Recent studies show that Americans believe our culture is uncivil. 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. Civility will only expand when individuals commit to improving their own actions and words, and this session will teach participants applicable civility strategies.

Register here. Fee: $79.00.

— Amy Smit, Robert D. & Billie Ray Center

The 2021 Global Citizen Forum will be held virtually in March and focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in higher education. In preparation of the conference, the planning committee needs your input.

Please complete a five-minute survey designed to gauge the interest of faculty and staff to participate in the conference as presenters or attendees. Responses will be collected through Sept. 18.

Thank you for your participation.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Partnerships Coordinator

Drake Online Design Dialogues will resume Sept. 24 at 11:30 a.m. The sessions are open to all. Following the first dialogue on Sept. 24, sessions will be held the third Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. Sessions will be facilitated by Christina Trombley and the Instructional Design and Technology staff of Drake Online and Continuing Education.

September’s discussion will allow for open dialogue regarding your experiences with teaching online the first few weeks of fall semester.  You can also send specific questions to christina.trombley@drake.edu and we will provide a demonstration.

Please register to attend. You will receive a confirmation with the Zoom link to attend.

— Christina Trombley

Drake University is excited to announce that Amazon Business with Business Prime is now available for Drake purchases. Drake has had an Amazon Business account for a number of years, but the addition of Business Prime is new. Amazon Business can simplify your purchasing process and allows you to take advantage of Amazon’s wide product selection and competitive prices for business purchases.

Shopping through Amazon Business is as user friendly as on Amazon.com. Additional benefits include:

• Access to millions of additional products, available only to Business customers
• Business Prime offers FREE and fast shipping across millions of products
• Business-specific pricing, including quantity discounts on eligible items
• Access to a specialized Amazon Business Customer Service team at 888-281-3847

Effective immediately, Amazon Business with Business Prime is accessible to Drake faculty and staff for Drake purchases. With the addition of Business Prime, purchases for Drake purposes using a personal Amazon Prime account will no longer be allowed and Drake will not reimburse for Drake purchases using a personal Amazon Prime account. Drake also will not reimburse for any personal Prime memberships. Drake’s Amazon Business account should not be used for personal purchases.

Existing Amazon Business accounts will now have access to Business Prime. Any other faculty and staff that have a need for an Amazon Business account should contact Heather Winslow at heather.winslow@drake.edu or 515-271-1982.

— Adam Voigts, Chief Financial Officer

The Nelson Institute at Drake University is proud to announce a new, three-year initiative focused on building the intercultural capacity of our campus community.  To that end, the Nelson Institute is sponsoring the “Facilitating Intercultural Learning” program, a development opportunity for select faculty from across campus. The endeavor is designed to create intercultural self-awareness and to prepare faculty to begin integrating intercultural learning into their courses, programming, or other work. It is a 12-week cohort training and coaching program, with a new cohort of faculty coming in each semester. This initiative will allow Drake to continue to foster intercultural learning and development in service to our students and local, national, and international constituents.

The Facilitating Intercultural Learning program is designed to help participants engage more effectively with difference by developing four core intercultural competencies:

1. Increasing awareness and understanding of their own characteristic ways of making meaning and acting in familiar and unfamiliar contexts;
2. Increasing awareness and understanding of others’ ways of making meaning and acting in familiar and unfamiliar contexts;
3. Responding mindfully in contexts that disorient or challenge them;
4. Bridging cultural gaps in those contexts: Shifting perspective, attuning emotions, and adapting behavior in effective and appropriate ways.

Learn more about the program, its curriculum, and read testimonials from others who have completed the program.

The Nelson Institute plans to sponsor a cohort of up to eight faculty each semester in fulfillment of this initiative. Participating faculty will receive a $1,000 stipend upon completing the program and will be designated as “Nelson Fellows.”

For the inaugural cohort, the program will begin on Sept. 22, 2020. We are inviting interested faculty to send a brief expression of interest to Dr. Jimmy Senteza (Jimmy.Senteza@drake.edu), director of the Nelson Institute, by noon on Sept. 16, 2020. Please highlight how you think this might benefit your work at Drake University, and contribute to your overall intercultural development.

— Annique Kiel, Executive Director of Global Engagement and International Programs

The 2021 Global Citizen Forum will be held virtually in March and focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in higher education. In preparation of the conference, the planning committee needs your input.

Please complete a five-minute survey designed to gauge the interest of faculty and staff to participate in the conference as presenters or attendees.

Thank you for your participation.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Partnerships Coordinator