The University Bookstore is hiring temporary team members to help with the back-to-school rush. To apply, visit www.folletthiring.com. Hours during the school day are flexible. Saturday availability is mandatory.
— Donna Hallstrom, University Bookstore
The following is a list of upcoming workshops from The Ray Center offered through the Drake Office of Online and Continuing Education. For dates, times, and prices, or to register, visit drake.edu/doce/programs/.
Civility in the Work Place
Recent studies show that Americans believe our culture is uncivil. Civility will only improve when individuals commit to bettering their own actions. The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University is committed to helping individuals, organizations, and communities learn skills and strategies to help maintain civility, even during the most difficult conversations. In this session, participants will learn the importance of establishing connection, how to rephrase attack statements, and how to seek understanding and common ground.
Managing Stress at Work
Stress is a constant in our lives. No matter the steps taken to reduce stress, it will always show up again. As leaders, it is important to manage our stress so that we can overcome challenges and obstacles and keep pursuing our goal, and help our team members manage their stress as well. In this session, participants will learn about the difference between good stress and distress, and develop a stress management plan that helps them recognize their stress, choose the right mindset, take the right actions, and evaluate the outcome of their stress management.
— Amy Smit, Robert D. & Billie Ray Center
Join Employee & Family Resources on Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. for the 30-minute webinar: “Stop Beating Yourself Up: Using Mindfulness and Self-Compassion During Difficult Times.”
Register here, and/or listen to past, recorded webinars in the weekly series designed to educate, enlighten, and inspire healthier behaviors and attitudes.
If life is weighing you down, Employee & Family Resources offers a variety of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources to help you now or anytime. Reach EAP by phone (800-327-4692) or visit their website. All EAP benefits are confidential and available 24/7.
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
The Fall 2020 Faculty Writers Workshop will meet online from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the following Fridays: Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13, and Dec. 11. To participate, complete the interest form by 12 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.
Drake faculty members are invited to participate in the Faculty Writers Workshop (FWW), a writing group focused on working effectively on our scholarship. We will meet via teleconference from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. monthly on Fridays.
The FWW will be co-facilitated by Nate Holdren (LPS) and En Li (History). Our goal will be to help set ourselves up to make progress on our scholarship over the semester. We will read Joli Jensen’s book Write No Matter What and discuss it to the degree that participants find it useful. The session will also include discussion/workshop of the faculty members’ own scholarship and on-site writing time.
This writing group is generously supported by the Provost’s Office and Humanities Center. There are spots for 10 faculty participants. Should more than 10 individuals express interest, priority shall be given to 1) those who actively participated in the previous Faculty Writing Groups, 2) tenure-track faculty who are not yet tenured, 3) faculty who are members of groups under-represented.
All meetings will be conducted virtually this fall. Participants who attend all five sessions will receive a stipend of $150, pre-tax.
If you are interested in participating, please fill out the interest form by 12 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.
For questions, contact co-facilitators Nate Holdren (nate.holdren@drake.edu) and En Li (en.li@drake.edu).
— Nate Holdren, Law, Politics & Society
Over the past few months, ITS has been developing a framework to better support Drake-owned computers remotely. These solutions will help ensure campus-owned computers are kept up to date, remain secure, and streamline tasks such as changing passwords from off campus.
The first step toward remotely managing Drake-owned computers is to change the way everyone signs into Microsoft 365 applications including myDrake, Teams, Outlook, and Office. This requires moving from our current login process to using Microsoft’s authentication solution.
On Monday, Aug. 31, ITS will begin using Microsoft’s authentication workflow. After this change, all logins to Microsoft 365 applications will require you to use your Drake email address as your username instead of your 9-digit Drake ID. This change will only affect Microsoft-connected applications like myDrake. Non-Microsoft 365 applications will continue to accept either your Drake email address or 9-digit Drake ID as a username.
We are working on creating documentation and will provide more information as we get closer to this change.
— Christopher Mielke, ITS
The American Lung Association (ALA) is offering a free one-year membership to Freedom from Smoking Plus (FFS Plus). This interactive online program works on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones and includes telephone, chat, and email support.
Freedom from Smoking Plus assesses your readiness to quit and guides you through a three-part process from getting ready to quit, to quit day, and finally, staying smoke free. There are online tips and tools to keep you on track as well as access to ALA tobacco cessation counselors. You may also visit the Freedom from Smoking online community to interact with others who are working to break their tobacco addiction.
To join this program, click on the link: bit.ly/ALAFFSPLUS. Users can set up a profile to begin the self-paced, nine-module course. FFS Plus includes 12 months of continuous support.
FFS Plus normally costs $99.95 but the ALA is offering it at no cost for a limited time. So, if you are a tobacco user who is contemplating quitting, now is the time to join.
Should you have any questions, please contact the American Lung Association’s National Tobacco Team at freedomfromsmoking@lung.org.
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
The Offices of the Registrar and Student Accounts (including cashier), previously located in the lower level of Old Main, have joined the Office of Student Financial Planning in the main level of Carnegie Hall to create a “one-stop” student experience for all matters related to student finance and registration. Because billing and financial aid are closely related to course registration, this restructuring will provide a more seamless service for Drake students.
However, this change also increases the potential for foot traffic to Carnegie Hall. For your safety, we strongly encourage you to make an appointment prior to visiting the Offices of Student Accounts, Registrar, or Student Financial Planning (see details below):
Whenever possible, virtual meeting options such as video or audio calls will be encouraged. Microsoft Teams is available to all Drake students and provides a great platform for screen sharing, file transmission, and other powerful features.
If you visit Carnegie Hall, please be aware that the north doors (facing Carpenter Avenue) are designated as entrance-only. The south door (facing Cole Hall) will be designated exit-only. To access ITS Support in the lower level of Carnegie, use the ramp on the east side of the building (facing Old Main).
Welcome back, and we look forward to serving you!
— Offices of the Registrar, Student Accounts, and Student Financial Planning
Bulldog Plaza:
Building our Future on the Foundations of Our Past . . . literally.
During our excavation to place the footings for the new granite walls along University Avenue in front of Old Main, we discovered the foundations of a previous building. The existing foundations mirrored nearly the same path needed for our new project, and were proving to be nearly impossible to remove given their size. We verified with our structural engineer, and in the end, chose to embrace the past, and use the abandoned footings as our new base.
Over the next few weeks, the project will really begin to take shape with the completion of the granite wall, sidewalk, and plaza paver installations, including the masonry base construction for our newest bulldog sculpture on campus. Remaining construction items are planned for completion the week of Aug. 24. As the construction activities wrap up, temporary fence will be removed, with site restoration, grading, and landscaping to continue. Funding for this project is made possible through multiple philanthropic gifts.
Hubbell Dining Renovation:
We have had an incredible summer of construction at Hubbell Dining Hall. While students are counting the days until the start of the fall semester, contractors, design teams, and Drake staff are working hard to make that a return to the new, instead of the old. The thousands of planning, design, and construction hours needed to transform Hubbell Dining Center are nearing the finish line. The new finishes, kitchen spaces, and serving stations, are just a part of the improved overall dining experience available for students returning to campus in a couple of weeks.
Our teams have also been working diligently on providing a safe dining experience compliant with other COVID protocols we are using throughout campus. Funding for this multi-million dollar remodel is provided by our dining partners, Sodexo.
— Michelle Huggins, Facilities Planning & Management
Dean Chesnut took an oath as the 2020-2021 chair-elect of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Council of Deans Administrative Board in July during the 2020 virtual AACP annual meeting.
The mission of the Council of Deans is to identify and address major issues related to the conduct of professional, post-professional and graduate education, research and service in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences.
— Kaylyn Maher, Dean of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Starting Aug. 9, when you log into Blackboard, your landing page will look different. Learn more about the updated navigation at Getting Started with Ultra Base Navigation in Learn Ultra (How-to). The basic background and colors will all be a standard Drake color scheme.
Faculty can, however, customize a course by uploading a banner image. Learn more about customizing course images including guidance around image quality, size, and fair use at Creating Course Card Images/Course Banners in Learn Ultra (Best Practices).
Learn more about the larger Learn Ultra upgrade project, who to contact, and the proposed timeline at our FAQ page at drake.edu/its/learnultra/ and we will continue to add help documentation to the Learn Ultra category in the Knowledge Base of our IT service portal.
— Karly Good, ITS
