The 2022 Sapphire Awards were hosted online by the All Staff Council Recognition Committee and Human Resources on Thursday, May 12. You can watch a recording here.

Every individual and group nominated for a Called to be True Blue award this year was eligible to win the Sapphire Award. There were 25 True Blue awards given, 17 individuals and 8 group awards. One individual and two groups were chosen as this year’s winners.

Winners of 2022 Sapphire awards were:

• Erica Hartschen, assistant to the vice president, nominated by Andy Verlengia.
• Office of Student Financial Planning, nominated by Chris Ditter.
• Assistant Athletic Trainers, nominated by Angie Dahl.

Two other awards were presented.

• SOE Dean Ryan Wise presented the Employee Excellence Award to Lisa Proctor, director, Head Start.
• University Communications and Marketing Director Leslie Maynes presented the Levitt Community Service Award to Erin Bell, associate director of marketing, and live mascot manager.

Andy Verlengia recognized and thanked the out-going All Staff Council members.

• Past Chair: Sara Heijerman
• Recognition Committee: Dianna Gray, Drinda Williams
• Special Events/Community Service: Kim Jones, Tyler Spoon
• Special Interest: Laura Bjurstrom

The winner of the free parking pass for next year is Alicia Mann, office manager, IT Services.

— Drinda Williams, On behalf of All Staff Council

I am sharing this message on behalf of ITS and Drake Online and Continuing Education.  They write:

We understand that it has been challenging to manage the upgrades to Blackboard as you develop and deliver your classes.  To provide you with the best support, we have some exciting news coming for summer.

Blackboard will continue to provide monthly updates that have new settings and abilities added to current features.  The two most affected areas will be assessments and grading. Tips and Tricks emails from Dr. Good will continue to provide a full listing of the updates when they are released. For more detailed information from Blackboard, visit https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Administrator/SaaS/Release_Notes.

Before Fall 2022, ITS and Drake Online and Continuing Education will be partnering to provide a more user-friendly system to get Blackboard updates and provide useful information around best practices. We are hopeful and determined to build a tool that will provide this information in a way that can be better utilized when you need it.

As always, please remember that the Academic and Emerging Technologies team provide support and Drake Online have instructional designers and technologists who can help with troubleshooting both technical and pedagogical issues that involve educational technology use.  If you need additional help, please use this link to request assistance.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Beginning July 1, 2022 (Start of FY23), Drake University will implement a revised meal reimbursement policy. Instead of the historical per diem payment, the University will be reimbursing based on actual expenses incurred.  The new language is as follows:

Revised Meals Reimbursement Language:

Drake University will pay the reasonable costs for meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and other incidental expenses for Drake employees and students traveling on Drake business. Meal costs may include alcohol beverages for staff and faculty, if appropriate; however, excessive alcohol purchases are not permitted.  If the trip is being funded with grant dollars, no alcohol purchases will be reimbursed due to grant restrictions.  The cost of meals includes taxes and tips. Drake will pay market-appropriate gratuities and suggests 15-20% for meals.

This change was based on researching fifteen universities from the Drake benchmark institutions list and CUSP institutions regarding meal reimbursements.  While some schools are still reimbursing based on a per diem, most schools are reimbursing based on actual costs.  In addition, some of the schools reimbursing actual costs also incorporate a daily limit.

Given our core values, employees and students should continue to be good stewards of Drake funds while traveling.  Due to budget constraints, daily limits may be given by each department.  Please work with your budget manager or similar department representative to understand these limits if applicable.

— Erica McGowan, Finance and Administration

According to a recent industry study, phishing attacks grew by 29% in 2021. A phishing attack occurs when an email, text message, or other type of communication appears to come from a reputable source when it’s actually from a cybercriminal. The message may ask for an account’s username and/or password, wire transfer information, or it may simply instruct the recipient to click on a link, or open an attachment.

Cybercriminals often target students, faculty, and staff. This is especially true in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, when those in higher education may be distracted, stressed, and/or exhausted, making them more likely to click on phishing emails.

When phishing attacks succeed, the wider campus community is at risk. The average University employee handles a tremendous amount of data; whether that’s behavioral information, financial information, or attendance records. In addition, the average employee likely deals with more than 10,000 emails per year.

The most important thing you can do to protect yourself and Drake against phishing attacks is to think before clicking. 

• Is the greeting strange?
• Does the URL look phony?
• Is someone asking for access that seems out of the ordinary?
• Is there anything else that looks off?

Listen to your gut. If anything seems strange, call the sender to make sure it’s legitimate.

The best means of combating phishing fraud is by raising awareness about phishing. ITS continues to simulate phishing and assign training to those most susceptible. If you believe you’ve been targeted by phishing, see Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).

— Chris Mielke, ITS

As you may have read, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Making time for self-care is an important component to maintaining mental health. There is a wealth of knowledge on this topic.  This article touches on just a few ideas and includes links if you wish to explore the topic further.

Stockpile coping tactics: Try collecting different coping skills and self-care strategies to keep in your back pocket. By adding tools, tactics, and strategies to your self-care toolbelt, you become less reliant on unhealthy practices (say, stress eating) and don’t wear out your tried-and-true healthy practices (you can’t always go for an hour long walk to clear your mind).

Explore the Self-Care Wheel to identify such tools, tactics, and strategies in these six different areas:

1. Physical
2. Psychological
3. Emotional
4. Professional
5. Personal
6. Spiritual

 Make a little time to work through the exercise of completing your very own Self-Care Wheel here.

Cut yourself some slack: The way we speak to ourselves can affect us much more than we realize. It’s easy to beat ourselves up over mistakes, sticking our foot in our mouth, or falling short against unreasonable self-expectations. Self-compassion means being inwardly understanding, encouraging, and kind in the face of setbacks—a reaction we commonly extend to friends, colleagues, and family members but sometimes forget when it comes to ourselves. Try talking to yourself as you would a best friend or someone you are mentoring. When we are our own #1 fans, we increase our confidence and boost our mood. It’s important to give everyone—friends, family, colleagues, and ourselves—room to be human. It is still important to learn and grow from mistakes, but dwelling on them doesn’t do you any good.

Move more. Physical activity can help the brain cope better with stress, making it beneficial in the treatment of depression and anxiety symptoms. Regular physical activity has also been demonstrated to strengthen the immune system. And you can turn your exercise routine into a way to spend more time outdoors. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors can help reduce fatigue, making it a great way to manage symptoms of depression or burnout. We are so fortunate to have miles and miles of trails in the Des Moines area and loads of state and city parks nearby, too.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help. Sometimes it is hard to accept that we need help (eliminating stigma about seeking mental health support is part of the purpose of Mental Health Awareness Month!). If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, or anxious, remember to speak up and lean on those around you–family, friends, colleagues. If asking for help is a source of discomfort and you’re not sure how to get the help you need, Drake offers benefits for this. See last week’s OnCampus piece on mental health services available through Broadlawns and Drake’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers free and confidential counseling options.

Keep reading!

• 22 Self-Care Tips for 2022
• Self-Care Tips for May: Mental Health Month (see “Tools to help”)
• How and Why to Practice Self-care
• The Calming Room: Self-Care Tips For 2022: 15 Tips
• The 6 Ways Young People Can Incorporate Self-Care At Work In 2022 (this seems like good advice for all of us, really)

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources