All posts by Ashton Hockman

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive, For Students Archive

New uses for Bulldog Bucks

In addition to on­-campus dining, laundry, and printing, students are now able to use Bulldog Bucks at the bookstore or connect them up to their Uber account and use them as their default payment method. Funds can be added at any time and will carry over from semester-to-semester. However, students will not be refunded for remaining Bulldog Bucks once they graduate. Students can add funds to their Bulldog Bucks account in-person at Student Services Center (Carnegie Hall) or online in the eAccounts portal. Parents and guests can also add funds to a student’s account, so drop a hint if you need some extra cash.

Bulldog Bucks aren’t just for students, faculty and staff can utilize the convenient payment option as well.

— Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center

News & Achievements Archive

Facilities Planning and Management completes key projects over the summer

During the summer months, Facilities Planning and Management works hard to complete key construction and repair projects in time for the beginning of the fall semester. 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.

Projects completed or nearing completion:

• New roof at the Legal Clinic
• New windows in Goodwin-Kirk walkways
• Upgrade to south dining facility at Hubbell
• Installation of camera on the Ross parking lots
• Repair to the roof at Morehouse
• Wall repair and painting at Morehouse
• New chiller east of the Campus
• Elevator upgrades at Knapp, Aliber, Cowles, Cartwright, Old Main, Carnegie, and the Occupational Therapy building
• Replacement of the Aliber skylights
• Carpet replacement projects at Carnegie, Old Main, and Fine Arts
• Stucco repair and painting at Alumni House
• Lighting upgrades at Cartwright, Opperman, and Knapp
• Door replacement on the south-end of the Fine Arts Center
• Renovation of Law Review area in Cartwright
• Completion of Science Connector Building
• Completion of Collier-Scripps Hall
• Steamline repairs at the Olmsted Center and Cowles Library
• Lighting upgrades
• Door replacement at Fine Arts Center

Future projects:

• South electrical switch at Fine Arts Center
• Ray Promenade
• Renovation of the south end of 3206 University (soon to be Human Resources)
• Renovation of Ray Institute (soon to be Drake International)
• Many other department moves across the campus

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 of the next summer’s work. A special thank you to all the members of the Facilities Planning and Management team who helped complete these projects.

— Jolene Schmidt, Facilities Planning and Management

News & Achievements Archive

Drake expands commitment to sustainability

Drake recently became a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education to further campus efforts toward building a healthy and sustainable campus. Through membership in AASHE, Drake will receive support in advancing its sustainability initiatives throughout the institution and in the community.

“AASHE counts on the support of progressive institutions like Drake University to fulfill its mission of facilitating leadership to transform our planet,” said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “As the gateways to knowledge, higher education institutions have a unique opportunity to make sustainability part of everyone’s agenda. I welcome Drake University to our family of colleges, universities, associations and businesses driving the transformation to a sustainable world.”

AASHE enables higher education institutions to meet their sustainability goals by providing specialized resources, professional development, and a network of peer support. Membership covers every individual at an institution, so the entire campus community can take advantage of member benefits by using their Drake email to create an account under the membership tab at www.aashe.org.

“We are happy to have Drake University join AASHE and take an active role within this community as we all work to advance sustainability,” shared Meghan Fay Zahniser. “We invite students, faculty and staff at the institution to visit our site and create an AASHE account. This will allow everyone to take advantage of the member only resources, free webinars and discounts to our annual conference. AASHE also offers extensive online resources and discussion forums for professional development and sharing knowledge.”

AASHE hosts the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), a comprehensive campus sustainability rating system that enables institutions to measure their progress and learn from others, www.aashe.org/stars. With STARS as a roadmap, institutions can select meaningful and appropriate pathways to sustainability while conserving valuable resources, combating global warming, and building healthier communities. Drake will be assessing the campus this fall to determine the STARS rating and sharing that information in a future OnCampus article.

— Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning and Management

News & Achievements Archive

Faculty accomplishments: Aug. 29

Last month, Associate Professor of English Lisa West participated in the weeklong Council of Independent Colleges Seminar on Landscape and Identity at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Conn. The seminar focused on art history and the use of visual culture in teaching, with the thematic focus on British and American landscape art of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Council of Independent Colleges is a group of independent liberal arts colleges and universities that organizes events, seminars, and activities to improve leadership on the university level, institutional visibility within communities, faculty development, and the contributions of higher education to society. West has been teaching at Drake for 15 years. She received her doctorate degree from Stanford in English and American Literature.

— Lisa West, Department of English

Featured Events Archive

This week in Drake athletics

Women’s Soccer
Drake vs. UMKC
Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex

Football
Drake vs. South Dakota
Sept. 2 at 6 p.m.
Drake Stadium

Women’s Soccer
Drake vs. North Dakota State
Sept. 3 at 1 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex
*Stub Swap—Redeem your football ticket from Sept. 2 for complimentary admission to the match!

— Tom Florian, Ticket Sales and Donor Management

HR Information Archive

Monthly Motivator: Contributing to a healthy environment

Each month, Human Resources will introduce a new Monthly Motivator as a fun and simple way to promote healthy habits. The Monthly Motivator for September is all about contributing to a healthy environment. The goal is to find ways to preserve Mother Earth. It could be as simple as picking up litter around your workplace or home, shortening your showers, or safely disposing medicines.

Click here  for a copy of September’s Monthly Motivator flyer, which includes a tracking form and more information on the challenge.

Use this as an opportunity to discover new ways to protect the planet. Compete with your co-workers to see who can mark off the most days on their tracking form, share ideas on ways to be green, or create a team building activity around the challenge.

Keep a-look-out for October’s challenge.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Healthy eating class: Sept. 19

In today’s busy world, it can be hard to find time to prepare healthy meals, which means more dining out, fast food, or processed snacks. Join Lucas Flaherty on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m. in the Olmsted Center, Room 310/311, as he shares some easy and quick healthy meal planning advice. This presentation includes both information on programs such as Blue Apron as well as more traditional tips if you are buying from a grocery store and cooking at home. And, for between meals, discover some quick, low-cost, healthy snacks.

Participants will earn Bulldogs United in Learning Drake (BUILD) credits and be entered into a drawing at the end of the semester.

Contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu to register for this class. The 2017–2018 BUILD online registration form will be available soon.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources 

HR Information Archive

Unwind with a chair massage

Relax and re-energize your day with a chair massage. Ten- and 20-minute chair massages will be offered on campus Sept. 20 and 21 and Nov. 7 and 8. Cost is $10 for a 10-minute massage. Payment should be given directly to Anne Boal, licensed massage therapist, at the time of appointment. Correct change, cash, or check is required.

Those who participate will have the chance to win a gift certificate for a free 10-minute chair massage. One name will be drawn from those who receive a massage in September, and again in November.

Click the link below to register for the day and time of your choice. You may register for one or two time slots per registration sheet.

Sept. 20: Cowles Library, Collier Heritage Room, 2–4 p.m.

Sept. 21: Aliber Hall, Conference Room 204,  11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Nov. 7: Cline Hall, Conference Room 101, 2–4 p.m.

Nov. 8: Olmsted Center, Drake Room, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

For additional information, contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources 

For Students Archive

Student workers to complete paperwork at Student Services Center

Human Resources and Student Services are partnering to provide a convenient service to newly employed students. Newly employed students who work on campus will complete their I-9 and W-4s at the Student Services Center, in Carnegie Hall. To comply with federal law, students will still be required to provide original documentation to complete this paperwork by the first day that they work. A list of acceptable documents is accessible online. As a reminder, only students who have never worked on campus need to complete this paperwork. Student work should not begin until the I-9 (and documentation) has been completed.

— Debra Wiley, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Drake Athletics to host faculty/staff appreciation week: Oct. 6–13

New this year, Drake Athletics will host a faculty/staff appreciation week. Faculty and staff are eligible to receive up to four complimentary tickets to the events listed below. Tickets may be picked up at the Drake athletics ticket office Monday–Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or at the ticket window on game day. A valid Drake Card must be shown at time of pick up.

Women’s Soccer
Drake vs. Indiana State
Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex

Football
Drake vs. Dayton
Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.
Drake Stadium

Men’s Soccer
Drake vs. Loyola
Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex

Women’s Soccer
Drake vs. UNI
Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex

Volleyball
Drake vs. Missouri State
Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
Knapp Center

More information is available at www.DrakeTix.com/promotions. For questions, call 515-271-3647 or email tickets@drake.edu.

— Tom Florian, Ticket Sales and Donor Management