In last week’s employee update, President Martin asked each of us to do our part to protect the health and safety of the Drake community by completing a 15-minute training course on COVID-19. In keeping with our #DrakeTogether Commitments, please complete the COVID-19 training course, presented by Chris Nickell, director of Environmental Health & Safety, by no later than Monday, Aug. 31. The course is available to all employees through Blackboard and can be accessed via my.drake.edu. Upon selecting the Blackboard link under “Commonly Used Apps,” employees can access the course via the left hand menu under the “Courses” tab by clicking on the course entitled “Drake University Awareness Training for Returning to Campus During COVID-19” and following the instructions within the course. 

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer 

As some faculty and staff return to campus, here’s a reminder about how best to get assistance with your campus tech needs.

In order to comply with campus social distancing requirements, the support center in lower level Carnegie Hall is closed for walk-in assistance and is open by appointment only.

Please either visit our IT service portal at service.drake.edu/its or call 515-271-3001 to learn more about the tech resources available or to receive assistance with any issues. Please note that the tech support phone line is currently unavailable due to storm damage.

We continue to update our online resources including our knowledge base filled with guides to help you answer your most pressing tech questions, our service catalog where you can report issues or request assistance, and remote support capabilities so our techs can provide support from a distance. Due to our most recent update, you will be asked additional questions about any issue to ensure we are triaging requests appropriately.

— Carla Herling, ITS

On Aug. 15, 16, 17, and 18 we will welcome students back to campus. This year’s move-in process will be unique, and Residence Life needs faculty and staff assistance to make it as welcoming of an experience as possible. You may sign up for 2- and 4-hour shifts here.

Volunteers will report to the Carpenter front desk on Aug. 15 and 16 and Morehouse front desk on Aug 17 and 18 to receive instructions and the necessary information to properly direct the students arriving for move-in. Your role is to stand outside the student’s car, check the student’s dash sign to confirm they have completed preliminary information and their COVID-19 test (if they have not, re-direct them to the Olmsted lot). Step-two is to check the student’s government ID to verify who they are, and if they’ve completed their COVID-19 test, hand the student a check-in packet to fill out while in their vehicle. Once the student has completed the check-in packet, they will remove their student ID and room key, place signed cards back in the envelope, and return the envelope to you for filing. Lastly, volunteers will inform the student that once the vehicle is unloaded, they need to move the vehicle to a residential parking lot so others may pull up, complete check-in, and unload. At this point the student will begin moving in. Students may have three additional symptom-free individuals to assist—face masks are required.

Volunteers are encouraged to wear Drake apparel and their professional name badge. This helps students and families recognize your welcoming presence and to see the full breadth of support we provide our students.

Volunteers must be symptom-free, and face masks are required.

— Ryan Arnold, director of community engagement (pitching-in, because we’re all in this together)

Human Resources is now located on the third floor of Old Main. Beginning Aug. 3, HR team members will work on-site on a staggered schedule combined with continued telecommuting. To mitigate risk, we ask that you contact us by email so virtual interaction may take place as much as possible. For questions, please contact drakehr@drake.edu.

— Mary Alice Hill, Human Resources