Attention: The Olmsted lot will be closed Friday, March 6, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. for an Admissions visit. Zone 1 pass holders are welcome to park in any other commuter lot except for the Red, Zone 3 lot. We apologize for the inconvenience.
— Scott Law, Public Safety
The fiscal year 2020–2021 holiday schedule is available for viewing.
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Recreational Services would like your feedback regarding our facilities, programs, and services. Please take our short survey, which will provide valuable feedback on how we can improve our services. Thank you in advance for your participation.
Drake was announced the winner of the 2020 Healthiest State Large Workplace Award at the Healthiest State Annual Awards banquet Feb. 6. The award, presented by the Healthiest State Initiative, recognizes Drake for its efforts to improve the physical, social, and emotional well-being of its faculty and staff.
“We are proud to recognize Drake University with this award,” said Jami Haberl, executive director of the Healthiest State Initiative. “Drake has taken its commitment to wellness for its staff and expanded its efforts to involve the greater campus community as well as the surrounding neighborhood.”
The award recognized Drake for several noteworthy accomplishments, including:
As an award winner, Drake received $1,000 to continue its work focused on improving the health and wellbeing of its students, faculty, and staff. The Healthiest State Annual Awards were sponsored by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Hy-Vee, Inc., Nemours, and HealthPartners UnityPoint Health. To learn more about the Healthiest State Initiative and its programming and events, visit IowaHealthiestState.com.
—Linda Feiden, Human Resources
With the second semester in full swing, I am pleased to provide an update on the Big Ideas process and share exciting next steps.
Over the last few months, President Martin and members of the Advancement staff have been meeting with key University donors and prospects to update them on the Big Ideas process and share the six proposed themes:
For a review of the Big Ideas themes, refer back to the video shared by President Martin on Dec. 2.
I am pleased to report that 105 one-on-one visits with leadership donors and prospects have been completed, with approximately 10 more visits scheduled. Intended to serve as a modified feasibility study supporting the Big Ideas process and Drake’s next comprehensive fundraising campaign, these meetings allowed us to gauge which themes resonated most with prospective donors. Overwhelmingly, we received positive feedback regarding the Big Ideas and analysis to help shape the next steps in the process.
Also, last month, President Martin provided the Board of Trustees a detailed update on the Big Ideas, and the Board offered their feedback and their endorsement of the process.
Immediate next steps
In the coming weeks, meetings will be scheduled with each of the Big Ideas champions and additional contributors to begin the process of defining specific fundraising initiatives related to their idea. Our goal is to have a “fundraising menu” drafted for each of the six themes leading into the April Board meeting.
In addition, a letter and marketing piece will be sent from President Martin to the more than 100 prospects we held meetings with. The letter will thank them for their participation, update them on the process, and summarize next steps.
Once again, thank you for your continued support of this exciting process. As always, please reach out with any questions and feedback.
— John Smith, Vice President, University Advancement
Every fall, Facilities Planning and Management participates in the Administrative Services Survey. We use the data we gain from the survey to prioritize areas in which we can improve, as well as celebrate our accomplishments. Out of the ten specific areas in which we were assessed, we are happy to have had all of them rate above a 4 out of 5! To reward, as well as create some spirited competition, we have started a roaming trophy, The Golden Bulldog! This year, the award went to “Grounds Services” with an approval of 4.54/5!
— Mitch Wieczorek, Facilities Planning and Management
The Olmsted parking lot (lot 16) will be closed for the campus Job Fair Thursday, Feb. 13, from 6 a.m.–5 p.m. We apologize for the inconvenience. The closure is necessary to accommodate this large, campus-wide program. Yellow–Zone 1 passes will be honored in all non-premium commuter lots on Thursday (not lot 13/Ray Promenade or lot 18/Stadium lot).
— Scott Law
The Office of University Communications and Marketing has developed an online tool to share news of faculty and staff accomplishments. Accessible at http://www.drake.edu/accomplishments, you are able to write a complete story for submission to the newsroom, including the option to upload a relevant photo. The form is designed to act like a minimalistic word processor, capable of adding links, bullet points, and other style choices.
Submission of this form creates a draft story on the back-end of our newsroom. The communications team is notified of the presence of a new story so that we may make any necessary changes to accommodate Drake’s style guide or other minor editorial changes prior to publication. This process is designed to speed the process of sharing good news and to help ensure accuracy of what is published online. Following review, the story will be published to the University’s online newsroom, and you will then have an active link to share via social media, email, and other means.
Articles submitted to this form are reviewed weekly. In cases where a quicker turnaround is required, please reach out directly to Jarad Bernstein, director of communications at jarad.bernstein@drake.edu.
— Jarad Bernstein, University Communications and Marketing
For the second year, the Wold Languages and Cultures department is offering a free 5-session Arabic language workshop. It was so popular last year, and this Spring, you are invited to take advantage of this great opportunity to learn an amazing language and earn a completion certificate. All students, staff, and faculty are invited to join. The first 10 students to register get a free textbook (restrictions apply).
The workshop will be held Mondays from 5:30–7 p.m. from March 23 through April 20. View registration details at: https://forms.gle/Qc23SYEyGWXYmnjn6.
— Ibrahim Khalaylih, World Languages and Cultures
As mentioned in an email to campus on Jan. 26, U.S. President Donald Trump will host a campaign event at the Knapp Center on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 30. As a result, the following campus parking lots will be closed Thursday:
Lot 1A (visitor lot)
Lot 2 (east of Shivers)
Lot 3 (immediately behind the Knapp Center)
Lot 4 (Tennis Center)
Lot 13 (Ray Promenade)
Any vehicles parked in these lots after 2 a.m. on Thursday will be towed away at the owners expense.
Drake Public Safety expects that many non-Drake vehicles will be parked in open lots on Wednesday evening and Thursday. With the exception of vehicles on grass or blocking operations, Drake Public Safety will not be towing vehicles out of open lots. Drake students, faculty, and staff are strongly encouraged to arrive early to find parking or use alternate methods of travel. As a reminder, Drake provides unlimited rides on DART as a benefit for employees and students. Simply show your Drake ID when boarding any regular DART bus. The DART website provides assistance in navigating which routes to take and offers detailed scheduling information.
Drake permit holders with valid parking permits may park in any Drake lot that is open on Thursday.
STREET CLOSURES
Forest Avenue between 27th Street and 25th Street will close on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m. to through traffic.
On Thursday, Jan. 30, expect the following streets to be closed:
No vehicles may be parked on Clark Street between 25th Street and 27th Street on Thursday, Jan. 30. Vehicles parked on Clark will be towed away by the city at the owners expense.
— Scott Law, Director, Public Safety & Operational Services
