Giving employees the opportunity to develop their skills is an important component of Drake’s culture. Here is a great learning opportunity for those interested at Drake to improve their English. Drake has a comprehensive Intensive English Program that offers intermediate and advanced level classes with an academic focus. If you feel you may need additional help honing certain English skills, be it advanced academic writing, grammar, or speaking, or if you simply would like to improve your pronunciation, consider taking one of these classes. The best news is that all Drake employees, can take IEP classes free of charge.

View the course schedule for Fall 2019. The classes currently offered are:

• Reading I and Reading II
• Writing I and Writing II
• Speaking/Listening I and Speaking/Listening II
• Grammar I and Grammar II
• Pronunciation and Spelling
• TOEFL Preparation
• American Culture (This class offers regular field trips to various Des Moines locations to help students learn more about the local culture, American values, and history. This semester’s trips may include the Des Moines Art Center, State Historical Museum, Living History Farms, Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge, the Capitol, and even a downtown bike tour!)

Please note that these classes are not credit-bearing.

Fall classes begin on Monday, Aug. 26, and end on Friday, Dec. 6.  The last day to register for a class is Friday, Aug. 30. You have an option of auditing a class at any time during the semester without registering. If you are interested in joining one of the classes or have any questions about the program, please contact Dina Khayrushina. Our office is located in the International Center on 25th Street.

—Dina Khayrushina, Center for International Programs and Services

Drake faculty members are invited to participate in a Faculty Writing Group (FWG) focused on working effectively on our scholarship. We will meet from 11–12:30 monthly on Fridays. The FWG 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. 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.

Participants who attend all five sessions will receive a stipend of $150. Light lunches will be provided for four sessions (exclude the introductory meeting in August).

If you are interested in participating, fill out the interest form by the morning of Friday, August 23.

If you have questions, please contact the co-facilitators of the FWG, Nate Holdren (nate.holdren@drake.edu) and En Li (en.li@drake.edu).

Spike’s Kids Club is now a FREE membership. Spike’s Kids Club, presented by MercyOne Children’s Hospital, is open to kids in eighth grade and under. Membership includes:

— Free admission to select Drake Athletics events
— Spike’s monthly eNewsletter
— Kids Club giveaways at selected events
— And much more!

To enroll visit DrakeTix.com/spikeskidsclub.

—Ryan Harris, Drake Athletics

Happy fall semester! Here’s what’s new over the summer from ITS as well as a refresher on what we offer.

New this summer! Drake has launched the eduroam wireless network. It will replace DUFacStaff on Dec. 31. By connecting to eduroam with your Drake email address and password, you can connect on campus, across the state, and around the world. Eduroam is available in over 100 countries at over 1000 participating institutions. Learn more and make the switch today.

ITS News & Announcements: Information on outages, new initiatives, and other news can be found at drake.edu/its, on service.drake.edu/its, or by following @DrakeITServices on Twitter. Want outage notifications texted to you? Opt in by texting DrakeITS2020 to phone number 226787. We also include regular announcements in OnCampus.

ITS Support Center: The ITS support center is located in the lower level of Carnegie Hall. Walk-in support is available Monday–Thursday from 8–6:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8–4:30 p.m. Phone support is available 24/7 by calling 515-271-3001 or you can report an issue using the IT service portal.

Have a classroom emergency? Call 515-271-3002. There’s also an on-campus support technician Saturdays from 8–12 p.m.

IT Service Portal: Visit the IT service portal at service.drake.edu/its to learn about services available, browse our knowledge base for how-to guides, or get assistance with an issue.

Learning Tech Resources: Visit drake.edu/its/factstaff/learntech for information on the teaching and learning technologies supported on campus, how to get started, and where to get assistance if needed.

MyDrake campus portal: myDrake is your gateway to campus information, resources, and functions and is located at my.drake.edu. You’ll see links to the tools you need based on your campus role(s).

Need online training resources? Check out our curated list at Technology Training Resources for Faculty & Staff.

New and not sure where to get started? Visit drake.edu/its/facstaff/.

—Carla Herling, ITS

Des Moines Performing Arts is offering Drake employees the opportunity to receive discounted tickets to select shows and performances at the Civic Center, Stoner Theater, Temple Theater, and Cowles Commons.

Go to the Des Moines Performing Arts ticket site, click the drop down arrow under “SELECT AN ORGANIZATION” and find Drake University.  Enter EGROUPS1920 in the Promo Code field and click “continue” to find a list of upcoming events. As noted on the website, discounts will be applied when selecting seats. Discounts are available for select performances and price levels. Some restrictions may apply.

Linda Feiden, Human Resources