All posts by Maria Rohach

Call for Applications: DU Spain and DU England Faculty-in-Residence Positions

Drake University is seeking interested faculty to apply for the Faculty-in-Residence position to teach and support student learning on Drake’s semester-long, cohort-model, study abroad programs.

Current openings include:

  • Fall 2026 for DU England
  • Spring 2027 for DU Spain
  • Fall 2027 for DU England
  • Spring 2028 for DU Spain
  • Fall 2028 for DU England

DU Spain is in Seville, a city located in Southern Spain in the Andalucia region near the Mediterranean Sea. Drake partners with the University of Seville on the DU cohort program.

DU England is located in the English countryside in the Yorkshire region of Northeast England. Drake partners with Harlaxton University on the DU cohort program.

DU Semester Faculty-in-Residence applications are live through Qualtrics. Click on the Qualtrics links to learn more about these opportunities including eligibility, compensation, responsibilities, and to officially apply.

DU England Faculty-in-Residence Fall 2026 application:
https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6SDbE9paTy7QibQ

DU England Faculty-in-Residence Fall 2027 & 2028 application:
https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_40cpKq2k1NnRiya

DU Spain Faculty-in-Residence Spring 2027 & 2028 application: https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e4EeoLY2pNMMdDM

To share more about the Faculty-in-Residence positions, Global Engagement will be holding a number of information sessions.  See dates, times and location below.

DU England Faculty-in-Residence Info Sessions | JSC 301 Scripps Meeting Room

  • Friday, April 18th | 11am
  • Wednesday, April 23rd | 10am
  • Tuesday, April 29th | 2pm
  • Monday, May 5th | 12pm

DU Spain Faculty-in-Residence Info Sessions | JSC 301 Scripps Meeting Room

  • Tuesday, May 6th | 1pm
  • Thursday, May 8th | 10am
  • Wednesday, May 14th | 11am

Submissions are due Sunday, August 17, 2025 at 11:59 pm. If you have questions or want to meet one-on-one about this opportunity, schedule a meeting with Maria Rohach, director of education abroad, by emailing maria.rohach@drake.edu.

How to Treat Your Friends and Colleagues with Disabilities, a Chat with Suzanne Shoemaker

Join us on April 30 at 1 p.m. in the Bell Center Fitness Studio for an engaging seminar on etiquette when interacting with people with disabilities, designed to help Drake University students foster inclusivity and respectful communication. Gain practical skills to navigate social and professional settings with confidence, ensuring that all individuals feel valued and understood. This interactive session will provide real-world examples and essential guidelines to help create a more inclusive campus community.

— Gail Witte, Rec Services

New Tool Helps to Better Understand Your Funding Needs

The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Compliance is happy to announce a new tool to assist with seeking funding for your projects. The new SPARC profile form will allow us to better understand you and your funding needs. It will also assist us with finding potential collaborators for your project(s).

If you are interested, click here to fill out the form (please reserve 10-15 minutes to complete).

Once the form is complete, a member of SPARC will reach out to you to begin discussing your funding goals and potential opportunities.

If you have any questions, please contact: preston.miller@drake.edu or lori.byrd@drake.edu.

— Preston Miller, Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Compliance

Nominate Students for an Adams Leadership Award

Drake’s annual Student Leadership Awards honor exceptional student leaders and organizations across campus. Please consider nominating a student.

Any student, faculty, or staff member can submit nominations in categories like:

  • Outstanding First-Year Student Leader
  • Outstanding Student Organization President
  • Outstanding Residence Hall Leader
  • The Oreon E. Scott Senior Legacy Award …and more!

Submit nominations here by Sunday, April 13.

Nominees and winners will be recognized at the 2025 Adams Leadership Awards on Saturday, May 3, at 1 PM in Sheslow Auditorium. All Drake staff and faculty are invited (but not expected!) to attend.

Questions? Contact Kristin Economos at kristin.economos@drake.edu.

Summer Semester Loans

Undergraduate and pharmacy (P1-P3) students who want to borrow federal student loans for the summer semester must complete the Summer Financial Aid Application.

Graduate and law students who are registered at least half-time (5+ credits) for summer and who have completed the 2025–2026 FAFSA will automatically be offered their federal student loan eligibility for the summer semester. These students should only complete this form if they receive a financial aid offer that does not include financial aid for the summer semester.

— Ryan Zantingh, Financial Aid Office

Celebrating True Blue Staff

Please join the All Staff Council in congratulating our most recent recipients of the True Blue award. Here is a little information about our honorees with excerpts from their nominations.

Laura Shell, Access & Success – nominated by Lauren McCarthy

Laura Shell exemplifies Generosity of Spirit every time I interact with her. One of Laura‘s key responsibilities is overseeing Starfish for the university. As an advisor, I use Starfish daily for keeping track of my advisees, scheduling, making referrals, running reports, and more. I often have questions about a particular function that isn’t working as I expect, and I send those to Laura. She is always quick to respond and troubleshoot (typically it’s a user error), so that I can go on my merry way. What I most appreciate about Laura is that she never makes me feel bad about asking a question. She has a positive, affirming style and I always feel welcome to reach out. This helps me do my job better, and I appreciate the way Laura does hers!

Kristi Longtin, Law School – nominated by Dawn Brown

“Kristi’s commitment to keeping our department’s mission running smoothly is truly inspiring. This year she was tasked with training a new employee in addition to all of her many duties. She successfully balanced this with several duties. She was the key person in scheduling visiting professors who were applying for three openings in our department. The intricate puzzle work of communicating with multiple visitors, and scheduling at least 2 or 3 “job talks” with our faculty for each candidate is a time-consuming task that can change on a dime when a conflict pops up. She is always “in this together” though and finds time to help her co-workers with numerous questions always with a chipper demeanor and smile. She has a great rapport with the faculty she supports, as well as an unending stream of students. She always makes each student feel heard and acknowledged even when they are interrupting a time-sensitive activity. She meets any challenge with a brave and creative attitude and never gives up. She rocks!”

John Kippes, John Dee Bright College – nominated by Sofia Turnbull

“John Kippes has shown himself to be a vital go-to person for the John Dee Bright College. He’s there for our students whether they want him to be or not. He’s always on the search for internship opportunities to enrich the students’ experience and has the general welfare of the College and students in mind.

John is also very engaged with the classes and is usually attending one meeting or another that is geared toward enriching the John Dee Bright College. He is our priceless Batman! We are the better for having him at our institution. He is generous with his time, knowledge, and is a very integral part of our team!

Thank you for all you do, John!”

Grounds & FPM Team, Facilities – nominated by Mark Vitha

“This is a recognition of the excellent job that Facilities did on Feb. 12-13 responding to the bad weather/snow accumulation on campus. Their dedication and hard work, under difficult conditions, helped keep the campus community safe.”

Lisa Proctor, Head Start – nominated by Candice Hyler

Lisa is the picture of civility, caring, and respect. She provides a safe space for staff to air grievances and does not shy away from difficult conversations. She is quick to jump in when emotions run high and provides a calming presence. When meeting with her, she is intentional about making sure every voice is heard and even when she can’t ‘fix’ the issue, she does not forget about it, continually working towards a solution. She has also made great strides in providing robust communication and transparency. She has regular office hours and encourages people to ask her the difficult questions. She also writes a report that she sends out in an effort to provide transparency about the leadership team and decisions they are making to avoid people hearing news through the rumor mill. She started in her position right before COVID in 2020 and we have been struggling with staffing since; however she does not appear to get overwhelmed and continues to believe that her team can solve any problem.”

Anthony Squire, ITS – nominated by Kevin Saunders

Anthony responded to an incident where my laptop would not start. While this may seem like a stressful event at the start of a workday, Anthony brings a sense of calm and dedication to his work. He stopped his regular workflow to respond quickly, assured me that there would be a solution, and thought ahead to set up a loaner machine. During that process, he carefully worked to set up a different machine to optimize my functionality by taking time to ask critical questions, test functionality, and consistently asking about other potential software needs. In other words, he thought carefully about my work and showed clear commitment to the highest level of service. After I left the help desk, he worked diligently to find a solution and achieved success in a short amount of time. When I returned to pick up my machine, he again took time to test the functionality and demonstrated a next level of service when he asked if there were any other issues that needed attention. I cannot think of another service experience on this campus that matches this level of dedication, commitment, drive, and effort. Anthony does this with such a calm and easy going fashion that you forget you are in the middle of a technical incident.”

In Loving Memory

Gerardo Aguilera-Rodriguez, FPM – nominated by Tammy Eltayb

“I want to nominate this employee for the true-blue award. As they follow all four core values.

They show leadership among all staff members and Drake faculty. Every day when they walk through the doors, they always have a smile on their face whether they are not feeling good or upset.
They always give their 100% when they are working. They are willing to accept criticism and will admit when they have made a mistake, and they will learn from it. 
They make sure everyone is treated equally and that each staff member works together. They have a big heart for the people here at Drake.
Thank you, is not enough to say but thank you Gerardo, for everything you do. We all appreciate everything you do for us here at facilities and around campus. You are a true bulldog.

J-Term Travel Seminars Still Accepting Applications

If you missed the priority application deadline for J-Term 2026 travel seminars, don’t worry. There are still many programs accepting applications. See the links below for more details on each program and/or to start an application:

There is no fee to apply, and applications submitted now are considered on a rolling basis. Students can contact Chelsea Funk (chelsea.funk@drake.edu) with any questions.

— Chelsea Funk, Global Engagement

National Student Employment Week is April 14-18

April 14-18 is National Student Employment Week! Student employees perform invaluable services to the campus community.

Supervisors, would you like to recognize your student employees? Here are a few low- to no-cost ideas:

  • Bring in treats for your student workers or put together a goodie bag
  • Write a hand-written note expressing your appreciation
  • Help students with their career preparation – offer to review their resume or write a letter of recommendation
  • Decorate office doors, desks, or bulletin boards with signs expressing your appreciation
  • Highlight students on your social media pages, or submit a student/group spotlight to Career Services to be highlighted on Instagram – just send a photo and quote to Amanda Martin, amanda.martin@drake.edu

We are also thankful to the many on-campus supervisors who support the development of Drake students every day!

— Amanda Martin, Academic Excellence and Student Success

“Walk this May” Step Challenge

As the weather starts to warm up, it’s time to get outdoors and get moving!  If you need a little nudge, join this year’s Walk this May team step challenge!  During the month of May, teams will record their weekly step counts. Team step totals and team rankings will be shared weekly to keep the competitive juices flowing.

To register, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu by Wednesday, April 30, with your list of 4 to 8 team members, team name, and team captain.  Grab your shoes and let’s get going!

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources