All posts by Debra Wiley

Unique Opportunity to Elect Supplemental Life Insurance through Open Enrollment

Drake University’s Open Enrollment will be held from November 1 – December 2, 2024.  During this time, eligible employees have an opportunity to make benefit changes for the upcoming Plan Year.

Full-time employees have a unique opportunity to elect supplemental life insurance for themselves, spouses/partners, and dependent children. Drake University’s new partnership with The Hartford will provide benefit eligible employees an opportunity to purchase additional life insurance coverage in $25,000 increments up to $400,000 without providing proof of good health, during the open enrollment period.

The Hartford is providing a similar opportunity to purchase supplemental coverage for eligible dependents during the open enrollment period. Full-time employees may purchase coverage in $10,000 increments up to $100,000 (up to 50% of the employee elected amount) for their spouse/partners, as well as coverage in $2,500 increments (up to $10,000) for children up to age 26, without providing proof of good health.

This is a unique opportunity for full-time employees to purchase additional coverage beyond the Drake-sponsored basic life insurance benefit. It provides a wonderful opportunity to provide additional financial support for employees and their families in the event of a death.

If you have questions about Drake benefits, we encourage you to join us Friday, November 15th from 10:00 – 11:30 am in Room 313, Olmsted Center. Wellmark, HealthEquity and The Hartford vendors will be present to answer your questions. For additional information about Drake’s insurance benefits, click here.

As a reminder, this opportunity will only be made available during the current open enrollment period. All benefit elections for the 2025 Plan Year must be made in the Benefits Portal in myDrake no later than 11:59 p.m. on December 2, 2024.

Debra Wiley, Human Resources

Drake Launches two new full-tuition coverage options

Dear colleagues, 

On Monday, Nov. 11, we launched two new full-tuition coverage offers for qualifying Iowa students—the Bulldog Promise and the Bright College Pathway. These programs advance our commitment to expanding access to a Drake education at a time when we’ve seen year-over-year increases in the percentage of entering first-year students from Iowa and a historic number of Pell-eligible students. 

  • The Bulldog Promise will offer full tuition coverage to qualifying first-time college students. Students must be Pell-eligible, an Iowa resident, and have a 3.8 high school GPA at time of admission in order to qualify.  
  • The Bright College Pathway offers full-tuition coverage at Bright College for Pell-eligible Iowa residents. This offer does not require a minimum GPA. 

As part of Monday’s launch, we created materials for the admission team, a new landing page, a press release, social media advertising, a message to all Iowa alumni (those who graduated 5 or more years ago), and targeted email outreach to Iowa prospects and high school guidance counselors. We will continue to build upon this with local advertising. This launch coincides with a broader effort to enhance the way we talk about the cost and value of a Drake education to ensure we’re meeting prospective families’ top-level questions as they evaluate their college choices. This coinciding effort includes an overhaul of website content, including a new tuition and costs page, updated Tuition Guarantee page, and an updated Bright tuition and costs page 

We sincerely appreciate any work you or your team members do to help ensure prospective families in Iowa know these options are available as we work to recruit the next class of Bulldogs.  

The Financial Aid, Admission, and University Communications & Marketing teams can help answer any questions you may have. 

John Krantz, University Communications & Marketing

In Memoriam: Retired Assistant Dean Charles Greenwood

With heavy hearts, we share that beloved figure and retired Assistant Dean Charles Greenwood passed away on November 2.

From his start as an associate professor in 1974 to his role as assistant dean of the graduate school of education, he left an indelible mark on our institution. His 20-year dedication to the Drake Relays, honored on the Relays’ Wall of Honor, exemplifies his commitment to the Drake community.

Professor Greenwood’s legacy and commitment to alternative education will continue to inspire future generations at Drake.

Read Chuck’s full obituary.

Annie Matte, School of Education

University Budget Town Hall, December 3rd at 3 pm, Parents Hall; Provost’s Social to Follow

 As President Martin shared in a recent message to campus, the University will hold a budget town hall on Tuesday, December 3rd at 3 p.m. in the Olmsted Center, Parents Hall. All faculty and staff are encouraged to attend to learn more about the fiscal year 2024 results, overall financial health, fiscal year 2025 budget, and a look ahead to future fiscal years. 

If you have questions you would like addressed at the town hall, please send them to president@drake.edu.

Provost’s Social immediately following the town hall 

The Provost’s Social will be held following the town hall in Olmsted 312, across from Parents Hall.  Refreshments at the social will include an assortment of beverages and light snacks. 

— Adam Voigts, Chief Financial Officer & Sue Mattison, Provost 

2024 United Way of Central Iowa Giving Campaign For Faculty & Staff

The season of giving is upon us and it is time for our annual United Way of Central Iowa giving campaign! Your optional contribution can be financial or needed supplies for area Des Moines Public School food pantries, or both. We have reinstated some fun, giving-level incentives as well.

The campaign will kick-off on Monday, November 18 with an email from Mary Sellers from United Way of Central Iowa. Some highlights to share:

  • The campaign is part of our commitment as an anchor institution and to the Des Moines community
  • One hundred percent of the funds donated remain in central Iowa (Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties)
  • 10,544 people were served last year in the 50311 zip code
  • United Way financially supports 15 organizations that are partners with Drake including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa

For any financial contributions to the campaign, we have reinstated giving level incentives to celebrate our participation. From free parking passes, many Starbucks gift-cards, basketball game tickets, and more! See this page for the details and thank you to our many campus partners who made these incentives possible.

New this year: a supply drive in partnership with Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) will be Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Olmsted Breezeway.  DMPS has requested:

  • Plastic grocery bags (yes, the hundreds of these you have at home)
  • Peanut butter
  • Canned fruit & vegetables
  • Cereal: bagged or boxed
  • Rice: bagged or boxed
  • Beans: canned
  • Paper products: toilet paper, paper towels, and diapers

Overall, our 2024 United Way of Central Iowa campaign goal is to exceed 33% participation from our full-time faculty and staff.

If you have any questions or do not receive the email from Mary Sellers on November 18th and wish to participate, please reach out to Nate Reagen.

Thank you for your support and generosity in advance!

Nate Reagen, President’s Office

All-Staff Halloween Costume Contest Winners

Congratulations to the All Staff Council Halloween Costume contest winners! In the Adult category, we have Nicole Stabile as Captain Hook in a Peter Pan themed group costume with her family.

In the Children/Pet’s category, we have Lauren McCarthy’s two daughters, a cute Little Red Riding Hood and a Sassy Dragon!

Congratulations again to our winners! Please stop by the Student Services Desk in Olmsted to receive your prize.

Thanks to all who attended and participated in the bake-off contest as well; we have a talented group of bakers on campus that really put our judges to the test this year! Third place was awarded to Bridget Nixon for a yummy peanut roll, second place was awarded to Dillon Beckmann for a tasty rice crispy cookie butter treat, and first place was awarded to Betsy White for a scrumptious caramel apple cheesecake. Congrats to all who participated and we look forward to seeing everyone in December for the next Bulldog Connect lunch on Wednesday, December 4th.

Tiffany Hach, Finance & Administration

Help Us With Our Senior Capstone Project!

We’re exploring how the media you consume influences your decisions to volunteer or donate to nonprofits. Take our short survey and contribute to a senior research project at Drake University that can help nonprofits better understand how to engage with their supporters. It only takes a few minutes, and you can opt in to enter the raffle for a $100 Amazon Gift Card. Know others who volunteer or donate? Share this survey with them too! 

Keira Coady

Stories of Healing: Mental Health Poetry Slam

Poetry can be a useful and impactful way to share hope through story telling. In collaboration with Broadlawns Drake Student Counseling Center, NAMI Iowa, and NAMI on Campus, we are hosting our 2nd Sharing Hope Poetry Slam. If you are a poet and interested in sharing your poetry, centered on our theme of “Healing,” please contact Kayla.bell@drake.edu. We hope to see you there!

If you’re interested in sharing your poetry, register here.

Kayla Bell-Consolver, School of Education

An Evening With Charlie Cook

An Evening with Charlie Cook will take place on Monday, November 11, 2024. The event is an opportunity to hear insight and analysis on the state of American politics by one of the leading authorities on the U.S. political scene. This year, Cook will also share important insights from the 2024 General Election.

Cook is a political analyst for National Journal magazine, founder of the Cook Political Report, co-author of the 2020 and 2022 editions of the Almanac of American Politics, and a National Advisory Council member for The Harkin Institute.

What: An Evening With Charlie Cook

When: Monday, November 11, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Sheslow Auditorium (2507 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311)

YouTube Live Stream on The Harkin Institute’s YouTube Channel

Registration: This event is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Accommodations: American Sign Language (ASL) and live captioning (CART) will be provided for in-person and virtual attendees. Any additional accommodation requests can be made by emailing harkininstitute@drake.edu.

Click here to register for the event!

—Kathryn Kuckelman, Harkin Institute

Navigating Medicare Enrollment with Iowa SHIIP Counselors

Join The Harkin Institute for a free webinar featuring the results from a qualitative study with Iowa SHIIP counselors, who provide retirees with advice about Medicare enrollment. The Harkin Institute partnered with the Iowa SHIIP-SMP program and AARP for this project, focused on understanding the main challenges faced by retirees in navigating the Medicare enrollment process. The SHIP program provides unbiased advice about Medicare options to retirees through in-person counseling, including telephone, virtual, and face-to-face appointments. It is a particularly important source of information for those who face technological, physical, or language barriers. We sought to understand barriers for vulnerable groups, such as dual-eligible, low-income, and limited English proficiency retirees, in addition to the overall counselor experience with the program. This research is part of a larger research project focused on the financial impact of health insurance on retirees.

Date: October 30, 2024

Time: 1:00–2:00 p.m. CT

Location: Zoom Webinar (link will be sent to attendees closer to the event)

Cost: Free

Accommodations: Live-captioning in English will be provided for attendees. American Sign Language interpretation is only available upon request due to interpreter shortages throughout Iowa. ASL and other accommodation requests can be made by emailing harkininstitute@drake.edu.

Register here! 

—Kathryn Kuckelman, Harkin Institute