All posts by Caron Findlay

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Travel tips: Short’s ‘Find It Tool’

A useful tool to use for individual travel is the Find It Tool.  It works best for flights within the United States. The reason for this tool is that airlines do not provide agencies such as Short’s with their full inventory of flights possible for travelers. You may use Find It to look at flights that are not in the Short’s inventory that can still be booked through Short’s. You may find that you save money by using this tool.

To use the Find It Tool, please go to My Drake, Administrative Tools, and find Short’s Travel Management. Click on the one that pertains to you, Academic or Athletic. On the right side, you will see the Find It App to download to your browser. I recommend that you watch the video demonstration. From there, you can choose flights on many different airline websites and you can forward your chosen flight to Short’s to book for you.

If you have questions, please contact onlinesupport@shortstravel.com or if you’d like, please contact me directly and I will send you a guide on how to use this tool.

— Caron Findlay, Finance & Administration

For Students Archive

Work abroad in Kosovo or China: Info sessions Dec. 10, 11

Interested in living and working abroad after graduation? Look no further than Working Worldwide, an opportunity for recent graduates to work teaching English in China or doing PR for a non-profit in Kosovo. The program provides all the support you need to be successful in these positions, including English teaching training. Learn more or email nathan.jacobson@drake.edu. Applications to open at the beginning of the spring semester.

Attend an Information Session:

— Tuesday, Dec. 10, 4 p.m., Meredith, Room 102
— Wednesday, Dec. 11, 11 a.m., Meredith, Room 103

The holiday break is an excellent time to speak with family and friends about this opportunity. We hope to see you at one of our information sessions to learn more about Working Worldwide.

— Nathan Jacobson, Drake International

For Faculty Archive

Apply for the Drake Research Grant

The Drake Research Grant offers up to $3,000 to fund activities and materials necessary to support research undertaken by Drake University faculty on continuing appointment: supplies (including animals), student research assistance, and when central to the research process, travel associated with research or creative activity. In particular, the Program seeks to position faculty currently under-supported by sources outside Drake to more favorably compete for extramural funding and to encourage research projects conducted in collaboration with Drake students. This Program does not fund the purchase of computing equipment, reassignment from teaching, pedagogical or course development, or conference travel. Only under rare circumstances will non-computer-based equipment purchases be considered.

Deadline: Feb. 7, 2020 (Submission to your Dean)

Once the Dean has received all applications from her/his unit, Deans will append his/her commentary and ranking, and will forward the application to arthur.sanders@drake.edu by Feb. 17, 2020.

For more detailed information about the grant and the criteria for selection go to: https://www.drake.edu/fsdo/grants/. On that page you will find links to all of the documents you need to apply, as well as the detailed description of the program and a more general Provost’s Office Development Grant FAQ.
— Arthur Sanders, Associate Provost
For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Undergraduate Assistantship Program deadline Feb. 7

The Undergraduate Assistantship Program involves students in project‐based collaboration with faculty and/or administrative staff in order to create significant experiential learning opportunities. These opportunities offer student collaborators skills and experiences that will prepare them to advance in their education or chosen professions, while also offering administrative staff and faculty the chance to work closely with student assistants.

Student Financial Planning provides a 2‐to‐1 match with department, program, or unit funds. A maximum of $1,100 is awarded per project (for proposals whose total assistantship budget is $1,650 or more).

Deadline: Feb. 7 (Submission to the Dean of Schools or Colleges, or to the Director of the Administrative Program)

February 17 (Proposals forwarded from Deans and Directors to the Office of the Associate Provost)

For more detailed information about the program and the criteria for eligibility go to: https://www.drake.edu/fsdo/grants/. On that page you will find a detailed description of the program, all the necessary forms to apply, and a more general Provost’s Office Faculty Development FAQ, which also has useful information about this program.
—Arthur Sanders, Associate Provost
Strategic Updates Archive

Provost’s Drake Social and Budget Town Hall Dec. 18

The next Provost’s Drake Social will be Wednesday, Dec. 18, in the Shiver’s Hospitality Suite. The Provost is happy to make this year’s Socials family friendly. Therefore, if you have child care duties after work, please know you are welcome to bring children along. Partners are also welcome.

The December social will be preceded by a Town Hall at 3:30 p.m., in which President Martin will provide an update on the budget. The social will follow at 4 p.m.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

HR Information Archive

Welcome 14 new Bulldogs

Please join HR in welcoming 14 new, full-time Drake University employees for the month of November.

Ciara Kissane, Athletics, Assistant Director, Relays Operations
Lisa Wyatt, School of Education, Graduate Admissions Coordinator
Jessica Morgan-Tate, Finance & Administration, Title IX Coordinator/Equity & Inclusion Policy Specialist
Michael Schnackenberg, Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Pharmacist, Sinfonia
Toni Turck, Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Pharmacy Technician
Alexandra (Alex) Rosburg (Wahlert), Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Administrative Assistant
Kayleigh Plew, Head Start, Head Start Teacher Associate
Darcy Baughman, Head Start, Family Engagement Specialist
Kylie Smith, Head Start, Head Start Teacher Associate
Damien Chance, Head Start, Mental Health Consultant
Amelia Satre, Head Start, Head Start Teacher Associate Substitute
Chance Tamminga, Public Safety, Campus Public Safety Officer
Jason Lamping, Ray Center, Director, Character Counts Business Development
Ryan Trump, Office of the Registrar, Associate Registrar, Scheduling, Registration & Transcripts

— Laura Schwarz, Human Resources

Campus Announcements Archive

Winter break building schedule/card access update

Building schedules will change for the holiday break. Following graduation, we will adopt “administrative hours” for most campus buildings, while classes are not in session. This means buildings will be open on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Doors will be locked for winter break from Dec. 23 to Jan. 4. Faculty and staff will still be able to utilize their authorized access plans (for example, 24/7 access to their office buildings), but extended hour student plans will be shut off during this time. Regular building hours and extended student access will resume at the start of J-Term (Jan. 6).

View Cowles Library open hours/after-hours

Please contact Public Safety (515-271-2222) if you have a door access emergency during this time, or contact the Student Services Center (515-271-2000 or studentservices@drake.edu) if you have a general card access question or concern.

— Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Holiday Cheer event for faculty and staff

All Staff Council and Human Resources invite faculty and staff to attend this year’s Holiday Cheer gathering on Wednesday, Dec. 11, near the Pomerantz stage in the Olmsted Center. Faculty and staff are welcome to come and go as they please from 9 to 11 a.m.

Guests can enjoy a hot chocolate bar and cookie decorating station. Griff will also be in attendance and ready for holiday photos.

If you bring at least one non-perishable food or other goods for Drake’s Free Little Food Pantries you will be entered into a drawing for prizes, including a Drake Parking Pass. Drawing for the parking pass takes place at the end of the school year but the drawing for other prizes will take place immediately following Holiday Cheer.  

This event is a chance to give back to others in the Drake community, while mingling with coworkers.  Please take a moment to stop by, grab some cheer, and drop off a donation. 

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources