All posts by Ashton Hockman

Strategic Updates Archive

Planned power outage update

As previously communicated, campus is scheduled to be closed due to a planned power outage Sunday, May 16, at 7 a.m., until Wednesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. This project has been the subject of careful planning efforts since late 2020. Regular meetings with contractors and sub-contractors to review timeline, delivery schedules, and work plans has been ongoing for several months.  

The manufacturer of the key switchgear components originally anticipated shipping equipment to Drake in April. Due to significant disruptions in the supply chain, we were notified last week that this equipment is now scheduled for shipment during the week of May 10. This means that there is a chance the shipment will not arrive in sufficient time for us to effectively complete the project on the previously scheduled dates.

We have established that if by Thursday, May 13, all project components are not on site or confirmed for arrival, a delay will be necessary and there will be no power outage May 16–19. If the project is delayed, the campus will be open as usual on those days and a new switchgear installation schedule will be planned for later this summer, after careful consultation with academic and key operational areas on campus.

Communication will be sent to campus via email on the morning of Thursday, May 13, with information on the project’s status. We remain hopeful that we can proceed as planned. At the same time, it is important that we communicate with the campus community and develop alternate plans in the event  a delay is required.

Thank you for patience and understanding in this matter.

— Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning & Management

Campus Announcements Archive

The history of Dogtown

View a presentation, compiled by Dawson Urquidez, first-year student and Community Engagement intern, on the history of the Drake Neighborhood commercial district known as Dogtown. Learn about the origin and evolution of Dogtown’s business, social, and cultural scene, and how it was once a bustling and beloved community epicenter. The presentation reveals how recent developments are paving the way to revive the rich history of Dogtown and fully embrace its community potential.

Presentation: “Dogtown, a history“

— Ryan Arnold, director, Community Engagement 

Campus Announcements Archive

DART to install two new shelters along University Ave featuring artwork commissioned by Drake

The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) plans to install two new bus shelters along University Avenue that will feature artwork commissioned by Drake. The DART maintenance team will prepare and clean the sites on Thursday, April 29, with installation scheduled for Friday, April 30, through Sunday, May 2.

The shelters will be located on the north side of University Avenue near Aliber Hall and Cole Hall. The initiative is part of the city of Des Moines’ infrastructure and streetscape project on University Avenue spanning 25th Street to 31st Street. DART collaborated with Drake, who engaged Liz Lidgett Gallery & Design, to plan public artwork on the two bus shelters.

The artwork by artists and Iowa natives Mollie Wallace and Dana Harrison feature campus and neighborhood inspired designs made possible through funds raised privately by the University. The artwork was reviewed by the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation in their capacity as the advisory body on all public art matters for the City of Des Moines and recommended to the Des Moines City Council for approval.

The art project is another example of the recent investments made in the area surrounding campus by the city, developers, local businesses, non-profits, and Drake.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Thanks for the Memories by Mollie Wallace

Wallace created a collage that represents the Drake neighborhood. Viewers will be able to spot iconic locations, and noteworthy details that create a snapshot of what you are able to see when riding a DART bus through the area.

Liminal by Dana Harrison

Harrison’s piece is reminiscent of his street art style. Images like mature trees and the architecture that is special to the Drake neighborhood can be seen throughout the artwork. Viewers will be able to spot representations of many places and things special to all those residents who have called the wonderful neighborhood home.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Mollie Wallace was born and raised in Des Moines and graduated from King-Perkins Elementary, Callanan Junior High, and Roosevelt High School. After earning her art degree from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., she spent 15 years in New Orleans where her art can be seen in signs, murals, and banners throughout the city. Wallace has served as the artist in residence at the Erin Rose, an iconic French Quarter bar that has been featured in Bon Appetit and many other publications, for the past decade. She has designed everything from Mardi Gras tuxedos to guitars to food trucks. She was the festival artist for the internationally-renowned Internationale de Lousiane in Lafayette, La., in 2018. Her painting became the festival poster. Wallace and her family returned to Des Moines last year.

Dana Harrison (Limone) a Jefferson, Iowa, resident, started writing graffiti in 1996 in his home town of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and studied under the late Sazko from Hamburg, Germany. With almost 25 years of mural experience, you can find some of his recent work at the Edna Griffin building, 10th Street bridge, Platinum Kutz, and much more.

— Michelle Huggins, Facilities Planning & Management

Strategic Updates Archive

Help DART plan for the future of transit

DART is creating a new long-term transit plan, and is seeking input from the the Drake community. Please complete the DART survey to help shape the future of public transit in our region. Even if you don’t ride DART at this time, your insight on what DART can do for you, for Drake, and for our region is meaningful.

The survey should take approximately 10 minutes. The information collected will be reviewed alongside in-depth analysis of ridership, employment and population densities, and travel patterns, to draft recommendations for how DART can evolve to meet the current and future needs of the region. These recommendations will then be shared and additional public feedback will be collected later in 2021. Visit ridedart.com/plan to learn more about the initiative.

DART is a key partner in Drake’s efforts to become a more sustainable anchor institution. Thanks to its partnership, more than 6,400 Drake students, faculty, staff, and retirees can ride metro-area buses for free. Also, read an article in today’s OnCampus announcing two new bus shelters featuring artwork commissioned by Drake University.

— Ryan Arnold, Director, Community Engagement

Strategic Updates Archive

Campus closure notification: Planned power outage May 16–19

Campus will be closed due to a planned power outage Sunday, May 16, at 7 a.m., until Wednesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. The outage is part of a necessary maintenance project to replace aging electrical equipment.

As Venessa Macro, chief administration officer, mentioned in an email to campus April 19, faculty and staff will receive a calendar invite to serve as a reminder for the scheduled outage and campus closure.

Important to note: ITS systems such as Outlook, Banner, and Blackboard will remain available during the outage allowing faculty and staff to work from a location off campus.

Power down your electronic devices!
Please turn off your computer, monitor(s), printers, and other personal electronic devices in your office by 3 p.m. on Friday, May 14. ITS staff will check that all printers and classroom devices are shut down beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 14. They will not check individual computers and monitors—so make sure you’ve completely powered down. All devices should remain off until power is restored.

The ITS Support Center will be closed during the outage for in-person assistance, but you may still visit the service portal at service.drake.edu/its or call 515-271-3001 with issues.

FPM will clean-out and unplug all breakroom refrigerators. If there is a dorm size refrigerator in your office, please unplug the unit and leave the door open placing a towel to catch any water defrosted from the freezer section. If the refrigerator is an old, inefficient model, consider contacting FPM to recycle it or upgrade to an energy star model.

About the project:
Facilities Planning and Management is working with Waldinger Corporation to replace the main campus switchgear and electric distribution switches at the Forest Avenue power plant. At the same time, MidAmerican Energy will be replacing the electrical service lines to the power plant. This electrical service and switchgear provide electricity to the 39 buildings and four parking lots on campus. (insert link to pdf outage map) With no power at these buildings—and in consideration of the safety of faculty, staff, students, and visitors—the campus will be closed from Sunday, May 16, at 7 a.m., until Wednesday, May 19, at 7 p.m.

Recent maintenance of the switchgear revealed that the equipment was not able to be exercised as necessary. If the switchgear were to fail, it could cause substantial power loss across campus. Due to the severity of the potential impact, replacement of the 1980s era switchgear and electric distribution switches became a deferred maintenance priority.

Questions or concerns?
FPM realizes the potential disruption this work causes. We appreciate everyone’s understanding in this matter. If you have any concerns, please submit them through this Qualtrics form. Your feedback will help us address broad concerns, as well as gather more specific issues that we can work through with individual departments.

— Kevin Moran, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Live mascot event hosted by All Staff Council

Join All Staff Council for a fun virtual event featuring Griff II (George), the new live mascot, and Erin Bell, director of the Live Mascot Program. Erin will talk about how Griff II is settling into the role, what Griff I is doing in retirement, and how the Live Mascot Program serves campus and the Des Moines community. 

Please join us on Microsoft Teams at noon on Wednesday, April 21. You can bookmark the event and find the streaming link on the University Calendar. We look forward to seeing you there!

— All Staff Council Events and Community Service Committee

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Support for Virtual Global Learning at Drake

Alanah Mitchell, associate professor and chair of information management and business analytics in the College of Business and Public Administration, is serving as Drake’s inaugural Global Virtual Learning Faculty Fellow. This new fellowship program is sponsored by the Principal Center for Global Citizenship.

The Global Virtual Learning Fellowship is designed to facilitate and support the development of global virtual learning experiences within the Drake community. Specifically, the fellowship position is designed to:

  • Expand Drake faculty and staff capacity for global virtual learning
  • Support the development of global virtual learning opportunities

Professor Mitchell’s primary research area relates to the use of technology for virtual collaboration as she has taught and studied global, virtual learning projects for almost 15 years. Specifically, she has developed and led global virtual student projects with partners from South Africa, Belgium, China, India, Poland, Taiwan, New Zealand, and others. Additionally, Professor Mitchell participated in Drake’s Fall 2020 “Facilitating Intercultural Learning” training program sponsored by the Nelson Institute.

Interested in adding Global Virtual Learning to your course? For faculty considering or already planning to offer a global virtual collaboration project in their course, or looking to brainstorm or ask questions about virtual learning activities (including partner identification, assignment design, technology choice, reflection activities, or assessment), Professor Mitchell will be holding virtual office hours from 12–3 p.m. on May 7. Please contact alanah.mitchell@drake.edu for the Zoom link.

New to the idea of adding Global Virtual Learning to your course? Look for more details in a future OnCampus regarding an upcoming summer workshop.

— Annique Kiel, Global Engagement and International Programs

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake Relays parking and traffic changes

Attention: Please be aware of the following traffic and parking changes as a result of the Drake Relays.

Lot 17 (Facilities): Closed April 14–26 for warm-up track

Lot 18 N & S (Stadium): Closed April 21–24

Lot 4 (Tennis Center): Closed April 22–24

Lot 1 (FAC): Will serve as a permits and paid lot on April 22 and April 23. Note: Drake permits will be valid without pay from 6 a.m.–6 p.m.

Road closures for the Elite Mile Road Race
In addition, there will be short (5-10 minute) road closures between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, at the intersection of 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue, 25th Street and Forest Avenue, and along Forest Avenue between 25th Street and 29th Street for the Elite Mile Road Race. 

Please note that only premium permits are valid in Lot 13 (Ray Promenade) and Lot 16 (Olmsted) on both Thursday, April 22, and Friday, April 23.

— Scott Law, Executive Director Public Safety & University Operations

For Students Archive

Speak up—we are listening

Every year since 1991, Drake asks the students to share their Drake Experience through an internal survey. This survey is an opportunity for students to tell us what is working and what needs attention. Students’ feedback results in real changes, such as improvements in advising and expanding access to high impact practices.

This survey is now open and we want to hear from you! Please look in your email for the link that was sent to you on Wednesday, April 7. Note: If you already completed the survey, you will not have this message—thank you for participating.

Completing the survey enters you into a drawing for one of the available $50 gift cards to the University Bookstore.

Thank you for helping us continue to improve the Drake student experience! If you have questions about the survey, contact Kevin Saunders in the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (kevin.saunders@drake.edu or x1984).

— Christine Marchand, Office of Institutional Research & Assessment