All posts by Jerry Parker

Strategic Updates Archive

Drake partners with Broadlawns to oversee student health and counseling

Over the summer, Drake entered into a partnership with Broadlawns Medical Center to oversee our services for student health and counseling while utilizing existing funds within the Division of Student Affairs.

We are excited about this new arrangement as it will allow us to build additional capacity to meet students’ needs, especially within the critical area of mental health. These services will remain located on the west side of campus in the American Republic Student Health building adjacent to Ross Hall with day-to-day oversight provided by the Dean of Students Office. There is no office charge for students to be seen by student health and counseling.

In regards to our student health team, we are fortunate to have retained our dynamic colleagues led by nurse practitioner Janet Fink. Sandy Corrigan and Mary Beth Olander will continue their services as our registered nurses. Jackie Robinson will remain office manager for both the Student Health and Counseling Centers. I am very proud that this team will continue to serve our students at Drake!

For our counseling center team, Danielle Green was appointed director of counseling services. Working alongside Danielle will be two additional full-time counselors, Karla Mracek and Amber Wilkins. In addition, Drake has given approval to Broadlawns to hire an additional nine-month, part-time counselor with the hopes of an Oct. 1 start date. We are excited to have Danielle, Karla, and Amber on board all while building capacity to meet the growing needs of our students. Learn more about our new staff!

If you would like to learn more about the services and resources provided by student health and counseling, please visit their websites at:
University Counseling Center
Student Health Center

Wishing everyone a great start to the 2019–2020 academic year!

–Jerry Parker, Dean of Students

Campus Announcements Archive

Basic door access information for new semester

As a new semester is starting, we wanted to provide some helpful information regarding campus card access. If you read the information below and feel you do not have the correct access on your Drake Card, please email studentservices@drake.edu or submit an ITS Help Ticket so we can research your card issue. Please be aware that some access is based on a specific approval process and may not be granted.

All Drake faculty and staff should have automated 24/7 exterior door access to the building that their office is in and have extended exterior access to other academic buildings for meetings/classes.

Students from certain majors are granted extended access to buildings relating to their field of study – this is automated and based off of either your major or specific classes in your schedule that may require access to a building. Students living in the residence halls also receive automated access to their hall, and ability to access other halls during the day.

Additional card access is available when needed and includes an approval process and manual update. Most manual access updates are tied to specific campus jobs or research. If you think you are missing a plan, speak with your manager, main building contact, or use one of the contact methods mentioned above for additional information. Once approved, it will take an additional business day for access to be updated.

Lost cards are generally turned in at the Student Services Center, and cardholders are notified via email when they are found and available to pick up. If your card has been lost, and you would like to freeze all activity until found, you can either contact the Student Services Center or freeze the card yourself in the eAccounts portal.  You can also add Bulldog Bucks and check card balances in this portal. Frozen cards need to be turned back on by SSC staff if found.

If your card is lost and needs to be replaced, you may purchase a new card for $25.00 in the Student Services Center. The lost card will be deactivated automatically upon printing of new card. If your card is no longer working (but has worked in the past), make sure that you are registered for your Fall classes – cards will not function if you are not a current student or employee. Also make sure there are no cracks in the card – cracked cards cannot communicate with door readers and will need to be replaced at the Student Services Center.

Have a great semester, and feel free to reach out with questions or card issues.

–Sara Heijerman, Finance and Administration

Campus Announcements Archive

Social Media directory audit

The Drake University Social Media Directory displays the URLs for every Drake University-affiliated social media page. Take a look around to see which departments have pages, follow them, and invite your friends to follow along.

While you’re looking around, let us know if your department page has changed. Maybe you have a department name change, you want a new cover photo, or you don’t see your URL on the directory at all. Either way, let us know how we can help by emailing Niki Smith at niki.smith@drake.edu.

Also, there is a student social media directory for all student organizations. Explore the accounts for virtual student activities fair. Niki Smith is also the contact for that directory if you see anything to add or update within the URLs linked.

–Niki Smith, University Communications and Marketing

Campus Announcements Archive

Join the University Book Club

We’re kicking off another year of reading with the University Book Club! Our book selections (and tentative meeting times/locations) are listed below.  We’d love to have you join us!

Fall Break –  The Good Neighbor – The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King (planning to meet up on 10/22 at Freedom Blend Coffee)

November – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Movie Night at Flix Brewhouse (exact date/time TBD)

Winter Break – Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini (planning to meet 1/15 at the Ingersoll Cheese Shop)

Spring Break – There There by Tommy Orange (planning to meet on 3/26 at the Drake Fong’s)

Summer Break – The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore (planning to meet on 6/23 at Louie’s Wine Dive)

If you would like to be on our mailing list, please let Sara Heijerman or Dan Chibnall know.  Also, feel free to join our new Facebook group for updates and additional information throughout the year!

—Sara Heijerman, Finance and Administration;  Dan Chibnall, Cowles Library

HR Information Archive

Welcome new Bulldogs

Please join the Human Resources department in welcoming our 13 new, full-time Drake University employees, for the month of July.

  • Amanda Hoerres  / CPHS, Drug Development Fellow
  • Richelle Williams / CPHS, Assistant Professor, Athletic Training
  • Rachel Allen-McHugh / CPHS, Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
  • Lauren McCarthy / Registrar’s Office, Transfer Student Advisor
  • Lydia Roush / RaySociety, Program Coordinator
  • Brock Yossi / Athletics, Assistant Director, Athletic Facilities
  • Louis Poeppel / Athletics, Assistant Equipment Manager
  • Emily Madsen / Athletics, Assistant Director, Rec.Service – Wellness
  • Jeffrey Love / Public Safety, Campus Public Safety Officer
  • Corey Kasperbauer / Public Safety, Campus Public Safety Officer
  • Flor Soto Contreras / Head Start, CCP Monitoring Specialist
  • Oziel Esquivel / ITS, Infrastructure Support Specialist
  • Steven (Steve) Ramsey / Events Management, Assistant Events Manager

—Laura Schwarz, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Free ESL classes for Drake faculty and staff

Giving employees the opportunity to develop their skills is an important component of Drake’s culture. Here is a great learning opportunity for those interested at Drake to improve their English. Drake has a comprehensive Intensive English Program that offers intermediate and advanced level classes with an academic focus. If you feel you may need additional help honing certain English skills, be it advanced academic writing, grammar, or speaking, or if you simply would like to improve your pronunciation, consider taking one of these classes. The best news is that all Drake employees, can take IEP classes free of charge.

View the course schedule for Fall 2019. The classes currently offered are:

  • Reading I and Reading II
  • Writing I and Writing II
  • Speaking/Listening I and Speaking/Listening II
  • Grammar I and Grammar II
  • Pronunciation and Spelling
  • TOEFL Preparation
  • American Culture (This class offers regular field trips to various Des Moines locations to help students learn more about the local culture, American values, and history. This semester’s trips may include the Des Moines Art Center, State Historical Museum, Living History Farms, Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge, the Capitol, and even a downtown bike tour!)

Please note that these classes are not credit-bearing.

Fall classes begin on Monday, Aug. 26, and end on Friday, Dec. 6.  The last day to register for a class is Friday, Aug. 30. You have an option of auditing a class at any time during the semester without registering. If you are interested in joining one of the classes or have any questions about the program, please contact Dina Khayrushina. Our office is located in the International Center on 25th Street.

—Dina Khayrushina, Center for International Programs and Services

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Join the Faculty Writing Group

Drake faculty members are invited to participate in a Faculty Writing Group (FWG) focused on working effectively on our scholarship. We will meet from 11–12:30 monthly on Fridays. The FWG will be co-facilitated by Nate Holdren (LPS) and En Li (History). Our goal will be to help set ourselves up to make progress on our scholarship over the semester. We will read Joli Jensen’s book Write No Matter What and discuss it to the degree that participants find it useful. The session will also include discussion/workshop of the faculty members’ own scholarship and on-site writing time.

This writing group is generously supported by the Provost’s Office. There are spots for 10 faculty participants. Should more than 10 individuals express interest, priority shall be given to 1) Those who actively participated in the previous Faculty Writing Groups, 2) Tenure-track faculty who are not yet tenured, 3) Faculty who are members of groups under-represented.

Participants who attend all five sessions will receive a stipend of $150. Light lunches will be provided for four sessions (exclude the introductory meeting in August).

If you are interested in participating, fill out the interest form by the morning of Friday, August 23.

If you have questions, please contact the co-facilitators of the FWG, Nate Holdren (nate.holdren@drake.edu) and En Li (en.li@drake.edu).

Strategic Updates Archive

Key University initiatives added to Continuous Improvement Plan website

The Continuous Improvement Plan site now features a listing of University initiatives. These initiatives reflect some of the major work underway to fulfill our objectives. Would you like to learn more about what’s going on around campus? Please take a look!

While you are there, you are encouraged to click on the “+” signs around the site to learn how our plan is translated to action.

—Nate Reagen, Chief of Staff

For Students Archive

Back to Campus ITS Update

Happy fall semester! Here’s what’s new over the summer from ITS as well as a refresher on what we offer.

New this summer! Drake has launched the eduroam wireless network. It will replace DUFacStaff on Dec. 31. By connecting to eduroam with your Drake email address and password, you can connect on campus, across the state, and around the world. Eduroam is available in over 100 countries at over 1000 participating institutions. Learn more and make the switch today.

ITS News & Announcements: Information on outages, new initiatives, and other news can be found at drake.edu/its, on service.drake.edu/its, or by following @DrakeITServices on Twitter. Want outage notifications texted to you? Opt in by texting DrakeITS2020 to phone number 226787. We also include regular announcements in OnCampus.

ITS Support Center: The ITS support center is located in the lower level of Carnegie Hall. Walk-in support is available Monday–Thursday from 8–6:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8–4:30 p.m. Phone support is available 24/7 by calling 515-271-3001 or you can report an issue using the IT service portal.

Living in the residence hall and want to connect your game console or streaming device? Follow the instructions at Connecting a Game Console, Smart TV, or Streaming Device to the Drake Network (How-to) to connect wirelessly. Want a wired connection? Submit a Wired Network Issue to request one.

MyDrake campus portal: myDrake is your gateway to campus information, resources, and functions and is located at my.drake.edu. You’ll see links to the student tools you need.

Need online training resources? Check out our curated list at Technology Training Resources for Students.

New and not sure where to get started? Visit drake.edu/its/students.

Also, watch for more details on the fourth annual ITS Phishing Quiz coming Oct. 1.

—Carla Herling, ITS

Strategic Updates Archive

Gregory and Suzie Glazer Burt Boys and Girls Club clap-in

On Friday, Aug. 30, the Gregory and Suzie Glazer Burt Boys and Girls Club will hold its inaugural Burt Bash, and the Drake campus is invited to clap, cheer, and celebrate the start of the fall semester.

The Burt Boys and Girls Club opens with the start of Des Moines Public School, and for the first week the Burt Club staff will be welcoming new members. The Burt Bash will be the first Club party, and your presence will help kick-off the festivities. Simply show up on the 25th Street sidewalk adjacent to the Burt Club front doors, join the human tunnel, and warm up your welcoming voice. Kids will arrive by bus from their schools in two waves, roughly at 2:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. You are invited to join one or both waves.

—Ryan Arnold, Community Relations