Stay fit during J-term! Gail will be teaching two lunchtime (12:15-12:45) classes every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month of January in the Bell Center Studio.
Tuesdays will be FUNctional Fitness, and Thursday will be all about Kettle Bells. We have so much fun, and we hope to see you in class!
—Gail Witte, Recreational Services
With the start of the new year, it is wise to review your Pay Information through the Employee Dashboard.
For your quick reference, we have highlighted a few of these important sections.
Within the Pay Information section on the Employee Dashboard, you can access current and previous paystubs and direct deposit information. As the new year begins, you may see slight variations in your pay. This could be due to a multitude of factors including: a new tax year which causes payroll deductions to “restart” with the calendar year; a change in compensation; and newly elected benefit deductions for the upcoming year, as well as taxes related to any graduate level courses that you or your dependents may be taking.
The Benefits section navigates you to the Benefits Portal for easy access to review your benefits information. A separate link for Retirement Plans is available to provide information about your TIAA retirement payroll deductions.
Within the Taxes section, the online W-2s will be available during the last week in January. The online 1095-C forms will be available in March.
Please email drakehr@drake.edu if you have any questions. We are happy to assist you.
Teresa Downs, Human Resources
The countdown to the Drake Road Races is on! It’s the perfect time to make your Relays Resolution, whether you’re aiming for a personal best or simply enjoying the excitement of race day. We’ve already shared some inspiring stories of participants who are gearing up for the event—check them out and get motivated! Don’t miss your chance to join the Drake community in this exciting tradition. Register today and start your journey toward the Blue Oval!
Register here: https://www.drakeroadraces.org/
– Ben Huftalin, Assistant Director, Event Production
In January, the Center for Teaching & Learning will offer four sessions of a workshop called “Kickstart Your Semester: Strategies for Effective Course Planning.”
Each hybrid session will be offered on campus in Howard Hall and virtually through Zoom.
All faculty and staff are invited to connect with colleagues to reflect on your goals for the spring, organize your calendar, and consider how you might use generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot for support.
Session dates include: Wed, Jan 15 (1:00-3:00 pm); Thurs Jan 16 (10 am-Noon); Tues, Jan 21 (1:00-3:00 pm), and Wed, Jan 22 (10:00 am-Noon).
The Offices of Finance and Financial Aid would like to thank everyone for taking the time to complete the Administrative Services Survey earlier this fall. We have gained valuable feedback to help us maintain and improve the services we provide to students, faculty, and staff.
Ratings for nearly every question improved over the prior year ratings. Each of the departments within Finance individually scored between 4.4 and 4.8 on the 5-point scale. The overall satisfaction with the services provided by the Offices of Finance and Financial Aid score was 4.62 compared to 4.42 in 2023. While there is always room for improvement, the unit’s staff are clearly doing their best to meet our service-oriented objectives to:
The comments included in the survey were very helpful. We appreciate the many positive comments that recognized outstanding service provided by staff. An item for improvement that we noted and plan to work on over the next year is to review our rules and processes for unnecessary complication and difficulty in navigation. Another is to ensure that we are timely in our communications and responses. Like most areas of campus, reductions in staffing within the Finance and Financial Aid functions have put additional pressure and expectation on the existing staff and we request continued grace as we work to streamline and continually improve our operations.
Thank you again for participating in the Administrative Survey and please know that your input is reviewed and analyzed by the entire staff of the Offices of Finance and Financial Aid.
– Adam Voigts, Chief Financial Officer
The March 24th Provost’s Social will serve as a celebration of faculty research and scholarship, showcasing the incredible contributions made by the Drake academic community. This event will provide an opportunity for us to recognize and honor the achievements of our faculty in advancing knowledge across a variety of fields.
Please help us to prepare by submitting this form with information about books you have authored, co-authored, or edited within the past two years, as well as peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, and notable papers.
Your contributions are an essential part of our academic success, and we look forward to sharing them with our colleagues!
– Madison Bemus, Academic Affairs Operations Specialist
Do you know a staff member who would like to make an impact to strengthen the staff experience on campus? Nominate them (or yourself!) NOW for All Staff Council. The following three-year positions are available:
Nominations are due Friday, February 14 by midnight. Elections will be held in the spring. Newly elected members will begin their three-year term on June 1, 2025. Learn more about All Staff Council here.
– Suzanne Wisslead, CRM Specialist, Drake Online & Continuing Education
Drake reimburses mileage for the use of personal automobiles for actual miles driven during business travel, not gas receipts. The reimbursement rate is based on the current standard mileage rate issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the standard mileage rate issued by the IRS for the use of a car will be:
$.70 cents per business mile driven, up 3 cents from 2024.
The standard mileage rate is evaluated annually by the IRS and is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile.
If you have any questions regarding the reimbursable mileage rate, please visit the IRS website, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-increases-the-standard-mileage-rate-for-business-use-in-2025-key-rate-increases-3-cents-to-70-cents-per-mile, or contact Accounting at accounting@drake.edu.
—Jenifer Baugher, Accounting
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for 2025-2026 is now available at studentaid.gov. We recommend that you review Tips for Completing the FAFSA to help avoid the most common issues that students experienced with the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
U.S. Citizens and eligible non-citizens should complete the 2025–2026 FAFSA to be considered for need-based grants, federal work-study, or to take advantage of federal student loan programs in the Summer 2025, Fall 2025, or Spring 2026 semesters.
– Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid
Drake University is seeking interested faculty to apply for the DU Spain Faculty-in-Residence position to teach and support student learning on Drake’s semester-long, cohort-model, study abroad program in Seville, Spain.
The DU Spain Semester Faculty-in-Residence application is live through Qualtrics for Spring 2026. To learn more about this opportunity including eligibility, compensation, responsibilities, and to officially apply, please go to https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NiU9mtxxVKgC3A
Submissions are due Monday, February 10, 2025. If you have questions or want to learn more about this opportunity, please reach out to Maria Rohach, director of education abroad, at maria.rohach@drake.edu to schedule time to meet.
– Maria Rohach, Director, Education Abroad
