All posts by Aaron Jaco

For Students Archive

Meal conversion open this week

For those students with meal plans that allow for meal conversions, there is still time to convert your meals this week, Oct. 24–28. Only students on the 335- and 195-block plans can convert up to 100 meals each semester to flex dollars.

To convert meals, you can stop at the Student Services Center and fill out a form to indicate how many meals you would like to convert. You can also visit www.drake.edu/studentservices/mealplans to find the form at the bottom of the page titled “Meal Plan Conversions.”

—Jerry Parker, Interim Dean of Students

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

From the Associate Provost: Oct. 24

SoTL Lunch 
A reminder: The second of our monthly Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) lunches is this Friday, Oct. 28, at noon in Olmsted Center, TMR 133. These discussions are opportunities for those engaged in SoTL projects at any level from just thinking about starting one to almost complete, or those simply curious about SoTL to share ideas, seek advice, or ask questions of colleagues engaged in this process. If you would like us to provide lunch for you, please register by Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. at http://tinyurl.com/SoTL-Oct2016 . For more information, contact arthur.sanders@drake.edu.

FYS Lunch/Discussion
Our November, FYS Lunch/Discussion is Friday, Nov. 4, at noon in the Medbury Honors Lounge. While these meetings are designed for those currently teaching FYS, we welcome those with an interest in teaching a FYS in the future as well. If you would like to attend, please visit http://tinyurl.com/NovFYSLunch2016 and let us know your lunch preferences.

HR Information Archive

Did U Know: Cowles Library

Drake offers many opportunities for new and established faculty and staff. This semester, the University is introducing a series of “Did U Know” classes that will spotlight departments and services across campus.

Our next class in the series will highlight Cowles Library—the largest private academic library in Iowa. Learn more about resources, services, and spaces Cowles Library can provide to faculty and staff on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. in Room 201 of the Library.

Participants will earn BUILD (Bulldogs United in Learning Drake) credits and be entered into drawings for prizes each semester.

The registration form for this class is accessible through blueView’s Employee tab, in the Learning and Development Channel under Human Resources, or by clicking here.

Please feel free to contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu for additional information.

—Linda Feiden, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Your consent is needed

Drake is required by federal law to provide a 1095-C Tax Form to full-time employees by Jan. 31 of each year. In 2016, your 2015 1095 –C form was mailed to your home address. Human Resources believes it is in your—and Drake’s—best interest to discontinue distributing hard copies of this form, and other legally required documents, and instead post them on the Employee Tab in blueView for your secure and convenient access. In order to do this, we must have your consent.

To request your consent, Human Resources will email a brief questionnaire on Wednesday, Oct. 26, with the subject line: Consent to Receive Electronic Delivery. Please take a few moments to complete this. By obtaining your consent for electronic delivery, it will provide you with continued ease of access to documents and continued secure delivery of information, and it will assist Drake in complying with legal requirements. This step also carries the added benefit of assisting us in being good stewards of the tuition dollars entrusted to us by our students and their families by reducing the printing, handling, and mailing costs of providing hard copies of these documents.

We appreciate your time and cooperation in completing this consent questionnaire.

—Debra Wiley, Human Resources

News & Achievements Archive

New schedule for group fitness classes

We hope you are feeling refreshed and ready to take on the second half of the fall semester!

Just a reminder that the GroupX Fall Schedule 2 starts today! This schedule will run through Dec. 8. We’re excited to announce that we’ve added two power yoga sessions, one Yoga Relax, and one Pilates class to the schedule, and new classes include Medicine Ball Power on Thursdays and Foam Rolling on Mondays.

It only takes participation in 15 classes per semester to earn your ‘This is my Happy Hour’ shirt or tank top! There is still plenty of time to participate!

Save the Date! 
Friday, Oct. 28—Fitness Room Orientation 
Tuesday, Nov. 29—Glow Hip Hop 
Thursday, Dec. 8—Mindful Meditation 
Friday, Dec. 9—Dead Day Yoga 
Tuesday, Dec. 13—Brain Food 
January 23–March 8, 2017—Bulldog Bootcamp 

If you have any questions, please let us know!

—Team Wellness

News & Achievements Archive

Faculty accomplishments: Oct. 24

Thomas Rosburg to receive honor from the Iowa National Heritage Foundation
Professor of Biology Thomas R. Rosburg will receive a statewide award in recognition of his extensive conservation efforts, including giving 1,350 hours of his time to a project aimed at restoring prairies on private land throughout the state.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) announced today that Rosburg will receive the organization’s 2016 Lawrence and Eula Hagie Heritage Award. The INHF is a statewide conservation organization that protects and restores Iowa’s land, water, and wildlife, with current projects in central Iowa including the High Trestle Trail, additions to Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt, and several others. Read more about Thomas’ work in the Drake Newsroom.

Mark Vitha publishes book on chromatography
Mark Vitha, professor of chemistry and a Windsor Professor of Science, published a new textbook, Chromatography: Principles and Instrumentation.

Chromatography is a physical method of separation that involves passing a mixture through a medium in which the components of the mixture move at different rates. The process separates the mixture into its individual components, allowing those components to be analyzed. Learn more about Mark’s book and work in the Drake Newsroom.

Featured Events Archive

Award-winning author to visit Drake campus

A black southern writer whose work bridges the worlds of high culture and pop culture will meet with Drake students and deliver a free public reading on Drake’s campus.

Kiese Laymon will read from his award-winning collection of nonfiction essays, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 26, in the Cowles Library Reading Room as part of the English department’s Writers & Critics Series. The event is free and open to the public. Learn more about Laymon in the Drake Newsroom.