All posts by Linda Feiden

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Join the WellPower Challenge

Are you looking for a way to keep your fitness goals on track in 2021?  The WellPower Challenge may be for you.

This free web-based program encourages you to increase your daily physical activity with an opportunity to earn virtual badges and prizes for achieving and logging healthy activities, both physical and mental.  The challenge is part of the WellPower Movement, a new year-round activity-tracking website from the Wellbeing Partners and the Nebraska Sports Council.  The web portal content is focused on Nebraska organizations, but the WellPower Challenge is open to companies and organizations in Iowa and Nebraska.

The goal of the WellPower Challenge is to log at least 100 activity miles between Feb. 1 and April 30.  Activity miles can be achieved by walking, running, biking, and/or converting other physical and mental health activities.  Those who log 100 miles by April 30 earn the WellPower 100 badge and will be entered into a drawing for more than 100 top-tier prizes. Prizes will also be awarded for earning 25- and 50-mile badges.

You may join individually or invite friends, family, and co-workers and compete as a group.

For more information, please email linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

New out-of-state work policy

Drake has developed a new policy establishing a mandatory University-wide process for securing approval for all employee out-of-state work arrangements; this policy applies to all part-time and full-time faculty and staff of the University.  All interested members of the Drake community are encouraged to review and comment on these policy revisions by Feb. 15.

— Jessica Morgan-Tate, Finance & Administration

Campus Announcements Archive

COVID-19 Vaccine Survey: Responses needed

The Student College of Clinical Pharmacy (SCCP), Drake chapter, needs your help with a survey concerning COVID-19 vaccine confidence and barriers. The survey consists of 20–25 questions that will gather your thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as some pertinent demographic information. Please complete the survey, which should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for helping us be #DrakeTogether.

— Andrew Miesner, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

News & Achievements Archive

Drake Law Professor Andrew Jurs elected to the prestigious American Law Institute

Drake Law School is pleased to announce that Andrew Jurs, the associate dean for academic affairs, the Clemens J. Smith Faculty Research Scholar, and a professor of law, has been elected as a member of the prestigious American Law Institute (ALI).

The Institute’s members consist of judges, professors, and lawyers, who are elected based on their “outstanding achievement in the legal profession.” The Institute’s mission is “to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to encourage and carry on scholarly and scientific legal work.” Many attorneys will be familiar with some of their work, such as the influential Restatements of the Law and uniform codes (such as the Uniform Commercial Code).

The ALI selected Professor Jurs based on his expertise in Expert Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence. His research focuses on the management and evaluation of expert evidence in the judicial system, mainly using empirical methods. His textbook on the use of expert witnesses in court, Expert Evidence, has been recently published by Carolina Academic Press. In addition, he has numerous law review articles on expert witness management, most recently A Tale of Two Dauberts: Discriminatory Effects of Scientific Reliability Screening, 79 Ohio State Law Journal 1107 (2018) (coauthored), and Expert Prevalence, Persuasion and Price: What Trial Participants Really Think About Experts, 91 Indiana Law Journal 353 (2016).

“I am honored and grateful to be invited to join the American Law Institute,” said Andrew. “I look forward to working with the distinguished membership of the Institute on their mission of seeking to improve the quality of justice in the United States. I am also thankful for the guidance and assistance of so many mentors, colleagues, and students in my years in the Academy, and know I could not have achieved this honor without them.”

In addition to his ALI membership, Professor Jurs also serves as a member of the Legal Task Group of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Organization of Scientific Area Committees, and has previously served as a member of the executive committee of the AALS Section on Evidence with a term as chair in 2017-2018. Jurs joined the Drake Law faculty in 2011 and has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs since 2018.

— Theresa Howard, Law School

For Staff Archive

True Blue nominations open

The All Staff Council Recognition Committee is accepting True Blue nominations through April 1 to be entered into this year’s Sapphire Award nomination. A staff member who is called to be True Blue is someone who:

  1. Epitomizes the values of leadership, teamwork, and integrity, and exhibits their commitment to the Drake community.
  2. Has shown others what it takes to get a task or project done, and accomplishes that by working well with others.
  3. Is able to be honest and fair in the situations they face.
  4. Does all of these things for the betterment of Drake and its values and goals.

If this sounds like someone you know, make your nomination today! And, congratulations to all of the staff members who received a True Blue award last fall. We appreciate your hard work and dedication!

— Amelia Klatt, On behalf of All Staff Council

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Five ways to recognize a phishing email

As we begin the new year, it’s crucial that we all remain aware of the threat that email attacks pose and how to respond to them. As a reminder, here are some indications that an email might be dangerous or suspect:

  • A strange sender or one that you don’t expect
  • Coming from a Drake University colleague but sent from a Gmail or Yahoo account
  • A request that you take urgent action
  • Asking you to buy something for someone else
  • Links or attachments that don’t match the message content or that you don’t recognize

Before acting on any of these, slow down and take a second look. If you receive an email that you suspect is phishing or spam, don’t click any links, download an attachment, or reply. Instead, you can block the sender from sending you additional emails using the junk mail folder option in Outlook. You can also forward the email as an attachment to informationsecurity@drake.edu and then delete it.

ITS will be continuing phishing education this month using emails that mimic real attacks. A short training lesson will be assigned to any faculty and staff who repeatedly click links or open attachments in phishing emails, simulated or not.

For additional information on how to report phishing emails, please see the IT Service Portal guide, Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).

— Jeremy Calvert, ITS

Campus Announcements Archive

Intensive English Program offers free learning opportunities

Drake’s Intensive English Program (IEP) provides free learning opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to improve English skills. Our IEP offers intermediate and advanced level classes with an academic focus. If you feel that you may need additional help in a certain English skill area, be it advanced academic writing, grammar, or speaking, or if you simply would like to improve your pronunciation, you may want to consider taking one of our classes. The best news is that full-time Drake students, including exchange students, staff, and faculty can take IEP classes free of charge. We also offer an American Culture course for anyone who is interested in a deeper understanding of the U.S. and its various cultural aspects.

All classes for the Spring 2021 semester are being offered remotely. Please note that these classes are not credit-bearing.

Our classes begin Monday, Feb. 1, and end Friday, May 7. The last day to register for classes is Friday, Feb. 5. If you are interested in joining a class, wish to see the schedule, or have questions about the program, contact Kendra Hossain-Morehead at kendra.hossain-morehead@drake.edu.

— Kendra Hossain-Morehead, Director of International Student and Scholar Services

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Faculty/Staff Wellness Interest Survey

At Drake, we recognize how important it is for our employees to stay healthy. We are also committed to creating an environment where faculty and staff feel engaged and supported.

Therefore, we are conducting a 2021 Faculty and Staff Wellness Interest Survey to determine your interest in participating in worksite wellness initiatives. We want to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to provide you with the programs, presentations, and activities designed to meet your needs.

Please help us by taking a few minutes to complete this brief survey.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Students Archive

Call for papers: Drake Undergraduate Social Science Journal Spring 2021 edition

The Drake Undergraduate Social Science Journal (DUSSJ) is now accepting submissions for its Spring 2021 edition.

Any current Drake undergraduate (or recent graduate) is eligible to submit a paper on a topic in the social sciences (political science, international relations, anthropology, sociology, economics, history, and social psychology). Submissions may be short analytic essays or longer research papers. Papers that feature thoughtful, original analysis, polished writing, and careful citation are especially welcome.

The deadline for submission is Friday, Feb. 12, 2021.

No more than one submission per person will be considered. Submissions will be blind peer-reviewed by a student editorial board. When submitting a paper, please indicate if it is a research paper or short analytic essay. Also, please indicate the primary discipline and any secondary discipline(s).

See drake.edu/dussj for additional information. Questions and submissions should be sent to the DUSSJ faculty advisor, Professor Heath Henderson, at advisor.dussj@gmail.com.

— Heath Henderson, College of Business & Public Administration