All posts by Lauren Kennon

For Students Archive

Apply to be a student ambassador

The Office of Admission is now accepting applications for student ambassadors.

It is the job of a student ambassador to accurately and positively portray life at Drake through their interactions with prospective students. Student ambassadors provide campus tours during individual visit days and group visit programs, in addition to helping facilitate campus visit programs in a variety of capacities. Student ambassadors are required to work 4–8 hours per week during the academic year and are paid hourly.

Applications are due April 1. To access more information and the application materials, visit https://tinyurl.com/rve8akg.

Questions? email admissioncoleition@drake.edu.

— Lauren Kennon, AS’20

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Bulldog Applause goes to Harkin Institute

Drake’s All Staff Council Recognition Committee recognized staff at the Harkin Institute with a Bulldog Applause. Read the Q&A below to learn more about the Harkin Institute.

How many staff members are in the department?   
Seven full-time staff, 15 student employees, plus our honorary Harkinistas, political papers archivist Hope Bibens and senior advancement officer Stephanie Sinovic. 

What is the primary function of the team? Do you have a mission/vision/motto?  
At The Harkin Institute, our mission is to inform citizens, inspire creative cooperation, and catalyze change on issues of social justice, fairness, and opportunity. We conduct research and analysis in four policy areas that Senator Harkin (retired) focused on during his 40 years in Congress: labor and employment, people with disabilities, retirement security, and wellness and nutrition. We also host events to engage the Drake community, Iowans, Americans and individuals around the world with important policy issues and timely topics. 

Who has been with the team the longest, and what is their job title and length of employment?  
The Harkin Institute is young—we were established at Drake in 2013. Executive Director Joseph Jones has been with the Institute since August 2016.  

Who is the newest team member, and what is their job title and month/year of start?  
Our newest team member is Meg Johnson, our administrative assistant. She joined us in April 2019. 

What campus buildings do your team members “live” in?   
We currently live in the strip mall along University Avenue, next to Great Clips and across the street from Jimmy Johns, but we have a new home under construction at the corner of University Avenue and 28th Street. It will be a state-of-the-art accessible space that we can’t wait to share with the Drake community. 

What are some recent challenges and accomplishments of note that others in the University might not know about?  
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, monumental civil rights legislation. Senator Harkin was the principal author of the ADA and we have a whole host of events and activities planned to celebrate this important anniversary – on campus, online, and across the U.S. 

Anything else noteworthy/interesting/special about your department that bears mentioning?  
The Harkin Institute works closely with the Drake Archives and Special Collections, which is home to the papers of Senator Harkin and Ruth Harkin. Senator Harkin’s papers arrived at Drake in 2015 and include more than 800 boxes and 2.5 terabytes of legislative and campaign materials, photos, and memorabilia. 

— Amelia Klatt, On behalf of All Staff Council

Campus Announcements Archive

Meet and greet with Bill Adamowski, executive director of entrepreneurship, innovation, and human centered design

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to welcome Bill Adamowski, executive director of entrepreneurship, innovation, and human centered design, to the Drake family on March 24 from 3–4 p.m. at Pomerantz Stage. Coffee and desserts will be served.

Bill, a graduate of Syracuse University, brings a unique blend of entrepreneurial, corporate, and higher education experience to this new role. Prior to coming to Drake, he served as president of Iowa State University’s Startup Factory, where he led the implementation of the center from the ground up to being one of the top entrepreneurial centers in the country. Read the full news release.

— Stephanie Cardwell, Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Preparing to teach at a distance

Emergencies happen, and it’s best to plan ahead in case you might need to teach remotely, whether due to severe weather, an outbreak, or a personal situation.

When teaching at a distance, you will have the best experience if you use technology and processes that are Drake-licensed and ITS-supported. ITS provides resources to help faculty provide synchronous and/or asynchronous distance learning activities, and offers assistance in using them.

We have created an introductory video covering best practices for distance learning to walk you through some of the available tools.

Additionally, self-paced resources can be found in our ITS knowledge base at Preparing Your Class for the Unexpected and/or Emergencies (Best Practices).

We will be scheduling additional virtual sessions in the coming weeks. Information will be posted on the Drake calendar and in the Blackboard Tips and Tricks section on the Blackboard homepage.

— Karly Good, ITS

Campus Announcements Archive

Cooling season switch over tentatively planned for April 15

With the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures, you may begin to wonder when the air will kick on in your building. Or, why you can’t have both heat and air as options at the same time. Drake has a two-pipe heating and cooling system. In basic terms, this means the system can be in either heating mode or cooling mode, but not both at the same time.

The changeover from heating to cooling or vice versa is made manually, and takes about a week to implement. The planned date to switch campus buildings from heating to cooling mode is April 15.

With that said, there is always the possibility that unusual weather patterns might cause some discomfort. Facilities Planning and Management monitors the weather forecast closely and adjusts switch over dates according to forecasted temperatures, but due to our fluctuating Iowa weather, it is often a guessing game.

Facilities Planning and Management switches the residence halls from heating to cooling first since they are occupied 24/7. It is also important to note that once the system has been switched over, there is no changing it back due to the manual process required to make the change.

Every building is a little different, too, so if anyone has any specific questions with their particular building or space, please contact Brett Lovelady, Drake HVAC manager, at 515–271–4728 or brett.lovelady@drake.edu.

— Brett Lovelady, Heating and Cooling, Facilities Planning and Management

For Faculty Archive

Midterm grades due 10 a.m. March 25

Midterm grade entry is now available in MyDUSIS. Midterm grades are due by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25. Students are able to view their midterm grades as soon as you submit them.

To access the MyDUSIS grade-entry link, log into MyDrake, click on the “Grading” icon under the Faculty & Advising section, and then click on “Mid Term Grades — Submittal Link.”

Those of you who would like to send your midterm grades from Blackboard to MyDUSIS can follow the instructions here.

Students have until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, to drop a course with a “W”.

— Kevin Moenkhaus, Office of the Registrar

Campus Announcements Archive

POSTPONED: eAccounts/Bulldog Bucks upgrade planned during spring break

This update has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ITS will provide an update when a rescheduled date is determined.

ITS is making updates to eAccounts in order to facilitate single sign on (SSO). The eAccounts system allows you to add Bulldog Bucks to your Drake ID card. After the upgrade on Tuesday, March 17, you will no longer have to enter your credentials a second time when you access eAccounts from the myDrake portal. You can learn more about how SSO works at Single Sign On (SSO) and Drake applications (FAQ).

As a result of this upgrade, you may need to re-enter saved credit card information for your account, or re-select Drake as your institution when using the mobile app. Additionally, you may receive an email about a new registration from no-reply@blackboard.com. This is a system-generated email and can be deleted.

Additional resources on using eAccounts and Bulldog Bucks can be found in these ITS guides.

— Carla Herling, ITS

HR Information Archive

Welcome new Bulldogs

Please join Human Resources in welcoming nine new, full-time Drake University employees for the month of February.

Daniel (Danny) Bugg, Athletics, Assistant Director, Athletic Marketing
Lindsey Thomas, Athletics, Director, Ticket Operations
Janet (Lisa) Cooper, The RaySociety, Program Development Associate
Sophie Tibbals, CBPA, CBPA Success Coach
William (Bill) Adamowski, CBPA, Executive Director, Innovation, Entrprnshp.& Human Centered Design
Jeremy Curtis, Office of Admission, Assistant Director, Regional Recruitment, Texas & Latin America
Hannah Sappenfield, International Center, Global Partnerships Coordinator
Alexa Vitales, Head Start, Head Start Teacher Associate
Charleen Johnson, ITS, Campus Technician

— Laura Schwarz, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive

Summer textbook adoptions due March 15

Faculty, the deadline for submitting Summer 2020 course material adoptions is March 15. The University Bookstore has a simple tool for you to use this adoption season, called Follett Discover.

Adopting on time contributes to course materials affordability. By submitting adoptions prior to the due date or by the due date, your campus store has time to source used and rental inventory which translates to savings for your students. If you consistently use the same book from term to term, partner with the campus store to let them know because this will translate into even larger savings for your students.

Another important aspect that relies on timely textbook adoption is compliance to the HEOA. The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) aimed at making college more affordable and accessible, calls for full disclosure and transparency related to the selection, pricing, and use of course materials when registration for courses begins . HEA was enacted into federal law in 2010. At Drake University the bookstore is the collection agent for textbook adoptions, posting the adoptions submitted and thus ensuring the university’s compliance to the HEOA.

Follett Discover allows you to easily discover, research, and adopt course materials all in one place. In addition to adopting traditional print materials, Follett Discover makes it easy to search and adopt non-traditional materials such as YouTube videos, open education resources, and MOOC content.

Two easy steps to access Follett Discover via Blackboard

1. Log into myDrake.
2. Find the Tools channel, scroll down and click the Follett Discover link OR find the Follett Discover channel and click the Launch Discover link.

If you have any questions about the tool or how it works, I’m happy to help.

— Donna Hallstrom, University Bookstore

Campus Announcements Archive

Nominations open for Adams Leadership Awards

The Adams Leadership Convocation is an annual, campus-wide event that celebrates the achievements of student leaders and organizations at Drake University. As part of this special ceremony, please consider nominating Drake students and student organizations who’ve exhibited strong leadership and excellence throughout the 2019–2020 academic year. Nominations can be submitted by any Drake student, faculty, or staff member. View a full list of awards and the nomination form here. Nominations are due April 9, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.

In addition to submitting your nominations, please save the date for this year’s Adams Leadership Convocation on Friday, May 1, at 1 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium (appetizer reception following). If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Economos, director of student leadership programs, at kristin.economos@drake.edu.

— Kristin Economos, Office of Student Involvement and Leadership