All posts by Ashton Hockman

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Drake International Education Week: Nov. 18–23

International Education Week (IEW) is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.  Drake is excited to participate in this nationwide global celebration through a variety of events next week, Nov. 18–23.  Faculty and staff events include:

Designing a Travel Seminar: Generating Ideas and Developing a Plan for your J-term Abroad
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 12:30–2:00 PM; Drake International Conference Room

Do you have a great idea for a seminar and want to take the next step of developing a plan that integrates your academic goals with on-site experiences?  During this interactive lunch-time workshop we’ll focus on the task of generating ideas and refining a plan for a travel seminar, and then making them a reality.  Bring your ideas and we’ll discuss the unique blend of academic study, intercultural experience, and travel abroad that combine to create a quality travel seminar.  RSVP required to maria.rohach@drake.edu. Lunch provided.

Partnership Fair and Breakfast
Thursday, Nov. 21, 8:00–9:30 AM; Levitt Hall

Learn more about the work Drake is doing with international partners and how you can be involved! During this informal event, mingle with colleagues and representatives from our international partners. Visitors from Austria, Mexico, Spain, India, Kosovo, and Uganda will be present! A light breakfast will be provided.

Town Hall and Provost Social: Global Engagement at Drake
Thursday, Nov. 21, 3:30–6:00 PM, Cowles Reading Room

Come learn about Drake as a global university and hear more about our commitment to this important part of our institutional identity.  Meet faculty and staff that play critical roles in the global engagement agenda. Special guests include visitors from Drake’s international partner universities.

— Maria Rohach, Global Engagement and International Programs

Strategic Updates Archive

United Way campaign goal update

The 2019 United Way Campaign began yesterday, and as of this morning we’ve raised $26,347 from 191 donors. Thank you to those who have given. For those who have not yet given, please do not forget to make your contributions by Friday, Nov. 15, at 3 p.m. We need more support to reach our goal of 450 donors. We anticipate that this number of donors will raise upwards of $60,000.

When Katelyn Sobotka, assistant director for compliance, Drake Athletics, was asked why she donates to the United Way, she said:

“I give to United Way because growing up I was the beneficiary of programs similar to those that the United Way supports. My parents are farmers, which, during planting and harvesting season, could often result in them spending anywhere from 10 to 16 hours a day working in the fields. Thankfully, there was a well operated before and after-school program that my parents were able to enroll my brother and me in that focused on educational and recreational activities. This programming promoted our childhood development and allowed my parents to focus on completing their work. Being able to put in longer days during the week also meant my parents were generally able to have nights and weekends free to spend with us as a family. I give because first I was a beneficiary.”

You may read about the campaign and see the full list of incentives by visiting drake.edu/unitedway. If you have any questions, please contact your unit’s campaign captain, or Ryan Arnold, at ryan.arnold@drake.edu or ext. 2394.

— Ryan Arnold, Director of Community Engagement

Campus Announcements Archive

The Benson Lecture: Coming out with Guy Benson

Guy Benson, author, political editor of Townhall.com, Fox News contributor, and member of Forbes 30 under 30, will be hosting a conversation on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Cowles Reading Room from 7–8 p.m. about identity politics and social conservatism from the lens of a millennial conservative. Benson’s talk is hosted by Drake College Republicans and sponsored by Drake University alumnus Mike Mason BN ’68 and the Slay Fund. For more information, view the Drake event calendar or the Facebook event page.

— John Altendorf, AS, JO

Strategic Updates Archive

Your participation is needed: Take the Campus Climate Survey

Please take the Campus Climate Survey to help us better understand the current climate at Drake University. The survey is open through Nov. 26 and should take about 20–30 minutes to complete. Your participation is an opportunity to DU What Matters.

Watch the video above as Bengu Erguner-Tekinalp, associate professor of education, shares, in her perspective, one of most significant advancements in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion since the 2015 Campus Climate Assessment.

— Erin Lain, Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion

Campus Announcements Archive

Space heater safety criteria

Portable electric space heaters can be a convenient source of supplemental heat in cold weather. Unfortunately, they can pose significant fire and electric shock hazards if not used properly. Space heaters without adequate safety features, space heaters placed near combustibles, or space heaters that are improperly plugged in can cause fire and electrical hazards.

Space heaters used at Drake should meet the following safety criteria:

  • Tip-Over Power Cut-Off Switch
  • Automatic Thermostat Control
  • Overheat Protection Device (Shuts power off if unit overheats)
  • UL Approval
  • Housing That Is Cool To Touch

Safety should always be a top consideration when using space heaters. Here are some tips for keeping safe and warm when it’s cold outside:

  • Make sure your space heater has the label showing that it is listed by a recognized testing laboratory.
  • Before using any space heater, read the manufacturer’s instructions and warning labels carefully.
  • Inspect heaters for cracked or broken plugs or loose connections before each use. If frayed, worn or damaged, do not use the heater.
  • Never leave a space heater unattended. Turn it off when you’re leaving a room or going to sleep.
  • Proper placement of space heaters is critical. Heaters must be kept at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including papers, clothing and rugs.
  • Locate space heaters out of high traffic areas and doorways where they may pose a tripping hazard.
  • Plug space heaters directly into a wall outlet. Do not use an extension cord or power strip, which could overheat and result in a fire. Do not plug any other electrical devices into the same outlet as the heater.
  • Place space heaters on level, flat surfaces. Never place heaters on cabinets, tables, or furniture
  • Always unplug and safely store the heater when it is not in use.

— Chris Nickell, Environmental Health & Safety

Strategic Updates Archive

The Campus Climate Survey is open

DU What Matters—that’s the theme of this year’s Campus Climate Survey. At Drake we seek to create an environment characterized by openness, fairness, and equity for all students, faculty, and staff.Please take the Campus Climate Survey to help us better understand the current climate at Drake University. The survey is open through Nov. 26 and should take about 20–30 minutes to complete. Your participation is an opportunity to DU What Matters.

Take the survey

This confidential survey is designed to gauge the current attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of students, faculty, and staff at Drake. We will use survey responses to identify opportunities for making improvements and taking tangible steps toward creating a more positive and inclusive campus climate. Please be assured that all of your answers will remain confidential, and the results will be reported in the aggregate. 

Creating change
Five years ago, when we collected data through the last climate survey, a host of positive steps were taken to make our campus community more inclusive and equitable. Here is a list of the top ten initiatives to come out of the project:

  1. Creation of the Bulldog Foundations course
  2. Creation of the Equity Action Partners
  3. Adoption of the preferred name policy
  4. Adoption of the employee leave policy
  5. Creation of Drake’s Commitment to Equity and Inclusion statement
  6. Requiring Haven training on equity and inclusion for all incoming students
  7. Development of the Flight program
  8. Overhaul of the EthicsPoint reporting platform
  9. Development of the CORE pipeline program
  10. Overhaul of the Title IX office

Win a prize!
When you complete the survey, you will be directed to a different page to submit your name into a drawing for a variety of prizes. The two sites are completely separate, so please be assured that confidentiality of survey responses will be protected. Prizes include: 

  • Drake parking pass
  • Starbucks gift cards
  • Drake apparel
  • Pizza party for residence hall floor/office
  • $200 in funding for a research assistant
  • Drake Relays tickets
  • Basketball tickets
  • Griff socks

The Campus Climate Survey has been acknowledged as an exempt study by the Drake Institutional Review Board. Additional information about the project is available at drake.edu/duwhatmatters. Thank you in advance for your contribution to the future of Drake University.

— Erin Lain, Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Faculty Fellows for Community Engaged Learning & Global Service-Learning

Thanks to support from the Slay Fund for Social Justice (http://www.drake.edu/slay) and the Olson Endowment for Global Service-Learning, the office of Community Engaged Learning (OCEL) is hiring two faculty fellows to work with the Director of Community Engaged Learning on programming and initiatives that support faculty and staff in implementing community engagement and service-learning pedagogy. The faculty fellow positions are a two-year opportunity for Drake full-time faculty members (non-tenure-track, tenure-track, or tenured) to expand, deepen, and disseminate their mastery of community engaged learning to others. Fellows will begin their term in spring 2020 and receive a $3,000 stipend ($1,500 in June and $1,500 in December). In addition to the stipend, there is funding to support participation in scholarly activities such as conferences in support of strengthening or promoting community engagement at Drake.

For specific details about each position please visit: https://www.drake.edu/community/learningservice/facultyopportunities/awardsfellowships/.

Faculty interested in serving in either role should send a letter of interest and CV to renee.sedlacek@drake.edu by Dec. 2. The statement of interest should address why you want to serve as a faculty fellow and how this position contributes to your personal, professional, and scholarly development.

— Renee Sedlacek, Director of Community Engaged Learning

Campus Announcements Archive

Major gift announcement for Meredith Hall

Please join the School of Journalism and Mass Communication on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 2:30 p.m. for a major gift announcement for the renovation of Meredith Hall. The event will be held in Meredith, Room 104. Following the announcement, there will be refreshments, networking and tours of Meredith Hall, a unique mid-century modern building designed by famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Drake is celebrating 100 years of journalism and mass communication education in 2019–2020.

— Kathleen Richardson, Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Campus Announcements Archive

Retirement celebration for Jolene Schmidt

Facilities Planning and Management will host a retirement open house for Jolene Schmidt, director of capital projects, on Friday, Dec. 6, from 12:30–2:30 p.m. in the Paul Morrison Room. Jolene will be retiring after 38 years of serving faculty, staff, students and visitors. She held several roles in her career at Drake starting in the stock room and eventually being involved in over $201 million of capital improvements across the campus. All will greatly miss her vast historical knowledge of Drake’s campus growing and changing over the years.

Please join us in thanking Jolene for her dedicated service and commitment to Drake, congratulating her on this well-deserved retirement.

— Kevin Moran, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management

Strategic Updates Archive

United Way: Together we create change

It’s next week! The 2019 United Way Campaign will be held from Monday, Nov. 11, through 3 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15. You may read about the campaign and see the full list of incentives by visiting drake.edu/unitedway.

“United Way of Central Iowa ensures we’re able to prioritize the highest quality of youth programming,” shared Kendra Allen, director of the Burt Boys and Girls Club.

Remember, 100% of funds raised stay within central Iowa and support programing like Character Counts. “The donations impact our community’s youngest children through their early childhood educators and have direct connections to their families and caregivers,” stated Scott Raecker, executive director of The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center.

There will be a happy hour campaign kickoff Friday, Nov. 8, at 3:30 p.m.—watch for a special invitation from President Martin.

— Ryan Arnold, Director, Community Engagement