The first Friday FYS lunch/discussion is on Sept. 9 at noon in the Medbury Honors Lounge. Current and potential FYS instructors are welcome. If you would like to attend, please let us know your lunch preferences online.
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost
Reminder: the first planning meeting for this spring’s Engaged Citizen Experience is on Friday, Sept. 9 at 9 a.m. in Old Main, Room 208. The theme this spring will be Demographic Opportunities and Challenges: Domestic and International. For additional information contact me at: arthur.sanders@drake.edu.
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost
Drake University sponsors both mandatory and voluntary 403(b) retirement plans. These plans, including fees and investment options available to participants, are reviewed quarterly by the Drake University Retirement Plan Review Group. This group acts with an independent advisor to review investment options and make plan design decisions as directed by the Drake University Investment Policy Statement. The Plan Review Group and Investment Policy Statement are posted on the Employee Tab in blueView.
For many years Drake has relied upon TIAA to provide appropriate products and services. The group examines these regularly, and engages with TIAA to ensure responsiveness to Drake’s evolving plans and participant needs. Nearly ten years ago, to complement TIAA’s “legacy” individually-owned annuities, Drake introduced selected mutual funds; some of which are not managed by TIAA. The prominence of these mutual funds has grown, such that plan participants now allocate a majority of their contributions to mutual funds; particularly to funds using an “index” investment strategy.
While Drake’s intent is to provide information and support, plan participants must make important decisions. Only participants may designate plan beneficiaries and allocate plan contributions. Thus, participants are encouraged to review their investment options regularly. To schedule an individual counseling session with a TIAA representative, contact Human Resources at 271-1901.
You may expect to receive more information and experience opportunities to ask questions later this fall, when we introduce further enhancements to the plans. You may likewise learn more about the Drake plans by attending the following presentation: “Get a Head Start” on Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. in Olmsted Center, Room 310.
—Marlene Huertz, Associate Director, Benefits
Start BUILDing your toolkit by attending “Winning at Work: The Bulldog Way”, presented by Sandy Hatfield Clubb, director of athletics. As faculty and staff, we are part of the Bulldog pack, a community enthusiastic about doing our best. Be energized and challenged for success by learning “The Bulldog Way”, a philosophy that guides athletics on and off the court, and can be incorporated into your workspace on campus. This session will be Thursday, Sept. 8, at 1 p.m. in Olmsted Center, Rooms 310-311. Participants will receive two credits toward their toolbox. To register for this session, email: drakehr@drake.edu .
Bulldogs are leaders, passionate about learning and proud of our Drake pack. We’re constantly looking for ways to strengthen and build our future—whether by learning a new skill or getting to know a colleague from across campus. We are Bulldogs United In Learning Drake…BUILD! Beside learning new information, you will be entered in drawings and receive credits toward digital badges for attending a variety of HR sponsored events.
—Debra Wiley, Assistant Director, Human Resources
ITS has now completed our initial technical work on the campus wireless network.
Our goals were to:
Now that the new equipment and access points have been installed, we need your help! Your input is critical to help us tune the system and provide the best Wi-Fi experience possible.
If you’re finding locations with poor performance or coverage, please let us know at its.drake.edu/wifi-form. Please provide as many details as possible so we can address concerns quickly and accurately.
Thanks for your help!
—Carla Herling, IT Communication Manager
Drake recently installed two electric car charging stations on the campus. One is located in the Olmsted Center parking lot. The other is located in parking lot just to the north of the Opperman Law Library. Drake will be installing two additional electric car charging stations on campus in the future. A generous donation from John Lorentzen and Penny Fillmer made this project possible.
—Jolene Schmidt, Director or Operations and Support Services
Welcome back to campus for the 2016–2017 academic year! Every year during the summer months Facilities Planning and Management works hard to complete key construction and repair projects in time for the beginning of the academic year. Many of these initiatives are part of the regular capital improvement budget, while others are made possible through gifts or grants. In each and every case, we take seriously our commitment to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us. Below is a list the activities you may notice as we begin a new academic year.
Work is completed or nearing completion on the following projects:
Projects coming in the near future:
Even though this list seems extensive, there is always a great deal of work and maintenance that needs to occur. Each year we update a comprehensive deferred maintenance and repair list and share it with key leaders and departments across campus. This process helps us prepare for the planning the following summer’s work. A special thank you to all the Facilities Planning and Management team members who helped complete these projects.
—Jolene Schmidt, Director of Operations and Support Services
Welcome to a new school year! Last week was a flurry of activity on campus as first-year and transfer students started their Drake experience with Welcome Weekend. Many on campus did some heavy lifting during Move-in Day—thanks to those who volunteered their time—and we formally welcomed our new students at Convocation on Friday.
While campus is typically “quiet” during the summer with all the students gone, it is always a busy time for the University as we prepare for the next school year. In July, we welcomed Sue Mattison as our new Provost. Sue has already proven herself to be a great fit with Drake and someone who will provide valuable leadership and expertise into how we continue to improve our exceptional education experience.
At the beginning of the summer, we officially adopted the Drake University Statement on Diversity and Inclusion, which you can find online. This is an important step in our efforts to creating a welcoming campus environment and was born out of the Campus Climate Assessment, which many of you participated in during the last academic year. More than 300 faculty, staff, and students helped craft this statement, making it one that truly represents the aspirations and values of our campus community.
You have probably noticed by now that we made significant progress on both the Science Connector Building and Collier-Scripps Hall over the summer. The steel structure for the Science Connector Building is complete, giving us a real picture of that facility’s footprint and scale. You will see the steel structure start to take shape at Collier-Scripps over the next several weeks. And while the walls and floors are not yet up, we’re already thinking about the furniture that will go into both buildings. The STEM@DRAKE steering team will be working with faculty, staff, and students to ensure broad input into the configuration of classrooms, collaborative spaces, and offices.
We have a very exciting year to anticipate. In September alone you’ll find countless ways to enjoy our campus community. This weekend, you can cheer on the football team at their first home game of the year on Saturday at 6 p.m. Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will speak on “The Child Labor Epidemic: A Pattern of Poverty & Illiteracy” on Sept. 19 as part of the Sussman Lecture series. On Sept. 21, Dan Alexander, professor of mathematics, will give the Stalnaker Lecture on “Tree Bites Man: What I Wish I Knew about the History of Mathematics.” And, we can look forward to a performance by our two jazz ensembles on Sept. 24, part of the Parents and Family Weekend festivities.
Good luck during your first week of classes!
—Marty Martin
Welcome to a new school year! Last week was a flurry of activity on campus as first-year and transfer students started their Drake experience with Welcome Weekend. Many on campus did some heavy lifting during Move-in Day—thanks to those who volunteered their time—and we formally welcomed our new students at Convocation on Friday.
While campus is typically “quiet” during the summer with all the students gone, it is always a busy time for the University as we prepare for the next school year. In July, we welcomed Sue Mattison as our new Provost. Sue has already proven herself to be a great fit with Drake and someone who will provide valuable leadership and expertise into how we continue to improve our exceptional education experience.
At the beginning of the summer, we officially adopted the Drake University Statement on Diversity and Inclusion, which you can find online. This is an important step in our efforts to creating a welcoming campus environment and was born out of the Campus Climate Assessment, which many of you participated in during the last academic year. More than 300 faculty, staff, and students helped craft this statement, making it one that truly represents the aspirations and values of our campus community.
In July, we announced a new recruitment initiative called The Drake Commitment. The Drake Commitment is our pledge to our students to provide opportunities that help them achieve their goals after graduation and create a memorable college experience—one that rests on our foundation of integrating a liberal arts and sciences education with professional preparation. I encourage you learn more about The Drake Commitment by watching this brief video.
You have probably noticed by now that we made significant progress on both the Science Connector Building and Collier-Scripps Hall over the summer. The steel structure for the Science Connector Building is complete, giving us a real picture of that facility’s footprint and scale. You will see the steel structure start to take shape at Collier-Scripps over the next several weeks. And while the walls and floors are not yet up, we’re already thinking about the furniture that will go into both buildings. The STEM@DRAKE steering team will be working with faculty, staff, and students to ensure broad input into the configuration of classrooms, collaborative spaces, and offices.
As I have previously shared, we are experiencing some departures that affect the composition of the President’s Council. With Deb Lukehart moving to Grinnell, University Communications will join Alumni Relations and Development to form a new division—University Advancement. John Smith will represent that division at President’s Council as its vice president. After observing the 60-day hold on replacing positions, I will hire a new chief of staff to take the place of the departing Shannon Cofield. The chief of staff will, among other duties, provide support to the President’s Council, but will not formally be a member of the council. At the point of this change in the chief of staff role, the President’s Council will consist of me, Provost Sue Mattison, CFO Teresa Krejci, Vice President John Smith, Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield Clubb, CAO Venessa Macro, and CITO Chris Gill.
We have a very exciting year to anticipate. In September alone you’ll find countless ways to enjoy our campus community. This weekend, you can cheer on the football team at their first home game of the year on Saturday at 6 p.m. Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will speak on “The Child Labor Epidemic: A Pattern of Poverty & Illiteracy” on Sept. 19 as part of the Sussman Lecture series. On Sept. 21, Dan Alexander, professor of mathematics, will give the Stalnaker Lecture on “Tree Bites Man: What I Wish I Knew about the History of Mathematics.” And, we can look forward to a performance by our two jazz ensembles on Sept. 24, part of the Parents and Family Weekend festivities.
As always, please continue to look to OnCampus for weekly updates on events, important deadlines, useful resources, and more. Good luck with the first week of classes.
—Marty Martin
As classes get underway, please be sure to obey posted signs around the STEM@DRAKE construction area. This Fall 2016 Construction Map outlines which sidewalks and roadways are closed to pedestrian traffic.
As a reminder, faculty, staff, and students can report any issues with construction to Drake Public Safety at 515-271-2222 or buildingstem@drake.edu.
