All posts by Bonnie Ehler

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Proposals for Global Partnership Grants—deadline extended

The deadline has been extended to March 31 for Drake faculty and staff to submit a proposal for the FY23 Global Partnership Grants.

Drake University has established formal partnerships with multiple institutions abroad. Joint faculty and staff projects with our global partner institutions may be eligible for financial support through the Global Partnership Grants. Please contact Annique Kiel for more information or to get connected with a global partner institution.

Eligibility and criteria
Full-time faculty and staff are eligible to apply for Global Partnership Grants for activities taking place during FY23. Preference will be given to proposals that:

  • identify a specific set of activities with distinct outcomes with one (or more) of our partner institutions
  • demonstrate specific impact on Drake curriculum, students, and current global partnerships
  • advance Drake’s global engagement with existing partners in new ways
  • support involvement by individuals who have not previously been globally engaged
  • are financially supported by the school, college, or department of the individual submitting the proposal
  • align with internationally or globally focused unit objectives and/or the University’s Continuous Improvement Plan

Application process:

  1. Discuss the proposed activity with your unit director or dean prior to submission to help determine its strategic value and if it aligns with the unit’s global engagement priorities. The discussion will help determine the unit’s interest and ability to support the proposal with financial resources.
  2. Submit the online application via Qualtrics, which includes a description and budget (*see note) for the proposed activity. Deadline: March 31, 2022
  3. Deans/directors will review all proposals for their unit with the Global Partnerships Coordinator and the Executive Director of Global Engagement for prioritization and to make collaborative funding decisions. Final award decisions are expected to be announced in April 2022.

*Note, Global Engagement grant funds are not typically awarded for stipends for Drake faculty and staff; however, stipend requests may be considered for funding by your unit’s Dean/Director on a case-by-case basis. The College of Arts & Sciences will not fund stipends.

Learn more about Drake’s global partner institutions and other opportunities for funding global projects at drake.edu/global.

— Bonnie Ehler, Global Engagement

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Call for nominations: Principal Global Citizenship Award

Nominations are being accepted for the Principal Global Citizenship Award, recognizing outstanding contributions to global engagement and internationalization of the campus and curriculum on the part of faculty or staff. The selected awardee will receive a plaque, up to $3,000, and will be announced at the 2022 Global Citizen Forum in March. A screening committee will review all nominations and make recommendations to the Provost.  Nominations should be submitted to Bonnie Ehler at bonnie.ehler@drake.edu by Monday, Feb.14, 2022. 

A letter of nomination should be submitted recommending an individual for the award and explaining the context and manner in which the nominator has come to know the faculty or staff member. This letter should speak to the following qualifications:

Pursuant to the University’s mission to develop “responsible global citizens,” explain how the nominee has made outstanding contributions at Drake toward realizing the following:

  1. Support Drake University as a global institution by creating linkages to global partners in local, national, and international settings;
  2. Develop and/or actively support global and intercultural learning opportunities for Drake students;
  3. Develop infrastructure, resources, and partnerships to support internationalization and global engagement.

The nominee must be a faculty or staff member with at least four years of service at the University. The nominee cannot have won this award within the past five years. Faculty and staff members who report directly to Global Engagement are ineligible.

Nominees who indicate a willingness to be considered will be invited to submit a resume or C.V. and a statement discussing their contributions to the above goals. Up to three letters of support from unit or institutional leadership, faculty, staff, or students will be accepted (this is optional).

Any individual who was nominated for the award in 2021 may be re-nominated if the nominator resubmits a letter offering the individual for consideration this year. Files of previous nominees are maintained for one year. If a faculty/staff member is re-nominated, the nominator will be invited to review the file from the previous year to ensure that the nomination is as current as possible.

Past recipients include:

2021 – Sally Haack, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Clinical Sciences
2020 – Jody Swilky, Ellis and Nelle Levitt Professor of English/Writing Workshop
2019 – Pramod Mahajan, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
2018 – Tim Knepper, Professor of Philosophy/Comparison Project Director
2017 – John Rovers, Professor of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
2016 – Ellen Yee, Professor of Law/Director of International Programs

Nomination letters are due by Feb. 14, 2022 and should be sent as an attachment to bonnie.ehler@drake.edu. Questions may be directed to Annique Kiel, executive director of Global Engagement and International Programs, at annique.kiel@drake.edu.

— Bonnie Ehler, Global Engagement

Campus Announcements Archive

National Entrepreneurship Week events

Join entrepreneurship and innovation fellows on campus for National Entrepreneurship Week, starting Feb. 14.

  • On Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., we’ll be in the Innovation Studio (124C Meredith) making buttons and stickers. Bring a design or create one while you’re there.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 16, we’ll be in the Innovation Studio from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to make buttons, stickers, vinyl heat transfers (bring a T-shirt!) and more.
  • The final event for the week will be on Thursday, Feb. 17 on the top level of Carnegie. Learn about the vintage printing press and make your own bulldog print from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

If you want to use the vinyl cutter for stickers or designs for the heat transfer machine, download the software.

To learn more about National Entrepreneurship Week and other programming, visit natleshipweek.org/events.

— Stephanie Cardwell, Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

For Faculty Archive

Deputy Provost 2:10 –Writing Workshop is open

Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

The Writing Workshop opened Monday, Feb. 7. It is a wonderful resource for all  students engaged in expanding skills in written communication.

The Workshop is staffed by peer tutors, all of whom have taken at least one course to train them and familiarize them with writing theory and pedagogy. Tutors help students identify areas of difficulty and work with them on a range of issues including fluency, organization, development, analysis and argument. Tutors also help students copyedit their work as needed. Tutors do NOT write papers for students, nor do they simply act as proofreaders. All work on development and copy reading takes place within the context of the student’s own writing.

How to sign up: The online address for student sign-up page site is library.drake.edu/writing. This site is also linked to the English website. The website itself will give students directions on how to proceed. Typically, an appointment is for one half hour. Students can sign up for more than one session if they choose. They may also request that a tutor keep a regular time slot available for them if they would like to come in each week. If students are having difficulty signing up, have them call The Writing Workshop at 271-4712. They can also email me with any concerns (jody.swilky@drake.edu).

Location: For Spring 2022 we will be offering tutoring in-person. The Writing Workshop is located in Cowles Library, Room 47, on the lower level. We are open:

• Monday through Friday during the day

• Monday through Thursday during the evening

• Saturday afternoon

• Sunday afternoon and evening

Communication with professors: If you refer your student to the workshop, please let us know via email (jody.swilky@drake.edu). Have them bring the assignment they are responding to, as well as any writing they have done to complete the assignment. As part of the first visit, tutors ask students if they have been referred. If a student is referred, the tutor will send an email letting you know that your student has attended, and will briefly describe what work was done. If a student attends on his or her own, we do not inform professors unless the student specifically asks us to.

Workshop services: In addition to tutoring students, workshop tutors are available to speak briefly to classes about the workshop. If you would like a tutor to come to your class, please call or email me. Please also feel free to call or email me with questions about writing, about working with students for whom English is not a first language, or with questions about any student who is having particular difficulty with writing.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

For Faculty Archive

Faculty grants for research, professional development

My office has funds available for grants in the service of faculty research, and faculty development. Some funding in both categories remains for this fiscal year (funds to be spent by June 30); and I am happy to announce a new round of funding for projects to begin in July, 2022, and carry to the end of the next academic year. Faculty who will be on sabbatical for any portion of the 2022–2023 academic year are eligible to apply for the research grant, to cover costs associated with research during that time. Please see the web pages linked above for details, and feel free to contact me (renee.cramer@drake.edu) with questions.   Thinking ahead—you can anticipate a call for undergraduate assistantship funding, in collaboration with Student Financial Planning, released in the coming weeks.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

The Speaking Center is open

Social distancing and remote learning have reduced or altered opportunities to practice oral communication techniques that we all need in a variety of situations. Drake University’s Speaking Center is here to support students, faculty, and staff in our shared efforts to develop and advance these crucial skills.

The Speaking Center is now open for both online and campus appointments. Students can book appointments to meet with a tutor for help in preparing, composing, and delivering speeches and presentations—or even to get advice for initiating difficult conversations and participating in interactive discussions. The Speaking Center Director is also available to consult with faculty and staff or to offer classroom presentations and workshops.

Location and hours: The Speaking Center will be holding appointments online through Blackboard and also in the tutoring space downstairs in Cowles Library. Tutoring appointments are available Monday through Wednesday in the afternoons and evenings.

To make an appointment: Visit library.drake.edu/speaking to schedule a personal meeting with a tutor. Please enter a note specifying whether you prefer a virtual or campus appointment. Virtual tutoring sessions are held on Blackboard Collaborate Ultra at the following link: https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/7989fbe8f9314fa98d680dca692582e9

Appointments are scheduled for 30 minutes each, and students are encouraged to schedule multiple times while preparing for a single event if they wish. Any questions or concerns should be directed to speaking-help@drake.edu.

Speaking Center Services: Speaking Center tutors have experience and training in speech pedagogy and are prepared to assist students when selecting and narrowing topics, organizing ideas, drafting and revising an outline, preparing visual aids, and practicing delivery. The Speaking Center’s staff also facilitates access to research and resources that can help speakers and presenters, and can address a variety of oral communication issues.

— Joan McAlister, College of Arts & Sciences

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Deputy Provost 2:10 – Lunch and money (SOTL and student assistantships)

Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

Drake faculty engage our students in learning in ways that serve our own growth and development—it’s one of my favorite things about teaching, and one of my favorite things about our commitment to our students.  We do this by hiring undergraduate research assistants, by mentoring students as they move through Honors theses and internships, and by developing projects around the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning—where our pedagogy becomes a focus of our own self-reflection and study.

The Center for Teaching Excellence invites you to join us for lunch with Adam Case, assistant professor of Computer Science, to hear about his scholarship of teaching and learning project. Lunch will be held in Howard Hall, Room 210, from 12:30–1:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18.

And, the Office of the Deputy Provost is partnering with student financial aid to offer awards to faculty in order that they can hire student assistants for their research, in the coming academic year.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Finance Self Service coming March 1

The next phase in the Self Service project replacing MyDUSIS functions is coming on March 1—Finance Self Service.

Finance Self Service provides a safe and secure portal to electronically submit and approve payment requests, journal vouchers, and budget changes. It is also a more user-friendly and modern platform for budget and financial queries and year-to-year analysis.

A pilot group has been busy testing Finance Self Service and we are using their feedback to finalize resources and training. Pilot testing will conclude on Feb. 11.

Beginning March 1, users will be required to use Finance Self Service to submit and approve payment requests, journal entries, and budget changes.

Direct emails have been sent to users who may be impacted by this change. If you are someone who will need to use Finance Self Service and haven’t been receiving direct emails, please reach out to Heather Travis. This will ensure you get information about upcoming training sessions taking place the week of Feb. 21.

Additionally, several resources have been created in the IT service portal at https://drake.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2025/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=22690.

For questions, contact payments@drake.edu or Heather Travis at heather.travis@drake.edu.

—Heather Travis, Finance