All posts by Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond

HR Information Archive

Updated digital benefits guide for 2023

We have updated the digital benefits guide for plan year 2023. This one-stop resource will serve as a handy reference for employees throughout the coming year and as a helpful recruitment tool for applicants. In fact, the digital benefits guide was created for two primary audiences: with prospective employees during the recruitment process and with current employees as an “any time” reference.

While no guide can anticipate every question or outline every benefit detail, the digital benefits guide was designed to address the most frequently asked questions posed by prospective, new, and existing employees. If you have not yet reviewed the digital benefits guide, please consider taking a look as you are bound to learn something new about the great benefits offered to Drake employees and their families.

Separate from the digital benefits guide is a list of perks and discounts available to Drake employees. This list is regularly updated and worth a look periodically to check out what is new.

To explore these documents: Visit Drake HR’s internal Benefits Page. The digital benefits guide is always featured at the top of the page. You can find the Perks & Discounts link under “Benefit Information Resources,” by scrolling down. For applicants, we also have these items posted on the public-facing website (no my.drake log in necessary) here.

— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Benefits highlights from the in-person and virtual benefits overview sessions

In collaboration with our benefits partners, Drake Human Resources hosted in-person and virtual benefits overview sessions on Nov. 18. Our speakers provided an overview of what remains the same and what has changed and fielded questions from those in attendance. The virtual session was recorded, and you are welcome to watch that session. Find the video link and presentation slides on our internal Benefits page under “2023 Open Enrollment Information.”

With only a little over a week left of Open Enrollment, we hope that you have had opportunities to ask questions, review changes and enhancements being made to benefits for plan year 2023 and completed your benefits enrollment in the online benefits portal.

If you have not yet done so, we urge you to complete this process ahead of the November 30 deadline. This is a once-a-year task that warrants time and care. Procrastinating is like tempting fate—you may get busy, you may forget, there could be a technological glitch.

If you were unable to attend either of these informational sessions and have questions, please reach out to drakehr@drake.edu or Marlene directly at marlene.heuertz@drake.edu. As with the enrollment process, if you have questions, we urge you not to delay in seeking answers. We are happy to assist you. However, if everyone waits until the end of the month to ask questions, getting back in a timely manner becomes a challenge.

Important Reminder about FSAs: Your enrollment in an FSA does not automatically continue from year-to-year. If you want to participate in Drake’s FSA plans during 2023, you must make a new election during Open Enrollment this month. If you forget to enroll or re-enroll, you will not be able to enroll once Open Enrollment has closed (these are Plan rules, not Drake HR rules). For more FSA details, review the Oct. 31 OnCampus on FSAs here.

— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Have you taken advantage of our many Employee Assistance Program services?

Drake’s EAP utilization rate fell from a high of 3.97% in 2018 to 2.38% in 2021 (our most recent year of complete data). According to the National Business Group on Health, the national average for EAP utilization is around 5.5%. This means that Drake faculty and staff are underutilizing this great benefit. The question is, why?

According to Mental Health America, the three main reasons employees may not use their EAP services include: 1) not being aware that EAP exists, what services they offer, and how to access them; 2) being fearful that their employer may be tracking an individual’s usage of services; and 3) the stigma of mental health and its association with EAPs.

Let’s address these concerns.

Awareness.  Drake’s EAP provider is Employee & Family Resources (EFR). EFR offers a wonderful range of free EAP resources, including confidential counseling, webinars, podcasts, a blog, self-assessment tools, and a free mobile app for employees and their immediate families.  Services also include financial and legal consultation, child/elder care resources, and life coaching by a licensed professional counselor.  If you are unsure whether EFR is the right place to go with your question or concern – please reach out to them and ask.  You may reach EFR by phone (800-327-4692) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or visit their website.

Confidentiality Concerns.  All EAP services are confidential.  No one at Drake will ever be given details about your use of EAP benefits. In fact, the confidentiality of EAP records is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects the identity and details of employee using EAP services. The only information shared with Drake is a very high-level, general report showing the total aggregate number of people who used EAP services over the course of the year and the percentage by categories (financial, legal…). No names or other identifying information are ever disclosed.

Mental Health Stigma.  As noted, the EAP offers a broad range of services to faculty, staff, and their families, including counseling.  Yes, confidential mental health counseling is an important part of any EAP (and most of us could benefit from it), but unfortunately there remains some stigma around it.  You do not need to be in a crisis to use or benefit from the EAP services.  The intention of an EAP is to help you maintain a positive work-life balance and serve as free, convenient, and readily accessible support when life matters keep you from being your best. We could all use a little extra support now and then.

If you would like to learn more about EFR and their EAP services, representatives from EFR are available to attend a department or staff meeting (in-person or virtually) to highlight their resources and help answer any questions.  They will present to groups of any size.  If you would like EFR to speak during one of your meetings, please send an email to Renee Larsen, EFR Account Manager, at rlarsen@efr.org or phone 515-471-2402.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Celebrating True Blue Staff

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

Rob Ebel, FPM Construction Manager, Facilities Planning and Management

“Managing construction projects also means that you manage change. It is with a servant’s heart that he strives to help our clients (faculty, staff, students) through the changes that construction progress brings.”

Sara Heijerman & Erica McGowan, University Book Club Leaders

“Although the book club is not part of their regular responsibilities at Drake, they show their generosity of spirit by joyfully taking on this project, and carefully planning it out to make sure the book selections are diverse, all participants have a say in the selections, and that the social gatherings are varied to accommodate both on campus and remote employees.”

Terry Janssen, Mechanic, Facilities Planning and Management

“To Terry these Core Values are more than words on paper they are the foundation of which we stand. Terry is a dedicated and valued employee whose abilities are truly a blessing to the Drake community.”

Kevin Moran, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management

“Instead of asking me to find another location or make do with what was available, he sought out the information and approvals he needed to meet the needs I had expressed for myself and my students. This was not just Kevin doing his job, but going above and beyond with a spirit of generosity, all in this together, with a commitment to mission at the core.”

Do you know of a staff member or department that has gone above and beyond to exemplify True Blue spirit? Nominate them today!

— Betsy Wilson, On behalf of All Staff Council

Campus Announcements Archive

Beware of smishing

Smishing attacks use short message service (SMS), more commonly known as text messages, to manipulate people into turning over sensitive data. Like phishing emails, smishing texts are social-engineering scams pretending to come from a trusted source and urging action to secure a benefit, resolve a problem, or avert a threat.

This form of attack has become increasingly popular because people are more likely to trust a text message on their phone than from a message delivered via email. According to RoboKiller, a company that provides call-blocking and other phone security services, bad actors sent over 87.8 billion fraudulent texts in 2021 – up 58% from the previous year. The company estimates those phishy messages cost consumers nearly $10.1 billion.

Variations of smishing abound. A scam text might say you’ve won a gift card or promise a break on a student loan. Other texts may appear to be alerts from a government agency such as the IRS or link to a phony invoice or cancellation notice for a product or service you supposedly bought. Many smishing messages warn of package delivery issues from Amazon, FedEx, UPS or the United States Postal Service.

In more targeted attacks, a text message may appear to come from your boss, or a top-level executive within your organization. The text will report some type of action that needs to be taken immediately as a favor to them or to avoid some type of crisis at the company.

Warning Signs

  • A text message requests personal information, such as your Social Security number or an online account password.
  • The message asks you to click a link to resolve a problem, win a prize or access a service.
  • The message claims to be from a government agency. Government bodies almost never initiate contact with someone by phone or text, according to the FCC.
  • The text requires immediate action from someone in your company that has been sent from an unknown phone number.

How to protect yourself

  • Contact the person, company, or organization that supposedly sent the text using a phone number or website you know to be legitimate
  • Forward spam and scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), the spam reporting service run by the mobile industry. This sends the text to your carrier so it can investigate. Here is a guide to the process.
  • Don’t provide personal or financial data in response to an unsolicited text or at a website the message links to.
  • Don’t click on links in suspicious texts. They could install malware on your device or take you to a site that does the same.
  • Don’t reply, even if the message says “text STOP” to avoid more messages. That simply confirms your number is active so it can be sold to other bad actors.
  • Don’t assume a text is legitimate because it comes from a familiar phone number or area code. Spammers use caller ID spoofing to make it appear the text is from a trusted or local source.

Please be wary of any attempts to obtain sensitive data via text, email, messaging apps, or unsolicited phone calls. ITS will continue 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

For Students Archive

Resident applications available

The Office of Residence Life is accepting Resident Assistant Applications for the 2023–2024 academic year. RA’s must be leaders, role models, and resources for their residents; however, just as important, they must be team players that work with and support other staff in their own hall as well as other halls on campus.

 The application deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (during J-Term).

RA informational sessions:

  • Tuesday, Nov.15, 2022, 6 p.m. – Pomerantz Stage, Olmsted
  • Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, 12:30 p.m., Pomerantz Stage, Olmsted

Application link:
https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cMTHHjc68IDS3wG

If you have any questions regarding the application or interview process itself, please contact Randy E. McMullin (randy.mcmullin@drake.edu).  We would encourage you to reach out to your own RA or another RA should you have questions about the position from a student perspective.

— Randy E McMullin, Residence Life 

HR Information Archive

Two weeks left of open enrollment—don’t delay

Nov. 30 is the deadline for open enrollment. The Benefits Portal closes at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30. If you want to add benefits, make changes to existing benefits, enroll or re-enroll in a Flexible Spending Account, you still have time to do so.

You can access the Benefits Portal through my.drake.edu. You’ll find it on the left side of the screen above the Employee Dashboard link.

We are happy to report the Benefits Portal has been working well for people. It walks you through your options step-by-step and only takes a few minutes. Of course, if you have any questions or problems navigating the Benefits Portal, reach out to us at drakehr@drake.edu or contact Marlene directly at marlene.heuertz@drake.edu.

If you are still thinking through options, please consider attending one of the benefit overview sessions held on November 18: Join us:

During these sessions, we’ll share highlights of the plan changes taking effect Jan. 1 and answer your questions. We will record the virtual session for people who are unable to attend either session.

If you have not yet enrolled, make sure you don’t wait until the last minute!

Benefits & Wellness Fair Raffle Winners

We so enjoyed those of you who attended the Benefits & Wellness Fair and played our passport game. We drew the 15 names of winners and they had the choice of a range of small prizes or $10 in Bulldog Bucks. Our winners were:

1.      Ofelia Arreola Martinez

2.      Colin Atkinson

3.      Dennis Belieu

4.      Jack Bush

5.      Doreen Dixon

6.      Dennis Goldford

7.      Jorona Johnson

8.       Brianna Leistikow

9.      Cindy Liska

10.  Elvira Mejia De Luna

11.  Samantha Nordstrom

12.  Jeremy Sievers

13.  Charlene Skidmore

14.  Mizuko Takamoto

15.  Kathy Veach

Congratulations to our winners!

— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

More details: New, optional vision hardware benefit

In the Nov. 1 OnCampus, we shared the great news about a new benefit: Introducing optional vision hardware insurance with Avēsis.

As with any new benefit, there is excitement and curiosity. Since we have received several questions, we thought we should share some additional information about our new partnership with Avēsis.

Vision Hardware 101

  1. Vision exams will still be covered by Drake’s medical insurance through Wellmark.
  2. The current hardware allowance through Wellmark ($150/year) is going away on December 31, 2022.
  3. Avēsis is now available as an optional benefit for employees (and their families) to cover vision hardware (glasses, contacts).
  4. If you do not want to enroll in the Avēsis Plan, using your Health Care Flexible Spending Account is a great way to set aside pre-tax dollars to cover vision hardware.

Participation in the Avēsis Hardware Benefit is voluntary/optional. You may choose to purchase this coverage for yourself or your covered dependents (spouse/partner and dependent children). Following are monthly rates/in-network benefits:

  • Single Monthly Rate = $1.37/month
  • Family Monthly Rate = $4.37/month
  • Frame allowance = $150
  • Contact Lens Allowance = $150
  • Materials Co-pay = $15

We are very excited to offer this affordable and wonderful new benefit to Drake employees. An Avēsis representative will be on hand for the benefit information sessions being held on November 18.

Attend one of the benefit overview sessions Nov. 18:

During these sessions, we’ll share highlights of the plan changes taking effect Jan. 1 and answer your questions. We will record the virtual session for people who are unable to attend either session.

— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake Theatre Arts presents: Silent Sky

Drake Theatre Arts proudly presents their final production of the fall semester, Silent Sky, by Lauren Gunderson, Nov. 17–20 in the Performing Arts Hall (PAH); Directed by Drake Senior Morgan Erwin. Silent Sky tells the story of 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt and her fellow female researchers—or “computers”—in the Harvard University observatory, who set the standard still used today for measuring distances in space while discovering thousands of stars. Tickets can be purchased through the following link: https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/drakefinearts/6865 or at the Fine Arts Box Office.

— Jacob Lemons, Fine Arts

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake hosts inaugural U.S.-China Symposium, Nov. 17

The inaugural U.S.-China Symposium at Drake University will take place on November 17, 2022, at the Olmsted Center on Drake University’s campus. This event is free and open to the public.

About the Symposium

The symposium is an initiative of the Ambassador-in-Residence program at Drake. Terry Branstad, former U.S. Ambassador to China and Governor of Iowa, is currently serving as the Ambassador-in-Residence. The Ambassador will host an annual symposium to convene experienced professionals, academics, and other experts to speak on various topics related to China and U.S.-China relations, with the aim to provide a platform for multiple viewpoints and opportunities for candid discussion.

Learn more and register for the symposium at drake.edu/branstad

Featured Sessions

John Pomfret, an award-winning journalist and author of The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present. Pomfret will deliver a lecture on the history of the relationship between the United States and China, and what we can expect from U.S.-China relations after the 20th Party Congress. Pomfret was a foreign correspondent for twenty years, spending seven years covering China – in the late 1980s during the Tiananmen Square protests, then from 1997 until the end of 2003 as the bureau chief for The Washington Post in Beijing.

Jonathan Fritz, Former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, will join Ambassador Branstad and Steve Churchill for an armchair conversation about current topics in U.S.-China foreign affairs. Fritz has been the Chief of Staff to Jose Fernandez, the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment in the U.S. State Department since August 2021. Previously, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs responsible for China, Mongolia, and Taiwan.

Fritz will also hold a session on Careers in Diplomacy for students Nov. 17th at 4:30 pm for International Education Week. 

U.S.-China Educational Exchange: Past, Present, Future

A panel discussion moderated by Min Fan, Executive Director of the U.S. Heartland China Association. Min was born in China and studied at Peking University. Her professional experience spans the corporate world, non-profit sector, and startup ecosystem. This includes leading the Ideation and Innovation Practice at Hewlett Packard Global Corporate Services; serving as the Executive Director and COO of the U.S. China Innovation Alliance; and launching U.S. China Now.

This panel will feature the expertise of Dr. Yawei Liu, Senior Advisor at the Carter Center; Dr. Mary Gallagher, Director of the International Institute at the University of Michigan; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President for International Affairs at the University of Arizona; Samantha McCabe, International Student Services Director at the University of Wisconsin; Raven Witherspoon, Schwarzman Scholar; and Joel Glassman, Director for the Center for International Studies in the University of Missouri.

The U.S. and China: Can a Cold War Be Averted?

A panel discussion exploring the rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, moderated by Drake Professor David Skidmore. This panel will feature the expertise of Dr. John Owen, Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia; Yun Sun, Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center; and Dr. Zhu Feng, Executive Director of China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea at Nanjing University.

View the full program and register at drake.edu/branstad.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement