All posts by Marlene Heuertz

Flexible spending account limit Increased for 2022

Good news for anyone enrolling in Drake’s Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA). The Internal Revenue Service has announced the Health Care FSA limit will increase from $2750 to $2850 for the 2022 calendar (plan) year.  If you have already made a Health Care FSA election for the 2022 plan year, you may change it in the Benefits Portal in myDrake.  Additionally, 2022 Health Care FSA participants will be able to carry over up to $570 of unreimbursed 2022 contributions into calendar year 2023. 

Remember that open enrollment ends Nov. 30, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. sharp! If you have not yet made benefit elections for 2022, please don’t wait until the last minute. If you have questions or problems navigating the Benefits Portal, you may reach out to us at drakehr@drake.edu or contact Marlene directly at marlene.heuertz@drake.edu.

Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources

Health plan enrollees must designate primary care provider

If you plan to enroll in Drake’s health plan for the 2022 calendar year, you (and your covered dependents) must designate a primary care provider (PCP) if you have not already done so. Primary Care Providers include general or family practice physicians, internists, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.

To learn more about how to designate a PCP, click here. If you do not designate a PCP for yourself and your dependents in the Benefits Portal, Wellmark will be unable to issue your new insurance card(s) for the 2022 Plan Year.

Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources

Hunger and Homelessness Action and Awareness Week

Nov. 13–20 is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness and Action Week. At Drake, we are recognizing this important week with programming from the Office of Community Engaged Learning, Next Course Food Recovery, and Community Action Board. There will be a hunger simulation, a letters to legislators drop-in event, a craft and learn for YMCA Supportive Housing and a food recovery dash for a prize. Come learn about what hunger and homelessness looks like and how you can make a difference in our community and beyond.

— DJ Henson, sophomore

International Education Week featured events

International Education Week events are happening now through Saturday, Nov. 20, for Drake students, faculty, and staff. Join in to discover more about Drake as a global institution and opportunities to get involved in global engagement such as study/work abroad programs, the Drake Intercultural Community Exchange (DICE), or international research opportunities. There will be virtual and in-person events for students, faculty, and staff throughout the week.

Additionally, check out the International Books Display at Cowles and indulge in global foods at Hubbell all week long!

Get the details for all #IEW2021 events at calendar.drake.edu/ieweek.

Featured Student Events

  • Summer Study Abroad Information Session, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m.
  • U.S. Fulbright Program Information Session, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m.
  • Global Career Talks, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m.

Featured Faculty and Staff Events

  • Collaborative Photo-narrative Projects on Lived Religion: Drake, Minzu, KwaZulu-Natal, Nov. 17 at 9 a.m.
  • International Research Workshop, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m.
  • Faculty Lunch & Learn: Global Engagement, Nov. 17 at 11:30 a.m. Registration encouraged
  • Town Hall: Global Engagement at Drake, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m.
  • Global Practitioner-in-Residence Spotlight: Lessons from three international medical experiences, Nov. 18 at 11 a.m.
  • Marketing Your Travel Seminar: Tips for Faculty-Leaders, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m.

Featured Events for Everyone!

  • Get to Know DICE: Drake Intercultural Community Exchange, Nov. 17 at 12:30 p.m.
  • International Trivia, Nov. 18, from 6–8 p.m.
  • Set Sail with ISA: International Night 2021, Nov. 20, from 4:30–8 p.m.

Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

Drake sustainability fun facts

The Office of Sustainability and Facilities Planning and Management has made progress on the University’s sustainability initiatives and wants to share some fun facts with the campus community.

  • Did you know that Drake has upgraded traditional lighting to LEDs in at least 10 buildings and six parking lots on campus since 2018? We are de-lighted to continue making campus more energy efficient through LED lights. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Light-emitting diode (LED) lighting is a highly energy-efficient lighting technology that has enormous energy savings potential.
  • Drake is on track to hit the 2030 checkpoint target for reductions in our energy usage of electricity as part of the University’s carbon-neutrality commitment by 2050 pledge. How are we doing this? We are a huge FAN of wind energy and other renewable energy in Iowa. Through energy efficiency upgrades and other practices, we expect to continue making progress toward our 2050 goal. View carbon footprint here.
  • It’s time to have a solar-bration! Did you know that Drake has a net-zero electricity building on campus? On top of the Roger Knapp Tennis Center, the solar panels started producing electricity on Sept. 10, 2019. The solar production this past year was net-zero for its electricity usage. Did you also know that the new Tom and Ruth Harkin Center was recently equipped with solar panels and started producing electricity as of Oct. 27, 2021. See how much energy the solar panels are producing at the Tennis Center.
  • We know you are still solar-brating about the solar panels on campus but have you ever done the electric slide? Drake’s Office of Sustainability and Facilities Planning and Management department is looking to boogie-woogie, woogie as we start phasing out their old fleet vehicles with new electric vehicles starting this upcoming spring. Did you also know that Drake has six electric vehicle charging stations in parking lots scattered throughout campus? Find the locations on the Sustainability Map at Drake.edu/sustainbility
  • While we are strategizing on how to take sustainability at Drake to the next level, we have been recognized by several organizations for the progress we’ve made so far:
    • Drake has earned a bronze rating for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), a program of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Learn more.
    • Drake received a rating of 80 in the Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2022 Edition. Learn more.
    • Drake is recognized as a Tree Campus Higher Education university by the Arbor Day Foundation. This is a tree-mendous accomplishment.
  • We don’t want to waste your time but wanted to share some facts that are anything but trashy. Since a 2007 baseline, we have reduced our overall waste sent to the landfill by nearly 50% because of the implementation of single-stream recycling, food recovery, e-waste recycling, yard waste compost, food waste compost, and changes in purchasing and consumption behaviors. Also, if you’re a student on campus looking for heaps of fun, get involved with the Sprout Garden student-led compost program that is supported by the Drake Environmental Action League (DEAL), the Office of Sustainability, and the Office of Community Engaged Learning. Reach out to compost intern, Jacob Lish, to learn about how you can compost your food scraps on campus and if you are interested in volunteering.
  • Did you know that Drake requires all new construction and major renovation projects to adhere to green building standards? We have four buildings with at least two Green Globes and one building that is certified LEED silver. We plan to continue raising the roof on green building practices with upcoming construction and major renovation projects.
  • Did you know that Drake has a garden and food forest on-campus? It’s thyme to turnip the beet because Sprout: the Des Moines Urban Youth Learning Garden is thriving in its new location at 30th St. and Carpenter Ave.! Sprout serves as an environmental education tool, urban gardening resource, and healthy food access point for students kindergarten through higher education, and community members. Learn more.
  • To support sustainability projects on campus, we are in the process of developing the Drake University Sustainability Revolving Fund (DUSRF) which will serve as a way to develop the campus as a living laboratory for sustainability through engaging research, educational experiences, and improved operational practices that support our commitment to sustainability.
  • We have a website! Go to Drake.edu/sustainbility to learn more. We are still in the process of updating some of the information on the site and appreciate your patience.

Have questions or ideas? Want to get more involved with Drake’s Sustainability? Email the Office of Sustainability, Sustainability Coordinator, Sophia Siegel, Sophia.Siegel@drake.edu or the Director of Facilities Planning & Management, Kevin Moran, Kevin.Moran@drake.edu.

If you have questions or looking to get involved with the Sprout Garden and residence hall compost initiative, email compost intern, Jacob Lish, Jacob.Lish@drake.edu.

Sophia Siegel, Sustainability Coordinator

Professor Mark Kende elected to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation

Drake Law School is pleased to announce that Mark Kende, Director of the congressionally endowed Constitutional Law Center, James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law, and Professor of Law, has been elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF). Membership is limited to just one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Members are nominated by their peers and selected by the ABF Board.

The ABF Fellows is a global honorary society that recognizes attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities. ABF Fellows hail from nearly 40 countries and hold a wide variety of influential roles.

Mark Kende has served as chair of the Association of American Law Schools sections on African Law, Comparative Law, and Constitutional Law. He is also a former Fulbright Senior Scholar, and was a Visiting Professor at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Kende’s areas of expertise focus on Constitutional Law, Comparative Constitutionalism, Civil Rights, and Cyberlaw. He has authored: Constitutional Rights in Two Worlds, South Africa and the United States (Cambridge University 2009) and Comparative Constitutional Law: South African Cases and Materials in a Global Context (Carolina Academic Press, 2015).

Notable Fellows include former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Ruth Bader-Ginsberg, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, former United States Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

— Terri Howard, Law School

Deputy Provost 2:10: November events, research, and pedagogy

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

On Nov. 19 in Howard Hall, Room 210 from 1–3 p.m., the Office of the Deputy Provost is teaming up with the Office of Sponsored Program Administration and Research Compliance for an interactive two-hour session on funding your research. Mary Pat Wohlford and I are looking forward to talking about extramural and intramural funding, with an emphasis on finding grants that connect with our core commitment to helping faculty bring students into research projects. Please register here, so we can think ahead about the kinds of resources we provide, and can start to build opportunities for collaboration into the design of our time together.

Don’t forget, First Year Seminar faculty are invited to our final lunch of the semester—this one with actual food!—on Friday, Nov. 19, from 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 210. And, if you’re interested in teaching an FYS, but haven’t had a chance to chat about what it is like, you’re also invited! We’ll connect about how the semester has gone, what you would do differently, and how you’ll continue to build and strengthen classroom community in the final weeks of the semester.  Please email Nicki.Kimm@drake.edu asap to register and to let her know if you have any dietary restrictions or needs.

Finally, I’m beginning to schedule our working group on how pandemic has changed our approach to teaching and learning. We’ll meet first in early December, and I’d love to have a robust representation of folks from each of our colleges and schools! Send an email to renee.cramer@drake.edu to volunteer yourself and nominate your colleagues. On Dec. 3, we’ll extend this conversation with a research conversation, learning about the great work done by our colleagues on understanding how learning unfolded in the past 18 months. Register here for lunch in Howard Hall (11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.).

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Deputy Provost 2:10: Gratitude

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

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is going through the process of hiring a new dean (we will miss you in your retirement, Dean Kathleen Richardson!), and members of Provost Council have had the opportunity to meet each of those candidates. As we meet, we all go around the table and explain what our role in the University is, and how we work with faculty to meet our University mission. At one point in our conversations, Dean of Admissions Anne Kremer told a candidate, “At Drake University, we rely really heavily on faculty.”

I am daily reminded that this is true: that faculty are at the absolute center of all we do and at the center of our ability to be the institution we are. I am so proud to remain listed as a faculty member within Law, Politics and Society—to continue to serve as an advisor to students and to direct an independent study. Honestly, in this new role, I notice how much I miss the classroom (nope, not the grading, sorry—but certainly, I miss engaging students’ work).

So, I want to take just a minute here to say thanks—yes, ‘tis the season—to my faculty colleagues who have shown up for programming out of my office, who have supported each other through this transition back to ‘normal,’ who have met with students and prospective students, who have learned BlackBoard Ultra and juggled technologies, who have adjusted assignments and maintained expectations—thank you, sincerely, for this difficult and excellent work. I know that many of us don’t get to hear Anne, or other members of Provost Council say this out loud, but I know just as certainly that we all express that feeling of gratitude daily.

As we head toward the holidays—one week left before November break starts in earnest—please know that your work is appreciated.

Next week, in OnCampus, I’d love to share a recipe or two for some “different” ways you/we celebrate the upcoming holidays. Please email me (renee.cramer@drake.edu) with an idea or two; maybe we can all share a meal, virtually, as we give thanks for what we have.

Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Bulldog Connect Networking Luncheon Nov. 17

The Special Interests Committee of All Staff Council is holding a Bulldogs Connect Networking Lunch on Wednesday, Nov. 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Come join us for a $5 lunch at Hubbell Dining Hall. We encourage attendees to wear their Drake nametag. We will also have nametags available. Anyone is welcome to come—bring a new Bulldog along with you! Look for the table with the Drake swag and a special Bulldogs Connect table tent in Hubbell.

— Megan Franklin, On behalf of All Staff Council

Enroll in Drake’s Master of Science in Leadership Development, new 4+1 option

Drake’s Master of Science in Leadership Development (MSLD) now has a 4+1 option for undergraduate students. This flexible, highly experiential, and practical program is open to students from all majors. Students may apply to the program in their junior year and complete up to three courses in their senior year (or once they reach senior status). Students then complete the remaining seven MSLD courses during their fifth year. Students who wish to work in their fifth year may still complete the program, as courses are hybrid and offered on Friday nights and Saturday mornings.

The MSLD offers two concentrations: leadership and talent (training) development. Talent development is particularly useful for students interested in working in leadership or training and development in organizations. For example, if you enjoy designing or facilitating workshops and see yourself developing others, consider the talent development route. Visit the page www.drake.edu/leadership to learn about our program and contact Dr. Cris Wildermuth, cris.wildermuth@drake.edu for additional information.

— Cris Wildermuth, School of Education