As part of Employee Appreciation Month, Human Resources has been sharing shout-outs submitted by faculty and staff.  Thanks to everyone who participated this month.

Even though Employee Appreciation Month is ending, we hope you continue to find ways to show your appreciation to staff, faculty, and student employees across campus.  Sharing positive energy is contagious.  When you look for the good in people, you strengthen relationships, improving not only their lives, but your own.

Read the final shout-outs submitted this week!

“A shout-out to Sara Hughes and Kris Magill, who have time and again stepped in to help (save) the Career Development Office through our busiest times with staff shortages. We appreciate you and all that you do for us on top of your own jobs!” – Katie Overberg

“A shout-out to Brett Lindman for being so easy to work with.  I know that I can count on him for whatever is needed.  Thanks Brett! You are appreciated.” – Cheri McDaniel

“A shout-out to the accounting department: Thank you for researching and implementing the new self-serve system.  Your patience with those of us learning the new system is noted and appreciated. “– Cheri McDaniel

“A shout-out to Natalie Russell and her staff for helping The Ray Center mail out so many packages.  You guys rock!” – Cheri McDaniel

“A shout-out to Linda Feiden for organizing and collecting emails for BUILD professional development sessions. Thanks for your hard work Linda! – Cheri McDaniel

“A shout-out to Sara Sommerlot for everything she did last fall to assist our department in selecting and ordering Drake branded wellbeing incentives.  She helped guide the process through from start to finish and made sure we had it by the deadline.  Thanks so much Sara!” – Linda Feiden

“A shout-out to Ryan Parriott, Lisa Murphy, and their staff in making sure the inaugural Faculty/Staff “Recess” event was successful.  Thank you for your “All in This Together” attitude and your “Generosity of Spirit” in giving your time.” – Linda Feiden

“A shout-out of appreciation to Kelly Foster, Donita Greenough, and Chris Nickell for their work to improve safety and risk related processes and training.  They have demonstrated an ability to implement new processes on topics like vehicle safety and domestic travel in a way that accomplishes the goal of greater safety and security, while at the same time ensuring processes are not unduly burdensome or repetitive. They collectively do a great job working with others across campus and have built strong relationships that make the roll out of new programs more effective and sustainable.” – Venessa Macro

“A big shout out of thanks and admiration to Anne Kremer, Deneen Dygert and the entire Admissions staff for managing and adjusting to many shifts in protocol and programming throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They have managed through many challenging situations with grace and generous spirits; never relenting in their focus on delivering effective and impactful admission programming.” – Venessa Macro

“A shout-out to the Finance & Administration and ITS teams for their grueling work rolling out and tweaking Finance Self Serve.” – Sara Sommerlot

“A shout-out to the All Staff Council Governance Committee for commitment to running a clean and fair All Staff Council nomination process.” – Sara Sommerlot

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

There is a lot going on in the Office of the Deputy Provost and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

We have partnered with the School of Education to provide 10 additional spaces in an on-line Intercultural Conflict Workshop facilitated by Dr. Tara Harvey (True North Intercultural, LLC). The workshop will focus on helping participants better understand and navigate their own and others’ preferred conflict styles, so that they can more effectively communicate and engage in a diverse work environment. It is perfect for department chairs, associate deans, and others who might manage in and through conflict (ie: all of us). Registered participants would take, in advance, the Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory, and the focus of the half-day workshop will be on building participants’ awareness using the Inventory.

This is an online workshop, held April 25 from 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; preregistration required by April 11. Please note, if you are SOE faculty or staff, your registration is not through this link.

Please consider signing up to be part of the conversation on creating a faculty-to-faculty mentoring program, to inform my work as I look forward to launching a comprehensive faculty mentoring program over the summer. Register here, so we can provide hospitality for everyone on Friday, March 25, from 1:30–3 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 210. If you cannot attend but would like to be a mentor—or be assigned a mentor—please email and tell me that.

And exciting news: The 2022 Baum Symposium will be comprised of a series of workshops focused on helping Drake faculty and staff respond ethically and compassionately to the shifts in higher education we have seen as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and demographic trends in our student body.  Featured speaker Cathy Davidson, the author of The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, will speak on the evening of Wednesday, May 5. The event will start at 7 p.m., and will be virtual.

Dr. Davidson is the winner of the 2021 Annual Advocacy Award from the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, the Founding Director of the Futures Initiative at CUNY, and a founding member of HASTAC: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory.  Her keynote will kick off an entire month of programming meant to help our faculty and staff address the ethical imperative of meeting our students where they are—emotionally, intellectually, and socially.  Please save the date, and watch for more.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

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

The annual J-Term Fair will be held on April 14, from 4:30–6 p.m. in Parents Hall, Olmsted Center. I encourage all faculty and staff who are teaching in January 2023 to attend—bring resources for students to learn more about your course and a sign-up sheet for you to be in touch with them.

We provide: the space, the tables, lemonade, and snacks. You provide: enthusiasm about the course you’re offering and a readiness to talk about it!

In recent years the fair has been exceptionally helpful for helping students learn about our travel offerings; I’d love to continue that, while highlighting as many of our on-campus and web-based J-Term courses as possible.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

The past two years have put this week’s core value to the test on many fronts. Yet, we remain: All In This Together.

• We embrace robust communication and transparency.
• We thrive through collaboration and teamwork.

While we have done our best to brave this storm together, we know that each person’s experience has been unique. And let’s acknowledge it, a lot has been asked of the Drake community as a whole. Students, in some ways, lost a portion of their “normal” college experience. Faculty had to completely change how they teach and interact with students. Some staff were asked to do less, some were asked to do more, some were asked to do much more. No one had a clear idea of what the future would look like and the uncertainty—along with all the other hurdles—has taken a toll.

Where we go from here is pivotal. Channeling appreciation and gratitude will help focus on a path lined with hope. One of the best ways for us to identify that path is to be intentional in the core sentiments embodied in this value. As an institution, we have been working on assuring channels of communication are more robust. We have taken positive strides toward increased transparency in HR—I know other units are doing the same.

Collaboration and teamwork must be embraced both vertically (within a department, up and down the chain of supervision) and horizontally (across teams and units). This is one of the spaces where absolutely everyone can help foster a working and learning environment that values collaboration and teamwork. It truly takes the entire Drake community to deliver the services and support our students, employees, and communities.

This is a great week to send a message to your favorite collaborators and teammates—including those who work outside of your team and your wonderful student workers. Please take a minute to reflect on the faculty, staff, and student workers who are happy to help you. It just takes a minute to send a note of gratitude and thanks, but when you receive such a note—the joy can last indefinitely.

Consistent with the goals of this core value, Drake HR is thrilled to again partner with All Staff Council to host a town hall. We are currently working to pin down the date—it will likely be in May at the close of the term. Whether it will be in person or virtual (or both) is still being determined. As we did last time, ASC will solicit questions in advance to build the discussion around the topics that are most important to you.

While our perspectives, experiences, and thoughts all vary, when it comes to what lies ahead, we are, indeed, all in this together—let’s find comfort in sharing the path before us. If you have the time and the weather cooperates, please join Renée Cramer, Nate Reagen, and Maureen De Armond for a Thursday walk. Come share the literal path with us. Meet us at 12:00 p.m. sharp on Thursday, March 24. We’ll meet on the sidewalk just southeast of Olmsted and walk a Bulldog Mile together (weather permitting). Wear your walking shoes!

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources; Nate Reagen, Office of the President