We are hitting that point of the semester where faculty might be asking themselves: Why Bother?

Why Bother grading this stack of papers … there’s just another one around the corner/on the syllabus. Why Bother thinking about my research agenda or creative projects … I don’t have time to work on them. Why Bother meeting a friend for lunch in the middle of the day … I’ll just fall a bit more behind. Why Bother revamping that syllabus for fall … I don’t have the energy for it.

Or, my personal favorite: Why Bother resting now …. Summer is almost here, I can survive a bit longer.

Writer and writing coach Jennifer Louden isn’t an academic—but she has some terrific answers to the perennial problem of Why Bother?

The final Books for Breakfast of the academic year will be April 20 and April 27, from 8:30–9:30 a.m. in Howard Hall, Room 210, and we will be reading Why Bother? Discover the Desire for What’s Next. Sign up, here, by April 8.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

To ensure appropriate safety practices for all types of vehicles on campus, the Risk and Insurance Office and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety are implementing a new golf cart/utility vehicle safety program for all employees and students who operate these vehicles on campus. This program will make navigating campus safer for drivers and pedestrians, while helping to ensure drivers are equipped with the information they need to operate these vehicles effectively.

If you are an approved driver and selected golf carts/utility vehicles as a vehicle you are driving on the latest motor vehicle report you will receive and an email from durisk@drake.edu providing you information on how to complete a brief recorded training module. In addition, a one-time in person training with a golf cart or utility vehicle is required. While the recorded training is required annually, the in-person training is only to be completed once.  If you anticipate driving a golf cart or utility vehicle at any time and are not an approved driver, please complete the Motor Vehicle Report.

If your department is planning on renting a golf cart or utility vehicle please fill out Golf Cart Rental form. This will need to be approved by Risk and Insurance Office prior to operation on campus.

If you receive an email and no longer drive a golf cart or utility vehicle please let us know so we can remove you from our list.

Questions about the new process and protocols may be directed to durisk@drake.edu.

— Kelly Foster, Finance and Administration

We are seeking applicants to teach Drake’s first-year student success course, Bulldog Foundations. It will be a fun experience this fall implementing the recent curriculum revisions, guided by student input. Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent, and teaching experience is preferred. Learn more and sign up for a short consultation session.

Bulldog Foundations helps students explore concepts and develop skills that are crucial for the development of meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishments, and responsible global citizenship. Students will explore the elements of an equitable and inclusive community, consider life skills necessary for success, and refine academic strategies. This course helps students transition into the Drake community with ease.

The course will run for the first eleven weeks of the semester and will meet once a week for fifty minutes. Instructors will be given all curriculum, materials, and facilitator guides for the course, and will not need to develop any curriculum on their own.

In addition to assigned class time, chosen instructors will need to attend an all-day training the week of Aug. 1, a check-in meeting the week of Sept. 19 and a wrap-up meeting during the week of Fall 2022 finals.

Instructors will be paid a $1000 stipend for teaching Bulldog Foundations unless this course serves as a part of your full-time teaching load.

To apply, fill out the google form. The application is due Friday, April 1.

— Bulldog Foundations Planning Team

As we wind down Employee Appreciation Month, we share gratitude for all members of the Drake community who have sustained a commitment to our mission during these challenging and uncertain times.

Commitment to Mission.

• We are united in service to students and our communities.
• We act with integrity and purpose.
• We are optimistic about our future.

Universities are unlike many other employers—we’re not providing an arm’s length service, we’re not creating a product that gets sold on the market, and we’re not temporarily serving a customer who may never return to our store.

We’re educating students and many of them live on our campus. We build life-long relationships with them with the goal of empowering each of them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for them to achieve their professional goals and contribute to society. Some words from President Martin’s email to campus in June of 2016 that still inspire:

Education opens minds and hearts – it creates understanding and union where none existed before. This is what we are about and we have our role to play in making the world a better place by becoming ever more engaged, locally and globally.

Put another way, there’s a lot at stake here. We all know this and it shows. We know that our work matters—there’s a larger picture here, a greater purpose. Drake faculty, staff, and student workers have moved mountains to sustain this commitment to our students during this roller-coaster ride of the past two years. We are so appreciative of the agility and determination of our employees that has allowed this institution to sustain our commitment to our important mission.

In many ways, the work of an institution of higher education has optimism built into it. We all know that we are contributing to something larger than ourselves. We are cultivating the next generation of professionals, thinkers, and doers. The research our faculty conduct contributes to their professions. The support and opportunities we provide students can have a life-changing impact. Our students will remember their time at Drake for the rest of their lives. And we do everything we can to assure those memories are meaningful and positive.

Thank you for your commitment to the institution, to the students we serve, and to each other. The road ahead will still have bumps and dips—all roads do—but we are headed in an exciting direction. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your contributions. Thank you for caring about what we do and how we do it.

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