All posts by Ashton Hockman

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Fall semester faculty writing group

Drake faculty members are invited to participate in a faculty writing group meeting approximately once a month over the fall semester. The first meeting will be on Friday, Sept. 7, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Meredith Hall, Room 229. The group will be co-facilitated by En Li (History) and Nate Holdren (LPS). Our goals will be to help ourselves make progress on our scholarship during the semester, and do so more efficiently and enjoyably. In our meetings, we will discuss our goals, plans, and progress on our writing, share how we organize our writing time, and discuss challenges in our writing. Depending on participant interest we will workshop each other’s work and write on site. We will also read a book on academic writing such as Joli Jensen’s Write No Matter What or Robert Boice’s Professor as Writers and discuss it to the degree that participants find it useful.

There are spots for ten faculty participants. Should more than 10 individuals express interest, priority shall be given to 1) Those who participated in the spring semester or May/August faculty writing groups, 2) Tenure-track faculty who are not yet tenured, and 3) Faculty who are members of under-represented groups.

This writing group is supported by a Faculty Development Grant from the Provost’s Office. Faculty who attend all of the sessions will receive a small stipend of approximately $150. People who can only attend some of the sessions are encouraged to participate if doing so helps their writing.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Kayla Jenkins at kayla.jenkins@drake.edu by Friday, Aug. 31.

If you have questions, please contact En Li at en.li@drake.edu and/or Nate Holdren at nate.holdren@drake.edu.

Nate Holdren, College of Arts & Sciences

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Upcoming Tech Tuesday sessions

Sign up for one of the upcoming Tech Tuesday events. These 50-minute sessions will include time for Q&A and will provide you with resources to use technology more efficiently in your job (and possibly your life). Some Tech Tuesday topics are being offered twice, so please register by session.

Tuesday, Aug. 28: Setting up Your Blackboard Course to Match Your Syllabus
10 a.m. or 1 p.m. in Olmsted, TMR 132

This practical, hands-on session will help you to take what is provided in your completed syllabus and build your Blackboard course to match what you have already developed.

NOTE: Please bring your own laptop or other internet capable device. If you don’t have a laptop or internet capable device, consider borrowing one from the laptop kiosk located in the lobby of Meredith Hall.

Taught by Karly Good, ITS

Tuesday, Sept. 4: Making the IT Service Portal Work for You
10 a.m. in Olmsted, TMR 133

The IT service portal is a place to find answers to frequently asked technology questions and to request help when needed. Find out how easy it is to make and track requests. Whether you’ve used the IT Service Portal or not, we’ll help you understand how to use it more effectively, and how it can make your work life easier. Participants will receive 1 hour of BUILD credit for attending this session.

Taught by Carla Herling & Clayton Mitchell, ITS

Tuesday, September 11: Enhancing Communication through Blackboard
10 a.m. or 1 p.m. in Olmsted, TMR 132

Learn to promote, create and maintain open communication channels through using a variety of tools in Blackboard. We will focus on learning more about automated notifications from the system as well as other means to communicate and collaborate.

NOTE: Please bring your own laptop or other internet capable device. If you don’t have a laptop or internet capable device, consider borrowing one from the laptop kiosk located in the lobby of Meredith Hall.

Taught by Karly Good & Clayton Mitchell, ITS

Tuesday, September 18: Using Office365 for Educational Information & Collaboration
10 a.m. or 1 p.m. in Olmsted, TMR 133

What is Office365? What tools are included in the suite? How can you use them for student access and collaboration? How can you leverage these tools and bring mobile technologies into your classroom?

NOTE: Please bring your own laptop or other internet capable device. If you don’t have a laptop or internet capable device, consider borrowing one from the laptop kiosk located in the lobby of Meredith Hall.

Taught by Clayton Mitchell, ITS

Registration is open for all classes now.
Sign up and learn more today at drake.edu/its/techtuesdays/.

Carla Herling, ITS

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Apply now to be a mentor or mentee

Apply now to participate in a new staff mentor program. Staff members can be either a mentor or mentee, and faculty members are welcome to serve as mentors.

The final deadline to sign up is Sept. 7. After that, placements will be made and the program will launch during the fall semester.

To learn more and to apply, visit www.drake.edu/asc/specialinterest/

If you have questions, please reach out to committee chair, Carla Herling at carla.herling@drake.edu or 515-271-2356.

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

In Memoriam: Don Marcoullier

Don Marcoullier, former professor emeritus of wind and brass instruments and director of bands at Drake, passed away on Aug. 5. Don was director of bands from 1956 through 1987, and under his leadership, the band program achieved national prominence. Don always considered the real success of the program to be the achievements of “his kids”—the university students he served and followed throughout their careers. To this day, his former students still refer to him as “Chief.”

Under his direction, the Concert Band performed for national conferences of preeminent music education organizations, and premiered major compositions by six nationally renowned composers. He was a guest conductor, clinician, and lecturer in 38 states, Ireland, Canada, and Mexico. The Drake University Marching Band performed at 18 National Football League games and was named, “One of the nation’s top five marching bands” by CBS.

Don authored the book, “Marching for Marching Bands,” introducing the unit system of marching which was widely adopted by marching bands across the U.S. For 50 years he served on the executive committee of the Drake Relays, and was elected to its Hall of Fame. Don was a Board Member of the American Bandmasters Association, and Past President of College Band Directors National Association, Iowa Bandmasters Association, Iowa Music Educators Association, and Des Moines Civic Music Association.

If you’d like to pay tribute to Don by generously contributing to the Don R. Marcouiller Endowment for Band Excellence, please contact Doug Lampe at doug.lampe@drake.edu or 515-271-3055. Please see his obituary online. Don will be deeply missed by many family, friends, and colleagues.

Campus Announcements Archive

Door access information for new semester

All Drake faculty and staff should have automated 24/7 exterior door access to the building that their office is in, and also have extended exterior access to other academic buildings for meetings and classes.

Students from certain majors are granted extended access to buildings relating to their field of study. This is automated, and based off of either your major or specific classes in your schedule that may require access to a building. Students living in the residence halls also receive automated access to their hall, and ability to access other halls during the day.

Obtaining additional access
Additional card access is available when needed, and includes an approval process and manual update. Most manual access updates are tied to specific campus jobs or research. If you think you are missing a plan speak with your manager; main building contact; or email studentservices@drake.edu or submit an ITS Help Ticket so we can research your card issue. Please be aware that some access is based on a specific approval process, and may not be granted. Once approved, it will take an additional business day for access to be updated.

Lost cards
Lost cards are generally turned in at the Student Services Center (temporarily relocated to Hubbell Hall, next to the C-Store), and cardholders are notified via email when they are found and available to pick up. If your card has been lost, and you would like to freeze all activity until found, you can either contact the Student Services Center or freeze the card yourself in the eAccounts portal. You can also add Bulldog Bucks and check card balances in this portal. Frozen cards need to be turned back on by SSC staff if found.

If your card is lost and needs to be replaced, you may purchase a new card in the Student Services Center. The lost card will be deactivated automatically upon printing of new card. If your card is no longer working (but has worked in the past), make sure that you are registered for your fall classes. Cards will not function if you are not a current student or employee. Also, make sure there are no cracks in the card—cracked cards cannot communicate with door readers, and will need to be replaced at the Student Services Center.

Please contact the Student Services Center with card issues or questions.

Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center

Campus Announcements Archive

Central Trash and Recycle Program implementation

After implementing the Central Trash and Recycle pilot program last winter, we are moving forward campus-wide with the program in the coming weeks.  A student driven initiative through the leadership education and development (LEAD) capstone and the Drake Environmental Action League (DEAL) group, the focus of this initiative is to become better stewards of the environment consistent with Drake’s sustainability goals. Not only does this effort streamline operations, but it also has a huge environmental impact by reducing over 50,000 trash liners from entering the landfill each year.

We tried this program out in several buildings last spring as part of a pilot program. This gave us the chance to collect building user feedback and adjust how the program operates. In addition, knowledge gained from working with other universities that already implemented central trash and recycle programs has proven helpful as we developed the following guidelines.

How it works:

  • Each workspace will continue to be equipped with a seven-gallon blue recycling bin as well as a tan mini bin for landfill waste. Note: If your workspace does not have one or either of these two bins, you can request them from Mitchell Wieczorek at mitchell.wieczorek@drake.edu.
  • When either bin is full, take it to your nearest centralized location and empty the individual bins into the large central bin.
  • Custodial will still empty the large central bins every day during the workweek.
  • You may wish, and we would prefer, that you to take food waste and larger items directly to the central location. Plastic liners will not be provided for individual bins. Plastic grocery bags may be used as a substitute, but we prefer you skip the bag altogether and only dispose of dry items in your individual office bin.

The day this program starts in your building, you will arrive to find your workspace bins both empty and your small bin turned upside-down in your blue bin.  Our goal is to have academic buildings transitioned by Aug. 27 and others by fall break.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping Drake to become a better steward of our environment. Please contact Mitchell Wieczorek at mitchell.wieczorek@drake.edu with any questions or concerns.

Mitchell Wieczorek, Facilities Planning and Management

 

Campus Announcements Archive

Weekend hours for ITS Support Center and Student Services

Need some extra assistance this weekend? The ITS and Student Services staff are here to help. There will be extra walk-in support hours on Saturday, Aug. 25, and Sunday, Aug. 26, from 12–4 p.m.

ITS Support is currently located on the second floor of Collier-Scripps Hall and Student Services can be found in Hubbell North (next to C-Store).

Regular walk-in support hours for the fall semester for both offices are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can find Student Services online at www.drake.edu/studentservices/  and ITS at www.drake.edu/its.

Carla Herling, ITS, and Sara Heijerman, Student Services

Campus Announcements Archive

Launch of new student success platform

The Department of Academic Excellence and Student Success is excited to formally announce the implementation of Starfish, Drake’s new student success platform. Starfish is an academic early alert and communication system. For phase one of the roll out, 107 faculty will participate in Progress Surveys, which allow faculty to easily “flag” students recognized as needing additional support. Once flagged, students receive recommendations and contact information for tutoring, advising and counseling, and services that can help them achieve academic and personal success. Faculty also have the opportunity to give students “kudos” for positive reinforcement.

Upcoming training sessions for faculty participating in phase 1:
Tuesday, Aug. 28, from 12:30-1:45 p.m., Drake Room
Friday, Sept. 7, from 10-11 a.m., Aliber Hall, Room 204

Starfish is:

  • Empowering: Starfish provides students with the information and feedback they need to make connections and become better self-advocates, thus becoming more autonomous.
  • Efficient: Faculty members contribute classroom observations with just a few clicks. Instructors, student services staff, and advisors can easily access and contact a student’s network.
  • Effective: Powerful positive encouragement is provided through kudos, and feedback on areas for improvement is provided through flags. A “close the loop” feature allows all involved to know when an issue has been resolved.

The link to Starfish is located on the MyDrake portal in two places: 1) Faculty and Advising section and 2) Administrative Tools section.

For more information, visit www.drake.edu/starfish, or contact the Starfish administrators at starfish@drake.edu with questions.

Melissa Sturm-Smith, Academic Excellence and Student Success

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake University Community Chorus

Drake University invites all interested singers to participate in the Drake University/Community Chorus, which will begin weekly rehearsals on Tuesday, Aug. 28, from 6:30–8 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium. The ensemble will rehearse and perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ evocative Dona nobis pacem, a large-scale work with orchestra, on Nov. 10 and 11.  The chorus is conducted by Aimee Beckmann-Collier, director of choral studies. For more information, contact Aimee at aimee.beckmann-collier@drake.edu or 515.271.2841.

Aimee Beckmann-Collier, Music