All posts by Ashton Hockman

Know Your Benefits meeting Wednesday

Drake Benefit Consultants will provide a benefit overview addressing benchmark comparison data and plan design changes for the 2019 Plan Year Wednesday. Wellmark representatives will also be present to answer your questions.

Please take this opportunity to learn more about your Drake benefits Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 12 p.m. in the Shivers Courtside Club Suite.

Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources

Bulldog Applause: Spotlight on the Office of the Registrar team

Office of the Registrar team: (Front row, left to right) Brina Coppi, Jenny Tran-Johnson, Sara Schoneberg, and Shannon Odenbach. (Back row, left to right) Kevin Moenkhaus, Michael Kline, and Nancy Gieger.

Earlier in the month, Drake’s All Staff Council Recognition Committee celebrated the Office of the Registrar team with a surprise treat delivery, compliments of Drake Dining. This spotlight provides a few fast fact about the Registrar’s Office. Thank you to the team for everything they do to make Drake a great place.

Office of the Registrar 
Staff: 7 staff members

Longest serving team member: Nancy Geiger, Student Information Analyst, started in 1984—There are no words to describe how valuable.

Newest team member: Michael Kline, started in 2017

What has the Office of the Registrar been working on that the Drake community should know about? We recently completed an office restructure to support our transition from Office of Student Records to the Office of the Registrar.  One challenge, which is also an accomplishment, is our ongoing effort to centralize and streamline processes for faculty, staff, and students.

In addition, we are pretty excited about our new carpet and paint colors (as a result of water damage from the storm in June). We encourage everyone to stop by and check out our updates.

Good to know: If you add up all of our teams’ years of service, we have over 80 years of Drake experience.

The Office of the Registrar is located in Old Main.

Cathy Williams, University Advancement/All Staff Council

Celebrating innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship on campus

From Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, there are a series of events celebrating creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship across campus.

Saturday, October 27, 6 PM: Station 1 Records Music Festival in Sheslow Auditorium. To kick off Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Week, Station 1 Records is hosting a music showcase. This event will feature some of the many talented Drake students. Bring a friend and show your creative side by coming in costume to this free event.

Monday, October 29, 4 to 7 PM: Delta Rx Next Top Entrepreneur Competition Final Round in Olin 206. This event is a pitch competition for students with innovative health care ideas.

Tuesday, October 30, 8 AM: Community Coffee with Drake Entrepreneurs. Come to Pomerantz Stage to learn about Lorentzen Hatchery student businesses, Debonair Supply Co. (Noah Brinkmeyer), Eximious (Matt Watson), and Up Next Des Moines (Zachary Krawiec). Learn how they got their business starts and about the Lorentzen Student Hatchery.

Wednesday, October 31, 5 PM: Celebrate Halloween with the Drake Innovators Club in the Innovation Studio, 124C Meredith. In addition to fun activities there will be snacks and beverages.

Thursday, November 1, 2 PM: Presentation by Dr. Stacy Gnacinski, Upper Olmsted, Rooms 210 & 311. She will be talking about her research and work on performance psychology.

Friday, November 2, 9 to 11:30 AM: Lorentzen Student Hatchery, 2018 cohort presentations, Levitt Hall. Students will talk about their experiences in the Hatchery and provide an overview of their businesses. The featured students are:
o Debonair Supply Co.: Noah Brinkmeyer
o Eximious: Matt Watson
o Mox Stats: Jacob Mox
o Native Adventures: Steven Leash
o THR: McKenna Haase
o Up Next Des Moines: Zachary Krawiec

Friday, November 2, 2 PM: Creativity and Innovation Fair featuring students from across campus, Cowles Library Reading Room. You’ll see presentations from students in studying pharmacy and health sciences, journalism, and marketing; Station 1 Records, Drake Innovators Club, and more, including special guests from Hoover High School’s STEM program.

Saturday, November 3, 9 AM: The Bark Tank pitch competition, Meredith 101. f you are a Drake student, undergraduate or graduate, with a great business or innovation idea, come pitch it at the Bark Tank to win up to $750. There are a limited amount of spots so be sure to register soon! Just want to watch? No need to register, just show up to Meredith 101 on Nov. 3.

Stephanie Cardwell, Entrepreneurship Centers

Online learning series Thursday

The third session in our series on online learning is Thursday, Oct. 25, in the Drake Room in Olmsted from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The topic is Building Presence. These sessions are not meant to be “nuts and bolts” how-to sessions, but rather discussions of the issues related to the topic. You do not need to have experience teaching online to attend, nor do you have to have attended the previous session. There is no need to register.

Art Sanders, Associate Provost

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning session

The second Friday Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) session is on Oct. 26 at noon in TMR 133These discussions are opportunities for those engaged in SoTL projects at any level—from just thinking about starting one, to almost complete, or those simply curious about SoTL—to share ideas, seek advice or ask questions of colleagues engaged in this process. Members of the IT Support Services staff will be present to provide advice/information about SoTL projects that might involve technology usage.  It is too late to order a lunch, but you are still welcome to join us.

Art Sanders, Associate Provost

Employee and Family Resources

Employee and Family Resources (EFR) offer a variety of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefits to full-time Drake employees and their family members. Besides the more familiar services such as phone-based support and in-person counseling, they also offer financial and legal consulting, eldercare resources, childcare resources, and identity theft resolution services. Check out the Drake University EAP Benefit Summary for details.

If you would like a representative from EFR to attend your department meeting to discuss EAP benefits in detail, please contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Heart attack and stroke awareness presentation

Heart attack and stroke remain two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Ignoring your risks and failure to recognize the signs and symptoms can be fatal.

Join Chris Nickell, director, environmental health & safety, on Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Olmsted Center, Room 310/311, to learn what you need to know to recognize a heart attack or stroke and steps you can take to reduce your risk.

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

An online registration form is available in myDrake. To access the form, click on All Apps and find the HR BUILD Classes app in the Other Employee Apps section.  You may also send an email to Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu to register for this class.

Linda Feiden, Human Resources