All posts by Carla Herling

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Update: Teams calling/phone disruptions

In January, ITS began upgrading the campus phone system and moving faculty and staff extensions to Microsoft Teams. Previously, our phone system consisted of a patchwork of four different systems connected by a hub that was more than 30 years old. 

Throughout the year, ITS staff have moved additional extensions in common areas to Teams calling and have continued to decommission older systems. The overall project, however, is still in progress.  

Throughout this transition, faculty and staff have notified us of issues with response delays and dropped calls. If you have already reported an issue to the IT service portal, thank you. Our staff continue to work through these requests. As we troubleshoot issues it is very helpful for us to know when calls are dropped or other issues occur. If this happens, please submit a Calling/Phone Issue at the IT service portal.  

Thank you for your patience and assistance as we work toward this project’s completion. We are dedicated to providing reliable services and expect disruptions to decrease as this work progresses.   

— Keren Fiorenza, acting CITO, Information Technology Services  

News & Achievements Archive

Flores among five applicants to receive competitive CVS Health Minority Scholarship

Gustavo Flores, a second-year student pharmacist in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is one of five student pharmacists in the nation among 489 applicants to receive a 2021–2022 CVS Health Minority Scholarship. Flores will receive a $8,000 scholarship and national recognition. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and CVS Health partner to offer the annual scholarship program. The purpose of the scholarship is to reduce challenges and financial barriers that underrepresented minority students who are pursuing a PharmD degree face and to support them in caring for an increasingly diverse population of patients as part of a health care team.

Flores hit the ground running from his first day in Drake’s PharmD program in 2020 and asserted himself as a student leader and an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. He spent many days volunteering at Drake’s COVID-19 student testing clinic as students moved on campus and volunteered at vaccination clinics throughout the spring 2021 semester. Flores is also the president-elect of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists.

He is a member of the College’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workgroup and was a co-leader for the College’s virtual Spanish Medical Conversation Hours project during the 2020–2021 academic year. Flores is also recognized by his instructors for his passion in giving back to assist Spanish-speaking patients at clinical sites.

“I am honored and thankful to be one of the recipients of the CVS Health Minority Scholarship,” said Flores. “This award will lighten the financial burden of pharmacy school which will allow me to focus on my academics and volunteering within the community. As a first-generation Hispanic student, it is one of my goals to increase representation in the health care community and be an advocate for underrepresented and low-income communities. Once again, thank you CVS Health and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.”

Read more.

— Kaylyn Maher, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Internal department sites coming to myDrake Sept. 23

In an effort to better target communications to both internal and external audiences, ITS and University Communications and Marketing are collaborating to expand myDrake. This team has been developing an internal website (intranet) to house campus-facing information securely, and provide an easier path to navigate to forms, instructions, department news, and other key information for the Drake community. This internal website (intranet) is built on the same platform as the myDrake campus portal and the new navigation page will become available from myDrake on the evening of Sept. 23.

A new link called Department Sites will be added to the Campus Resources section of myDrake and will initially take you to existing departmental sub-sites on www.drake.edu. ITS will be working with departments to move selected content into the new internal website and out of www.drake.edu.

If your department would like to volunteer to be an early adopter, please reach out to Jeff Regan at jeffrey.regan@drake.edu.

— Carla Herling, ITS

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Direct Travel: Drake’s new non-athletic travel partner

Drake University made a change to its travel program earlier this spring switching to Direct Travel as its new travel management partner for all non-athletic departments.  Drake Universityand Direct Travel have been working closely over the past few months to ensure a seamless transition with minimal impact to our travelers and overall travel program.    

As the University begins to allow some travel again, we wanted to take this opportunity to outline how to get set up with Direct Travel.

 A few items to note:

  • Existing travel profiles including preferences, loyalty numbers, unused tickets, etc were transferred to Direct Travel
  • The phone number is still 877-263-2550
  • New agent support email address: corporatealo@dt.com  
  • New Direct Travel Itineraries (Direct2U)

Online Booking Tool
Drake University is using Etta powered by Deem as its online booking tool.  Etta provides business travelers an effortless and modern booking experience including enhancements like Deem’s innovative Travel SafetyCheck which presents hotel neighborhood safety scores as well as current and historical COVID related information in the selected area.  Setting up your Direct Travel profile is easy!  Just follow these simple steps.  Watch the training video for step-by-step instructions on how to book your first trip!

In the coming weeks, we will continue to share information about our travel program, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email procurement@drake.edu.  

— Heather Winslow, Administrative Services Specialist

For Staff Archive

All Staff Council presents: Walking the Dog

Grab your walking shoes and join the All Staff Council in walking the Bulldog Mile every Friday at noon from Oct. 1–Nov. 19.

It’s simple: show up at the start of the Bulldog Mile (sidewalk southeast of the Olmsted Center) and follow the signage and large blue paw prints while enjoying the fresh air and a conversation with a colleague. An ASC committee member will greet you (weather permitting), and walk the Bulldog Mile with you. We look forward to seeing you there!

— Sydni Jennings, Dean’s Office, CPHS

HR Information Archive

Join this year’s Healthiest State Walk

Grab your walking shoes and join this year’s Healthiest State Walk on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

We know that you spend a lot of time working, and it is important to find ways to prioritize staying healthy and active. The Iowa Healthiest State 11th Annual Walk, presented by Delta Dental of Iowa, is a great way to get started, or keep moving.

To mitigate risk, we will not meet as a large group to start the walk together this year. Instead, we are asking faculty, staff, and students to take a break sometime during the day on Oct. 6 and go for a walk. Thirty minutes is ideal, but any amount of time is great. If you are on campus, walk the Bulldog Mile. This one-mile path begins on the sidewalk east of the Olmsted Center. Just follow the signage and big blue paw prints.

As an added bonus, everyone who sends an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu after they complete their Healthiest State Walk will be placed in a drawing for a chance at prizes.

Let’s get moving and “Walk the Dog”—the “Bulldog Mile!”

—Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Campus Announcements Archive

Called to be True Blue

Ann Guddall and Marietta Jackson were surprised with True Blue awards by the All Staff Council Recognition Committee this month.

Ann Guddall, budget manager, Academic Affairs, was recognized for “being reliable and generous with her time and expertise. Ann leads the academic budget officers and does so with thoughtful and clear communication. She is always direct and always professional. She has fostered so much teamwork among the BOMs.” Ann is a true example of We are All in This Together. She was nominated by Drinda Williams.

Marietta Jackson, Sodexo manager, was recognized for “always having a smile on her face and being happy to go the extra mile to make sure everything goes smoothly at the register and behind the counter. Marietta is the pentacle of customer service and is very welcoming to all.” Marietta is a true example of Joyful Accountability. She was nominated by Teresa Downs.

If you would like to recognize a staff member for being True Blue, visit our webpage to learn more and submit a nomination.

News & Achievements Archive

Drake Law School’s Laurie Doré and Mark Bennett selected for Supreme Court task force

The Supreme Court’s task force to review the Iowa Rules of Evidence will include Laurie Doré, Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professor of Law, and the Honorable Mark W. Bennett, director of the Drake University Law School Institute for Justice Reform and Innovation. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen established the Iowa Rules of Evidence Substantive Review Task Force to evaluate and recommend substantive updates to the Rules of Evidence. The task force is charged with comparing the Iowa Rules of Evidence to their federal counterparts, identifying differences, and providing input to the Supreme Court regarding conforming changes.

Professor Doré is an expert on Iowa evidence and civil procedure. She has authored the Iowa Practice Series, Vol. 7: Evidence (West) since 2009. She has taught Evidence at Drake Law School since 1992.  Hon. Mark W. Bennett (ret.) served a total of 28 years on the bench as a U.S. district court judge in the Northern District of Iowa (1994-2019; chief judge 2000-2007) and U.S. magistrate judge in the Southern District of Iowa (1991-1994.) He has presided over more than 300 jury trials in six federal courts spanning the Middle District of Florida to the District of the Northern Mariana Islands and has authored numerous articles on improving trial practice.

“We are proud of the experience and expertise Judge Bennett and Professor Doré offer this process,” said Jerry Anderson, Dean of Drake Law School. “They will be invaluable assets to the important work of this task force.”

— Theresa Howard, Law School

For Faculty Archive

Community Engaged Learning faculty conversations

This fall the Office of Community Engaged Learning is facilitating a Community of Practice focused on Changemaking.

Changemaking has become the umbrella term we are using to inspire a culture of students with a bias toward action—whether as an entrepreneur or engaged citizen—to challenge prevailing social issues. It is also the theme of our spring Global Citizen Forum and one of the priority themes of our next comprehensive campaign.

If you missed our first Changemaking 101 session, a recording of the session is available on the CEL website. (Select the Community of Practice drop down).

 Our second session, “Moving from Direct Service to Social Innovation: The Drake Way,” is scheduled for Oct. 5 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Building upon our Changemaking 101 session (slides attached, review the recording by clicking the Community of Practice drop down) we will dig into what Changemaking can look like in practice at Drake and continue to explore the Grinnell Service and Social Innovation model in context to Drake’s culture and campus. We will also introduce the Pathways of Civic Action and Social Change, explore Drake examples in action, and provide room for you to share current social change projects you and your students are working on.

Please contact Renee Sedlacek Lee, director of Community Engaged Learning, at renee.sedlacek@drake.edu to register.

— Renee Cramer, Provost’s Office