volleyball
Drake vs. Southern Illinois
Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.
Knapp Center

—Submitted by Tom Florian, Assistant Director, Ticket Operations and Donor Management

Featured Events Archive

Dance, play, socialize—DSMove!

The Des Moines Bicycle Collective is proud to present the 3rd annual DSMove for the Drake Neighborhood, an Open Streets Project. The Open Streets Project is a nationally recognized movement dedicated to temporarily closing streets to automobile traffic and encouraging people and families of all ages to use them for walking, bicycling, dancing, playing, and socializing. Last year’s event hosted nearly 3,000 community members!

The 2015 DSMove event will be held Sunday, Sept. 27, from noon to 4 p.m. on University Avenue between 41st and 23rd streets. Stations featuring organized activities will be located throughout and will be designed to promote an active and healthy lifestyle and community. Activities include a bike rodeo, bike tune-ups, Zumba instruction, sidewalk chalking, live music, food trucks, and more!

Be a part of the action by attending, serving as a volunteer, or hosting a vendor or activity station. Learn more at http://dsmove.org or www.facebook.com/DSMBikeCollective

—Submitted by Kerry King, Director, Fraternity and Sorority Life

HR Information Archive

Wellness—free flu vaccine clinic for faculty & staff

As a part of Drake’s Wellness programming, we are offering free blood pressure checks and up to 200 free flu vaccines on a first come, first served basis to employees of Drake. The Drake Student Health Center is providing the employee clinic, which was planned to allow dedicated privacy and time for faculty and staff. Please be prepared to show your Drake Card (ID) at check-in.

When: Wednesday, Oct. 7
Time: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Olmsted 312 & 313
Who is eligible: Faculty & Staff

Contact Cindy Adams x3676 or Diana Lei-Butters x1871 with any questions.

—Submitted by Cindy Adams, Associate Director, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Signed up for your biometrics screening yet?

Faculty and staff on Drake’s health plan can save $300 in 2016 by participating in the Wellness Incentive Program. You simply need to complete a biometrics screening and online wellness assessment this fall.

There are three options for completing your biometrics screening, including completing a physical with your doctor and making an appointment at a participating Hy-Vee store. As always, you can also schedule an on-campus screening with UnityPoint.
On-campus screenings will take place between 6:30 and 10:30 a.m. in the Bell Center on the following dates:

  • Oct. 23, 28, 29, and 30
  • Nov. 3, 4, 10, and 13

To schedule your screening, click here, and use the username DRAKEU and password SCREEN2015 to log in. Once you sign up, please make a note of your screening date and time, as you will not receive a reminder email.

If you need to cancel your on-campus screening, email Jennifer.umphfleet@unitypoint.org with your name and date and time of cancelled appointment. You will need to re-register online for a new appointment. Changes can be made up for 48 hours prior to screen date.

Visit the Wellness Incentive Program site to learn more about the wellness incentive, your options, and for a FAQ. Questions maybe directed to Dianna Lei-Butters at diana.lei-butters@drake.edu or 271-1871.

Campus Announcements Archive

Material handling safety

With renovations wrapping up in Harvey-Ingham and new construction set to begin later in the school year there has been a lot of office moving going on around campus. Throughout all of this activity it is important that we take time to touch on a very important safety topic: material handling. Injuries resulting from material handling are a leading cause of lost time at work. These injuries are the result of both repetitive manual tasks and single exposure incidents. It is often the single exposure incidents that lead to the most serious injuries because they happen without warning and can therefore be more difficult to prevent.

There are a number of ways in which injuries can occur from material handling and many factors can contribute to the severity of the injury. Material handling does not just refer to moving product in construction, the plant, or a warehouse; material handling involves any kind of lifting or moving, whether it be moving a stack of books or sliding a desk to a different side of a room. Some of the most common ways that injuries occur from material handling are:

  • Lifting or moving heavy objects
  • Twisting or bending at the back
  • Carrying objects too far away from your body
  • Reaching over head to grab or set down an object
  • Carrying awkwardly shaped objects or bulky objects without handles
  • Doing the same task over and over for an extended period of time
  • Falling or rolling objects
  • Handling materials without proper hand protection

It is also important to be aware of the environmental conditions as they can have a negative effect on your ability to move objects without injury. Working in cold weather can increase joint and muscle stiffness, while working in hot weather can lead to dehydration and fatigue. Everyone should take steps to minimize or eliminate the risks involved with material handling. Using the tips and guidelines below can help in the effort to reduce workplace injuries:

  • Use material handling equipment such as dollies and carts to minimize the stress on your body.
  • Ask for help with moving heavy or awkwardly shaped objects. The general rule is to ask for help if the object weighs over 50 pounds, but you should always use your best judgment and recognize your limitations.
  • Use proper lifting techniques anytime you need to pick something up:
    o Plan your lift and the path you plan to take.
    o Always bend at the knees and hips, not at your back.
    o Avoid twisting motions; turn your hips and feet when you need to rotate your body.
    o Keep feet shoulder-width apart.
    o Keep the item close to your body.
    o Take a deep breath before lifting.
  • Avoid carrying objects that obstruct your view.
  • Use gloves when carrying and moving objects.

As always, it is important to use common sense and get help when needed. If you experience any pain it is important to report the symptoms early, and take a break from what you are doing. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact the Environmental Health and Safety Department.

—Submitted by Chris Nickell, Director, Environmental Health & Safety

Campus Announcements Archive

From DTS: Blackboard migration

As of Sept. 19, the summer courses Blackboard system is offline, part of our final migration process into the new Blackboard Hosting Environment. This means that you will no longer have access to bb.drake.edu, and will be re-directed to drake.blackboard.com. All summer courses will be moved, with the final courses moved by Sept. 28.

Though we don’t anticipate any files being lost, we recommend that instructors save their files and/or course content on their personal hard drive as a backup. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you!

—Submitted by Chris Gill, Chief Technology Officer

Campus Announcements Archive

Updates to policy development and approval process

Policy development and approval processes are outlined in the recently approved Policy Development, Approval and Communication policy. One key change is the use of a comment period during the policy development process, giving the campus community an opportunity to comment on policies before they become final. A working group is also developing a new policy library that organizes University-wide policies by type for easier reference. Watch for more information regarding this resource later this fall.

The Food Service Exclusivity Policy has also been approved and is posted as part of the University-wide policy library. This policy outlines changes to Sodexo exclusivity for catering services and provides alternatives for on-campus catering.

—Submitted by Andrea McDonough, Senior Administrative Services Specialist

Campus Announcements Archive

Faculty & staff: Sign up for interactive workshop

Enhancing Global Experiences Through Critical Reflection and Scholarship

Friday, Oct. 23, 12–4:30 p.m.
Courtside Club Hospitality Suite
The Shivers Basketball Practice Facility

This half-day interactive workshop, led by Patti Clayton, senior scholar, Center for Service and Learning at Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis, will focus on critical reflection and partnership strategies to enhance student learning in a global context, as well as discuss how teaching can be an opportunity for research while adding to emerging scholarship in service-learning. Participants will leave with critical reflection activities and ideas for developing their own scholarship as it relates to service-learning. Lunch will be served at noon and the workshop will begin at 12:30 p.m. This event is free to Drake faculty and staff.

12:30–1 p.m.—Establish conceptual frameworks to work within for the day (for SLCE, for GSL/ISL, for integrated design, for scholarship)

Overview of example scholarship related to critical reflection and partnerships

1–2:45—Designing critical reflection

2:45–3—BREAK

3–4:15—Inquiring into learning and partnerships (scholarship)

4:15–4:30—Wrap-up

Register today!

—Submitted by Maria Rohach, Global Learning Program Coordinator