All posts by Renee Cramer

For Faculty Archive

Seeking nominations: Levitt professorships

Three new Levitt Professorships will be named this year.  The Office of the Provost invites nominations at this time.

The Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professorship has long been an important way to recognize and reward superior performance by Drake University faculty members. Levitt Professors are full professors who have demonstrated teaching effectiveness and/or mentoring excellence, professional contributions through scholarly activity, demonstrated leadership, consulting activities, and contributions to the mission of the department, college and university.  

In addition to the title, Levitt professors receive a $5,000 annual supplement to their salary.  The initial appointment is for five years.  During the fifth year, performance is reviewed to determine whether continuation as a Levitt professor is merited.  

 Nominations should be submitted to the Dean of the nominee’s college or school by March 8, 2022.  Self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged. Each nomination must include a letter of nomination that makes clear the qualifications of the individual to become a Levitt Professor and a current c.v.  

Deans will send their recommendations, along with the nominees’ credentials, to Deputy Provost Renée Cramer, who will convene a selection committee composed of faculty members holding distinguished professorships, to review the submitted nominations.  This group will make recommendations to Provost Mattison, who will make recommendations for appointment to President Martin and the Board of Trustees for appointment.  The professorship will be awarded effective July 1, 2022.

 Please direct any questions to Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost.  

Thank you for your attention to this opportunity to recognize the excellence of our outstanding faculty members. 

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

News & Achievements Archive

More than 80% of Drake students voted in 2020 election

More than eight in 10 (80.4%) Drake University students voted in the 2020 General Election, according to a national study published by Tufts University. Drake student turnout exceeded the national average of 66%.

Drake student voter turnout increased almost 10% from the 2016 General Election, when 71.1% of Drake students voted. Drake also saw an increase in voter registration rates (from 88% in 2016 to 91.6% in 2020) and the voting rate of registered students (from 80.8% in 2016 to 87.7% in 2020).

Drake was just one of two participating schools to receive a Platinum Seal, meaning achievement of voting rate between 80–90%. Drake’s full report can be found here. 

Read the official press release. 

Learn more about voting and civic engagement efforts with the Office of Community Engaged Learning.

The Office of Community Engaged Learning is a department within the Academic Excellence & Student Success unit.

— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning

HR Information Archive

Call for nominations: Levitt Distinguished Community Service and Employee Excellence Awards

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

HR Information Archive

Boost your nutrition in 2022

For those faculty and staff who are interested in finding new ideas to boost your nutritional goals, there are a couple good options.

Samantha “Sam” Matt, MS, RDN, LDN, is Drake’s on campus dietitian and a wonderful resource.  Sam offers free one-on-one nutrition counseling for faculty and staff.  Nutrition topics include healthy eating, cooking/shopping tips, disease management, weight management, sports nutrition, food allergy management, and general health and wellness.  For more information, or to schedule an appointment, contact Sam at samantha.matt@sodexo.com.

In addition, Hy-Vee is hosting Wellness Wednesdays and a Virtual Freezer Prep event.

Wellness Wednesdays

Tune in virtually for a live complimentary wellness session over your lunch hour. Each week learn about hot trending nutrition topics and delicious foods and/or recipes to add to your routine. Register Here

  • February 2nd- Heart Healthy Hummus
  • February 9th- Heart Healthy Cooking Oils
  • February 16th- Smoothie Boosters
  • February 23rd- Dietitian’s Dessert

Virtual Freezer Meal Prep Workshop

Free up time in your week by prepping ahead in this virtual class. In under an hour, prepare 5 freezer meals to feed 4-6 people. Cost is $10. Register Here

  • February Menu: Egg Burritos, Tomato Basil Cheese Tortellini, Balsamic Honey Pork Tenderloin with Pears, Maple Glazed Salmon, Mississippi Pot Roast
  • March Menu: Ranch Pork Chops, Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Burrito Bowl, Lasagna Ravioli, Teriyaki Shrimp Stir-fry

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Unencrypted emails containing confidential information

In November 2021, we had a cybersecurity company, Grey Castle Security, perform a campus-wide review. One of the issues they identified was the sending of confidential information using insecure methods. As a response, we are beginning to send automated email messages to anyone who emails unencrypted confidential information.

This type of information can be emailed as long as it’s properly protected. See instructions linked below:

Sending and Receiving Encrypted Email Messages (How-to)

For now, anyone who sends an email with unprotected information will receive an automated response, but the email will still be sent. Starting May 1, any outgoing unencrypted emails including confidential information will need to be re-sent with appropriate security precautions.

Questions about this upcoming change? Please contact informationsecurity@drake.edu

— Carla Herling, ITS

For Students Archive

Textbook refund period

Textbooks for the spring semester may be refunded through Feb. 4. For eligible returns, new textbooks cannot have bent binding or pages, no writing or highlighting. Loose-leaf books must be in their shrink wrap and access codes must remained sealed. For any textbook purchase after Feb. 4, the refund window is seven business days with the exception of the final two weeks of the semester.

Late fall semester rental returns will also be accepted until Feb. 4 and credited back to your account.

— Kyle McVay, University Bookstore

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

What do we do with student evaluations?

Actual comments I’ve received on course evaluations, over two decades of teaching: “Professor Cramer can be so random; adhd much? And I don’t even know why she bothers writing on the board—no one can read it.”  “So.Much.Work for this class.”  “If you’re going to assign all of that reading, we should at least discuss it.”  “Keep her forever, Drake!” “This was my favorite class!” “Hawt.” “U dress so cute!” “Women with young children should be in the home.”

Yep – from the honest but hurtful, to the helpful critique – from the lovely (but vague) kudos to the inappropriate comments on my physical appearance and life choices – my end-of-semester evaluations from students have run the gamut.  And, yep: I’ve obsessed over the mean ones, the pointless ones, and the ones that boost my ego when it flags.

We know, from the ample literature on student evaluations of teaching, that they are absolutely flawed instruments.  We also know that we use them for developmental conversations with our chairs and colleagues, as evidence of teaching effectiveness in our tenure and promotion materials, and as a way to think about how we approach the same course, the second-third-fifteenth time around.

What should we do, then, with teaching evaluations?  How can we read them in a way that helps our pedagogy?  And, what other forms of evidence could we use to establish a record of excellent teaching?

Please join Deputy Provost Renée Cramer in a Center for Teaching Excellence conversation: What Do We Do With Student Evaluations? Our conversation on Friday, Feb. 25, from 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (lunch provided) in Howard Hall will explore how faculty can read, understand, and integrate what we learn from student evaluations of our teaching. We will also discuss the problems of relying on these kinds of evaluation, and talk about how we can, perhaps, better understand if we are meeting our goals and objectives in the courses we teach, than through sole reliance on a potentially problematic instrument.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost