It’s been a beautiful start to the new academic year, and I’m pleased to report that the ITS start has been generally smooth, as well. Our team has certainly seen a number of issues with computers, classrooms, and other technology, but most have been minor and quickly resolved.

Sometimes it’s what we don’t experience that tells us that our technology is working well. On August 23, as the return to campus was well underway, CenturyLink experienced a major regionwide Internet service interruption. Before this summer, any CenturyLink outage would have disrupted campus Internet access as well, but last spring we made changes that resulted in a different outcome. Drake still uses CenturyLink but we also have a redundant connection from a second service provider, UPN. When our team became aware of the CenturyLink outage, they disconnected campus from CenturyLink and our Internet access continued as normal through UPN. I can’t promise we won’t experience another Internet outage, but our connection is now more robust than it was last academic year and we know that because of what you didn’t experience.

As always, information security is at the top of my priorities list. Perhaps you saw a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article about a major security incident at Stevens Institute of Technology or reports about a similar incident at Regis University in Denver.

Neither institution is providing much information about the incidents or what they have learned, but two things are clear – these were sophisticated, targeted attacks designed to severely disrupt the business of these universities (who don’t look too dissimilar from us), and these types of attacks are becoming more frequent.

You will be learning about new security initiatives over the coming months. I ask you to help us protect Drake and you by taking information security seriously and remaining vigilant about your online activity. If you would like more information about how to protect your computer and data, please feel free to contact either Peter Lundstedt (director of information security) or me directly.

Beginning last month, Drake is now part of eduroam, a global federation of educational wireless networks. After you connect to eduroam at Drake, your device will then be able to connect to the wireless networks of over 1000 institutions in over 100 countries. Students and employees at other eduroam member institutions will also be automatically connected to eduroam on Drake’s campus.

I encourage you to move to using eduroam soon to avoid any last-minute issues. ITS will be retiring DUStudent on September 13 and DUFacStaff on December 31. After that, eduroam will be Drake’s single primary wireless network. Learn more about eduroam at https://www.drake.edu/its/eduroam/.

Finally, if you’re not already using our self-service support resources, please take a look at the wealth of tips and tools we make available through the IT service portal at https://service.drake.edu/its. You can either browse or use the search tool in the upper right corner to find something specific more quickly.

I hope you have a productive and engaging semester and please feel free to let us know how we can improve our service in support of Drake’s mission.

—Chris Gill, Chief Information Technology Officer

As the fall semester starts, we are excited to celebrate the opening of the new Starbucks in Olmsted Center. It has been a busy summer getting all the components of this project completed in a short period of time. We are pleased that contractors and training of staff were able to finish ahead of schedule. We are also hard at work on continuing to improve our campus environment, and setting up some great projects for next summer. A few updates on what to expect around campus:

University Avenue City Sewer Separation Project and Drake Streetscape Project:
Construction is progressing on-schedule, including work along University Avenue and several adjoining streets. Lane closures will continue along University Avenue through Spring 2020. Sewer work will be completed first, with MidAmerican following with new streetlight and traffic lights next year. Our streetscape improvements will follow this work for final completion Summer 2020.

During the construction, the contractor has closed several sidewalk connections across University Avenue. Due to the large equipment and limited sight lines, students, faculty, and staff are asked to use the designated crossing at Aliber and Olmsted parking lot which aligns with the pedestrian light on University Avenue for safety.

Art in DART:
We have received grant funding (thanks to our fantastic Advancement Team) for the inclusion of art within the two new DART bus shelters located on the north side of the University Ave. An RFP is currently open for artists to submit their proposal. These will be the first bus shelters in Des Moines to include art. We are proud to be leading this effort with many community and neighborhood partners.

The Harkin Institute:
Construction will begin the end of September for the new Harkin Institute on 28^th and University. Ave. Construction anticipated to be complete Fall 2020, and to coincide with the 30^th anniversary of the founding of the ADA, a significant legislation legacy of Senator Tom Harkin.

Hubbell Dining Hall:
Design is underway for the remodel of Hubbell Dining hall kitchen and Quad Creek spaces. We anticipate a spring 2020 start of construction with completion wrapping up for start of classes Fall 2020. Work to include a complete remodel and refresh of the kitchen space, serving stations, and dining experience.

Merge Moves:
We are very excited about the Merge Development being planned for the Kinne Block between 24^th and 25^th and University Ave and Carpenter.  In order for this vibrant addition to our Drake neighborhood to happen, we are finding new homes for over 100 Drake and City staff members that have offices on this block, and reorganizing offices of various departments on campus to optimize our existing space.

We are currently assessing our existing facilities to determine the best locations on campus that can accommodate large and small work groups.  We have met with each department to understand their needs, and have had great discussions with these groups about what the office of our future looks like.  We are working toward an end of September goal to have the department relocations identified.

Alongside the space planning, we are capturing the overall budget needs for building and furniture improvements to successfully relocate everyone.  To provide the best improvements and extend our budget dollars, our in-house FPM team (project managers, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, painters, HVAC) will be involved in completing the improvements.  Anticipated Move dates could start as early as December and proceed through summer 2020.  Look for more information in future editions of OnCampus.

Parking Garage Feasibility Study:
We are underway in a feasibility study for a new parking garage to be located between 24^th and 25^th and Carpenter Ave. and Forest Ave. The parking garage would serve the needs of the Merge Development residents and retail customers, Drake faculty and staff, Drake event parking, and campus visitors. Look for more information in future OnCampus.

—Michelle Huggins, Facilities Planning & Management