All posts by Carla Herling

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Keeping passwords simple

Passwords are often described as the key to protecting our information. This is true, but we’re rarely given simple ways to securely manage them. Fortunately, there are ways to simplify passwords to protect our digital identities.

Passphrases
The days of complex passwords with character substitutions and symbols are over. They’re hard to remember and type, and easy for attackers to break. The solution is passphrases: longer passwords that use random words or make a sentence, including symbols if required.

  • My2015CamryisGreen!
  • Eagle-Crow-Jay-Finch#

Password Managers
It’s critical to use a unique password for every website and account. When a breach occurs, reused passwords allow attackers to quickly compromise multiple accounts. Password managers securely store your unique passphrases and only require you to remember a single master password. They also retrieve passwords as needed, and log into websites as you visit them. Additionally, the best password managers also store answers to your secret questions, warn of password reuse, and assist with changing old and insecure passwords.

Many options are available, so research to determine which one is best for you and your family.

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-factor authentication requires a secondary code or acknowledgement and your password to access an account. Even if an attacker has your password, they are unable to access your account. Enable this wherever possible, but especially for accounts containing financial or identifying information. ITS is implementing MFA in systems with confidential information, and we strongly recommend it for personal accounts.

ITS will continue phishing education this month sending emails that mimic real attacks. If you receive an email that you suspect is phishing, don’t click any links, download any attachments, or reply.

For more information on reporting phishing emails, see the IT Service Portal guide, Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).

—Peter Lundstedt, ITS

News & Achievements Archive

SOE student serves on Changemakers Panel in Washington, DC

KayeLea Kautz, Drake undergraduate student in the School of Education and a leader in Drake’s Save the Children Action Network student organization on campus, had a chance to travel to our nation’s capital last week as part of the Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) Advocacy Summit.

In celebration of Save the Children’s 100th year of changing children’s lives, the global nonprofit is honoring changemakers for children—individuals who have raised their voices and used their influence to drive change for the world’s most marginalized and deprived children. Changemakers are an array of individuals such as policymakers, teachers, CEOs, philanthropists, advocates, and more. At the Advocacy Summit, attendees heard from a panel of changemakers, one of which was Kautz:

• Pat Daly, a global health worker who has dedicated her career to saving the lives of babies and their mothers worldwide
• Mark Geri, a veteran single father of twins in Washington who is helping ensure more children can access high-quality early childhood education
• Tasneem Ghogawala, a proud Pakistani American who is changing children’s lives through philanthropy
• Ruth Kagi, a retired Washington state lawmaker who advocated for the creation of both Washington’s Department of Early Learning and subsequently Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families and changed the lives of thousands of children
• KayeLea Kautz, a Save the Children Action Network Student Ambassador from Iowa who, as a mom, is ensuring children like hers get the early learning opportunities they deserve

The three-day event provided advocates the opportunity to attend in-depth advocacy trainings, hear from leading experts on issues impacting children worldwide, and meet with their legislators to advocate for investments in early childhood education in the U.S. and humanitarian support for the world’s children.

“Kids don’t vote, and they don’t donate to political candidates – that means elected officials aren’t often reaching out to them, listening to their voices about the world they live in,” said Mark Shriver, CEO of SCAN and Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs and Advocacy at Save the Children. “These advocates from across the U.S. – including more than 75 high school and college students – are actively engaged and dedicating their time and efforts to be that voice for kids on Capitol Hill and in their home communities. They took time from school and work to make this world a better and more opportune place for children.”

— Catherine Gillespie, Associate Dean, Professor of Education

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Faculty/Staff discounted Drake Relays tickets

Faculty and staff can purchase discounted tickets to the Drake Relays. Visit DrakeTix.com/drakerelays to view the special pricing for package and single-session tickets. Faculty and staff must visit the Knapp Center Ticket Office and show a valid Drake ID to receive the discounted price. For more information, contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647.

Ryan Harris, Athletics

Campus Announcements Archive

Update: ITS offsite data center move

Last month, we shared that our offsite data center is moving. Step one was successfully completed over spring break and included bringing new storage online and moving some servers. The team is now preparing to make internet connection changes. 

On Saturday, April 13, ITS will perform maintenance on the campus connections to the Internet. This maintenance will result in additional Internet bandwidth and redundancy. Work will begin at 5 a.m. and should be completed no later than 7 a.m. Every precaution is being taken to avoid disruptions during the maintenance window, but there could be brief periods between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on April 13 where Internet connectivity to and from campus is down.

Throughout April, there will be additional OnCampus communications to share details of the next steps in the internet connection and data center move work.

Kris Brewster, ITS

For Students Archive

Drake Athletics Ticket Office is hiring

The Drake Athletics Ticket Office is hiring seasonal, part-time ticket sales associates for the Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee. This position requires approximately 2–4 office hours during the weeks leading up to the Drake Relays and 12–15 hours during the weekend of the Drake Relays.

If you are interested in one of the Relays positions, please contact Ryan Harris, assistant athletic director, ticket operation and donor management, at ryan.harris@drake.edu.

Ryan Harris, Athletics

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

All In is this week!

All In is this Thursday and Friday from noon to noon! Are you ready to share, celebrate, and support Drake? We have a chance to unlock over $100,000 in challenges and matching funds for Drake University, and you can help! 

Here are five ways to join in:  

  1. Make your gift and encourage others to as well. Gifts from the Drake community have a meaningful impact, and during All In, your gift multiplies! Several matching gift challenges for colleges and units will run throughout All In. (View list here.) Plus, if we reach 1,350 donors in 24 hours, Doug Zinser, AS’96, and Dick Sussman, LA’51, will give an additional $65,000 to the Drake Fund.  
  2. Follow on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for stories about what Drake means to our community and see all the fun that’s happening. Check out the #DrakeAllIn Tagboard feed on the website, too.  
  3. Share your own Drake stories and photos and tell your networks why Drake is such an exceptional, vibrant University, deserving of their support. Make sure you use #DrakeAllIn on your posts. 
  4. Attend the Des Moines All In Happy Hour. (Griff RSVP’ed as a ‘yes’ and will be there for pats and photo ops.) 
  5. If you can, wear jeans and your best Drake gear on Thursday and Friday.    

PS: Don’t forget: your gift could yield a pie! All faculty and staff who give will be entered to win an apple pie baked by Provost Mattison. 

 Alicia Chilton, University Communications and Marketing

For Students Archive

National Volunteer Week April 7–13

Celebrate National Volunteer Week April 7–13. National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to celebrate the impact of volunteer service and the power of volunteers to come together to tackle tough challenges and build stronger, more resilient communities. During the week, a focus is put on the people and causes that inspire us to serve, recognizing and thanking volunteers who lend their time, talent, and voice to make a difference in their communities.

Stop by the Olmsted Breezeway this week to share why you volunteer and earn the chance to win a free #DrakeServes T-shirt and other swag. Post photos of you and your friends engaging with the community using #DrakeServes.

A number of volunteer opportunities will be taking place throughout the week, including a culminating “Spring Into Seeds” event at the Sprout Garden on April 13 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

View a list of events and links to register.

Drake’s commitment to community engagement and service-learning is representative of our long-standing history of involvement and partnership with the Des Moines community. The commitment fulfills our historic mission, enhances teaching, advising, research, scholarship, outreach, and the University community as a whole. As demonstrated by our inspiration statement, “Together we transform lives and strengthen communities,” we seek to be an engaged university that prepares the next generation of civic minded professionals.

Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning

For Students Archive

Cheerleading tryouts

The Drake University Cheerleading team is hosting tryouts for the 2019–2020 season. Becoming a member of the cheerleading squad allows you endless opportunities that reach beyond that of cheering on athletic teams. You will get the opportunity to travel, build lasting relationships, and be a positive representation of your University. Find more information on the squad, tryout dates, times, and coaches’ contact information. Go Bulldogs!

Holly Schroeder, Cheerleading Coordinator