Yesterday, Oct. 12, was Indigenous People’s Day—a day to celebrate and honor Indigenous people, while recognizing the issues of persecution and discrimination they have faced for centuries.

In support of this day, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would like to draw attention to Drake’s Land Acknowledgement web page.

A land acknowledgement is a formal statement presented at the beginning of public events and gatherings that recognizes and honors indigenous peoples as traditional stewards of the land. If you are planning to give a formal presentation, lecture, or speech on campus, please consider adding this land acknowledgement statement to the beginning of your speech.

As stated by the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, “Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth.”

For more information on Indigenous and Native Peoples in Iowa – check out the Office of Native Americans, an Office of the Department of Human Rights of the State of Iowa.

— Tony Tyler, Associate Dean of Students

Back to Class features speakers from Drake’s campus in a virtual setting. Bulldogs are invited to join from wherever they are to learn about unique topics, hear from voices on campus, and connect with the Drake community. Visit the alumni website for a list of upcoming classes.

The next class is Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. featuring Executive Director Scott Raecker who will share about The Robert D. & Billie Ray Center and the center’s mission to enhance civility through ethical leadership and character development, as well as the services that are now provided globally from early childhood to the corporate, community and public service arena.

In addition, if you missed the popular Back to Class with Griff II on Sept. 29, no problem. View a recording of the session.

Do you have a topic you would like to share for the alumni relations Back to Class series or any questions about the series? Contact Amelia Klatt, assistant director of Alumni Relations, at amelia.klatt@drake.edu or 515–271–3378.

— Amelia Klatt, Alumni Relations

LifeServe Blood Center will set up a blood donation center in Cartwright Hall, Kern Commons on Friday, Oct. 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The blood drive is sponsored by Drake Law School in honor of the inaugural Cady Day of Public Service.

Every life-saving blood donor will have a health screening at their donation, learn their blood type, and receive a test for COVID-19 antibodies to help the state health department better understand the virus and identify more convalescent plasma donors.

Appointments are required. Sign up at https://donor.lifeservebloodcenter.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/170613.

— Theresa Howard, Law School

Here are some cybersecurity tips to help you stay safe this National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and beyond:

• If you’re unsure who an email is from—even if the details appear accurate—don’t respond or click on any links or attachments.
• Keep device security software, web browser, and operating systems up to date.
• Check your app privacy and security settings—all apps don’t need to track your location.

Follow @ITServices on Twitter and retweet a #DrakeCyberSmart tip until Oct. 23 to learn more tips on how to stay safe online and be entered in a prize drawing.

Open to all current Drake students, faculty, and staff members. Full contest rules at drake.edu/its/cybersecure.

— Carla Herling, ITS

University Communications and Marketing, along with our partners at Woolverton, Mfg. have launched a project to consolidate the offerings on our stationery e-store, and refresh the design of remaining products as necessary to reflect our most current brand standards.

Currently, there are 142 active products available on the storefront, and 86 of them have not been ordered within the past two years. To simplify the shopping experience, our plan is to remove any item that has not been ordered within the past two years from the website. We anticipate removing these items by Dec. 1, 2020.

The art files for any products removed from the store will be archived within Woolverton’s database, and if you do need to place an order for one of these items in the future, you will still be able to contact Woolverton to begin that process. A determination will be made at that time whether or not the item needs to be updated to current brand standards.

If you have questions about this consolidation, or if you would like to see a list of the items planned for removal, please contact Sara Sommerlot at sara.sommerlot@drake.edu for further information.

— Sara Sommerlot, University Communications and Marketing

ITS is updating Virtual EMS (VEMS) in order to facilitate single sign on (SSO). VEMS is the system that faculty and staff and Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) use to request space on Drake’s campus.

In order to make this change, VEMS will be unavailable between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. If you are unable to access this system after the planned maintenance window, please contact the support center at 515-271-3001 or visit service.drake.edu/its to report your issue.

VEMS can be found at ems.drake.edu/EmsWebApp/ or on the Employee Home page of myDrake under Administrative Tools >Request A Room.

After the upgrade you will no longer have to enter your credentials a second time when you access VEMS from the myDrake portal, or if you previously signed into another Drake system connected via SSO.

You can learn more about how SSO works at Single Sign On (SSO) and Drake applications (FAQ).

— Carla Herling, ITS