All posts by Colin Atkinson

Campus Announcements Archive

Tree Campus award and tree removal update

For the past 10 years, Drake University has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus (Higher Education) and once again our campus has received this award for 2021. To be honored with this prestigious award requires an annual application process. The benchmarks include maintaining a tree advisory committee, adherence to a Campus Tree Care Plan, dedicated expenditures for the Campus Tree Care Program, an Arbor Day Observance, and a Service-Learning Project. The application is approved by the Iowa DNR and the Arbor Day Foundation.

Drake has more than 1,500 trees on campus, including about 130 Ash trees. Decisions to remove trees are made only after careful analysis of whether the tree can be saved as well as evaluating potential safety issues. Our grounds team puts a great deal of time and effort into planting and caring for the trees we have on campus. Over the last five years, Drake grounds staff has planted 379 new trees on campus.

Recently, it was determined that an ash tree needed to be removed and an oak tree needed to be pruned near Meredith/Jewett.  With warmer temperatures, our contractor was able to complete this work last week.

— Colin Atkinson, Facilities Planning and Management

Campus Announcements Archive

Cowles Library receives grant for women’s suffrage discussion project

Cowles Library is one of 25 libraries nationwide selected to participate in Let’s Talk About It (LTAI): Women’s Suffrage, a grant designed to spark conversations about American history and culture through an examination of the women’s suffrage movement.

During the spring semester, five conversations will be held, each focusing on one grant-nominated book. Each discussion will be led by one Drake faculty member and one Drake student. The programming is sponsored by Cowles Library, Department of History, and Women’s and Gender Studies Program and further builds on the discussions around the traveling exhibit, Toward a Universal Suffrage:  American American Women in Iowa and the Vote For All, on display in the Cowles Library Reading Room from February 21–March 7.

As part of the grant, Cowles Library will receive the following books:

The first discussion in the Drake series will be on Elaine Weiss’s The Woman’s Hour:  The Great Fight to Win the Vote. It will be co-facilitated by Professor Rachel Paine Caufield and Emma Brustkern on Wednesday, March 2, at 5:30pm in the Cowles Library Reading Room.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2022, Let’s Talk About It is a reading and discussion program that involves groups of people reading a series of books selected by national project scholars and discussing them in the context of an overarching theme. The format for a Let’s Talk About It program involves a ten-week series. Every two weeks, a discussion group meets with a local humanities scholar to discuss one of the five books in the theme.

LTAI: Women’s Suffrage is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). To explore resources from past LTAI themes, visit the project website.

For more information on the series please visit researchguides.drake.edu/suffrage  or contact any member of the LTAI:  Women’s Suffrage Planning Committee:  Jill Allen, Hope Bibens, Carrie Dunham-LaGree, and Karen Leroux.

— Hope Bibens, University Archives and Special Collections

For Staff Archive

All Staff Council Special Interest Committee seeks your input

The All Staff Council Special Interest Committee explores initiatives, questions, and/or concerns through research, planning, and collaboration with appropriate offices on campus.

To help ensure that the work of our committee is aligned with staff needs, please share any suggestions, concerns, or other feedback you’d like us to look into using this form. If you’d like us to respond to your feedback directly, please include your name and contact information, otherwise let us know your thoughts anonymously.

The Special Interest Committee chair is Laura Bjurstrom. Additional members of the committee are Megan Franklin, Lori Richman, Rashmee Virmani, Erica McGowan, and Diana Newman.

Also, mark your calendars for our next Bulldogs Connect Networking Lunch on Wednesday, March 30, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Come join us for a $5 lunch at Hubbell Dining Hall.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

For Staff Archive

High-five from Griff II coming your way

Drake staff can be on the look-out for some special Griff II magnets this month, as part of Staff Appreciation Month. Two hundred magnets are being distributed through All Staff Council, and will be circulating among staff throughout the month of March.

Here’s how it works:

  • The magnets will be given out as a high-five for a job well done—a way to say, “I see you, and I appreciate you.”
  • Once received, individuals are encouraged to keep the magnets for just a few days, but be watching for a colleague who also deserves a high-five.
  • The magnets can be handed off again and again, reaching as many of Drake’s amazing staff members as possible.

Feel free to add a note of appreciation, a treat, or a simple (masked) smile—just keep those magnets circulating.

This is a joint project through the All Staff Council Recognition Committee and Human Resources.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

HR Information Archive

Wellness premium incentive program

Many people start the year out by getting their annual physical.  If that sounds like you and you are on Drake’s health plan, don’t forget to take a copy of the Premium Discount–Annual Physical Form to your appointment. This form can be found on myDrake under the Employee Wellness section of Human Resources.

Those on Drake’s health plan who complete a physical with their PCP between Dec. 1, 2021 and Nov. 30, 2022 and submit a Premium Discount–Annual Physical Form by Dec. 2, 2022, will receive the wellness health insurance premium discount in 2023, which is a savings of approximately $30 per month. 

If you already had your physical since Dec. 1, 2021, please fill out the form and turn it in now.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Time is running out to nominate a colleague for a Maddie Levitt Award

Nominations for the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service and Employee Excellence Awards are due to Human Resources by Friday, March 4.

Madelyn M. Levitt established the Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff to the Drake community. The nominee must be a current faculty or staff member with at least five years of service at Drake.

The Employee Excellence Award is presented to a staff member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. The nominee must be a current staff member with at least one year of service at Drake.

To nominate a colleague, submit a letter of nomination to Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent through campus mail or electronically to drakehr@drake.edu.  The letter should detail specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria. Additional letters of support are not necessary.

For additional information, please contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

More info on sending emails with confidential information

ITS received some questions about the scope of the upcoming requirement to encrypt email messages that contain certain types of confidential information that was announced in the Feb. 1 issue of OnCampus.

To clarify, emails that include the following types of information will initially be flagged by the system and an automated notification will be returned to the sender, but the message will still be sent:

  • Social Security numbers
  • Tax Identification numbers
  • Driver’s License numbers
  • US Passport numbers
  • Credit card information

Starting May 1, any unencrypted email to a non drake.edu email address that includes the type of confidential information listed above won’t be sent. You will receive an automated response letting you know your email was not sent. You can then either follow the provided instructions and encrypt your email, or resend without the confidential information.

See instructions below on how to send and open encrypted emails:

Sending and Receiving Encrypted Email Messages (How-to)

Further questions about this upcoming change? Or about Drake’s Information Security policy? Please contact informationsecurity@drake.edu.

— Chris Mielke, ITS

HR Information Archive

Levitt Distinguished Community Service and Employee Excellence awards due March 4

All Drake faculty and staff are invited and encouraged to nominate a colleague for the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service and Employee Excellence Awards.

Madelyn M. Levitt established the Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff to the Drake community. Recipients are chosen on the following criteria:

  • A demonstrated personal commitment to volunteerism and community service
  • An outstanding record of leadership or substantial involvement in community projects, services and activities contributing to the quality of life in our region, state and/or the nation
  • Professional and personal values and behavior that typify the ideals of “giving back to others” and “making a difference in the lives of others”

The nominee must be a current faculty or staff member with at least five years of service at Drake.

The Employee Excellence Award is presented to a staff member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. Criteria for the award includes:

  • Exceptional performance as an employee of Drake University
  • Outstanding dedication to providing courteous, prompt and quality service
  • Demonstrated commitment to University programs, initiatives, and services
  • Professional values and behavior that demonstrate exceptional service to others and a commitment to Drake University

The nominee must be a current staff member with at least one year of service at Drake.

To nominate a colleague, submit a letter of nomination to Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent through campus mail or electronically to drakehr@drake.edu.  The letter should detail specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria. Additional letters of support are not necessary. Nominations are due to Human Resources by Friday, March 4.

For additional information, please contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Students Archive

Be a student media leader

The Board of Student Communications is looking for next year’s media leaders. The BSC oversees Drake’s campus media: Drake Broadcasting System, Drake Magazine, Drake Political Review, DUiN, Periphery, and The Times-Delphic. Students interested in serving as editor-in-chief of a BSC publication or president of DBS must apply for their desired position by March 11. To apply, send your resume and cover letter addressing your vision for the organization to Prof. Inman (jeff.inman@drake.edu) and SJMC Student Senator Madeleine Leigh (madeleine.leigh@drake.edu). Interviews will be held March 25.

— Jeff Inman, SJMC

For Students Archive

Be an advertising innovator

Help the Board of Student Communications rethink advertising across student media. The BSC will be hiring its first BSC ad director for the 2022–2023 academic year. This position will oversee the creation and execution of a plan to sell advertising across BSC publications that accept advertising. Students interested in the position must apply by March 11. To apply, send your resume and cover letter addressing your vision for the organization to Inman (jeff.inman@drake.edu) and Leigh (madeleine.leigh@drake.edu). Interviews will be held March 25.

— Jeff Inman, SJMC