This summer, Hubbell Dining Hall is undergoing some changes, including new furniture and lighting, to spruce up this high-use space. This change is made possible by Sodexo Dining Services, which provided the funding for the improvements. In addition to Dining Services staff, students provided input on furniture and color selections. The improvements will be completed and ready for the beginning of the academic year.

—Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

With assistance from several campus focus groups, ITS has made the decision to adopt Microsoft OneDrive as the campus cloud storage solution.

The decision to use OneDrive was based on its integration with Office365, Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to the development of new features, and the financial resources invested in the solution.

Starting this summer, ITS staff will work with departments across campus to assist with moving individual storage and to explain the benefits of the new system. Once all areas have moved their individual storage, we’ll begin the process of working with departments to migrate shared storage and begin transitioning off current campus storage solutions like blueSpace.

We are starting the process with administrative units this summer, and then will work with academic units starting during the fall semester. We will be sending additional communications to campus as we move forward. We’ll also be reaching out individually to unit leaders to plan timing and to coordinate efforts.

The transition of Drake’s storage into the cloud offers significant opportunities to improve how our faculty, staff, and students work and collaborate. We’re excited for this change and hope others will be as well.

—Carla Herling, Information Technology Services

Drake, in conjunction with the City of Des Moines, will be replacing several sections of concrete sidewalk around the exterior of the campus.  The work will begin on June 12 and should be completed by June 16.  This project will enhance the campus compliance with ADA concerns on the exterior of the main campus.  Please look at the campus map below to see which repairs may cause issues with your normal walking path; the concrete replacement is marked in red.

The repairs include areas at 27th Street & Clark, 2700 block of Forest Avenue, 2804 Forest Ave., 29th Street and Forest Avenue, 30th Street and Forest Avenue, 30th Street and Carpenter Avenue, 27th Street and University Avenue, 28th Street and University Avenue, and 2800 University Ave.

—Jolene Schmidt, Facilities Planning & Management