All posts by Megan Brown

Two spots remain in Writing in your Academic Field for Spring 2024

Written communication is important in almost any academic field, but the genres and accepted conventions of writing vary from discipline to discipline. In this project, we will discuss ways to integrate writing instruction into courses for which written communication is not necessarily the primary learning outcome, as well as courses that require students to communicate in field-specific ways (for instance, lab reports or business memos).

Instructors who participate in this project will have a one-semester commitment that will include:

  • Working with the Director of Writing, Megan Brown, on the development of a writing assignment, writing activities, or a writing project for one of their spring classes.
  • Attending hour-long meetings of all participants in the program in February, March, and April (or early May) 2024.  These meetings may be structured as two sessions each month, with half of the group at each session, to facilitate more in-depth discussion.
  • Requiring all students enrolled in their class to attend tutoring sessions at the Writing Center at least twice during the semester.

After the initial meeting(s) with the Director of Writing to develop a writing assignment or writing project, participants will receive a stipend of $250. After completing the project and attending the final meeting, participants will receive an additional $250.

Participation is limited to 10 individuals.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Madison Bemus (madison.bemus@drake.edu) by Friday, December 15.

If you have questions, please contact Megan Brown (megan.brown@drake.edu).

— Megan Brown, Professor of English

Rec Center upcoming classes

Gear up for the last two weeks of the semester, Bulldogs! Bring your favorite blanket for a deep rest reset with our Yoga Nidra workshop on Dec. 5. This workshop helps promote stress relief and rejuvenation just in time for finals week. Need to rally before finals? We’ve got you covered for that too! Light up the night with our Holiday Glow Light party on Dec. 8. Sign up for these, as well as our regularly scheduled classes, on the Drake Rec App and invite your friends! Our last GroupX class of the semester will be Barre Fusion on Wednesday, Dec. 13, we hope to see you there!

— Gail Witte, Rec Services

Register now for the Spring 2024 BUILD classes

Bulldogs United in Learning & Development (BUILD) provides faculty and staff learning opportunities throughout the academic year that address technical, soft, philosophical, and very practical skills.  BUILD is a great platform for learning new ideas as well as an opportunity to collaborate with others from across campus.

The Spring 2024 schedule is now available for viewing and registration is open.  Please take a moment to check out the classes on the Drake HR website under Learning & Development.  Click on BUILD – Upcoming Sessions for the full list, including detailed descriptions.  There is an online registration link to a Qualtrics survey that makes signing up easy.

Most classes are only an hour in length, and many are facilitated by our own faculty and staff.  This is a great way to invest in yourself, support your colleagues, and take in the culture that Drake has to offer.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Wellmark-provided perks: Identity protection, health/wellness discounts, and more

During the educational sessions offered in November, Wellmark shared some additional programs that are available to health care plan participants at no additional cost. So, if you are on Drake’s healthcare plan, you can check out these additional perks. We have added these items to our Perks Page. If you have not checked out that page yet, you are missing out! There are a lot of perks to being a Drake employee.

#1: Free Identity Theft Protection

What it is: Drake employees and their dependents who are enrolled in Drake’s healthcare have access to identity protection services at no cost. Wellmark has a partner agreement with IDX Identity. It just takes a few minutes to enroll. The program will conduct an immediate scan of the information you provide (such as personal email accounts, bank accounts). Once you create an account, you’ll be sent alerts, you can periodically check your dashboard, etc. They also offer a number of other services, including a private search browser and password checker.

How to find it: Log into myWellmark and scroll to the very bottom of the webpage, on the bottom left you will see “Identity Protection” (under “DO MORE” and “Contact Us”). When you click on that link, you’ll first see a screen where you need to copy the enrollment code. When you go to enroll, have your Wellmark insurance card handy. To create an account, you will need to provide the Group No. and your ID number (which is listed directly below your name). After you create your account, you will need to verify your email address and then you will be able to log in. Provide as much or as little information as you like and test out the different tools.

What I Learned: Both of my personal email accounts had recently been hacked, one as recently as Sept. 30, 2023! They offered “What should I do?” guidance (I updated my passwords and will be extra leery of suspicious emails).

#2: Blue 365

What it is:  Oh boy! You are going to love Blue 365. Blue365 offers premier health and wellness discounts and is free to join. You can sort by topic to check out all current deals on topics such as: apparel & footwear, fitness, hearing & vision, home & family, nutrition, personal care, and travel.

How to find it: Log into myWellmark. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a column of tiles, the top one being “Home”. Go down to the “Well-being” tile and click on it. You can learn more about all of the different vendors and discounts offered through Blue 365 by clicking on Visit Blue365 (on the right side of the screen under Member Discounts). Once on the Blue 365 site, you’ll need your health insurance card handy to create an account.

What I learned: Deals are added and expire regularly—so check back regularly to see what is new and still active. At present, you can get discounts on things like: Garmin equipment, Blue Apron, Nutrisystem, Skechers, Crocs, Reebok, Kind bars, Jabra earbuds, pet insurance, Chewy, Walt Disney World, Budget/Avis, and many other vendors. So many deals. Check it out!!

#3: BeWell 24/7

What it is: Health questions can arise no matter the time of day. From your child’s earache to side effects from a new medication, BeWell 24/7 can help. You can call the BeWell number day or night to get answers from real health care professionals and put your mind at ease. By using this resource you can:

  • Receive an evaluation based on your symptoms and recommendations for where to go for care.
  • Locate health care providers and facilities — whether at home or traveling.
  • Discuss treatment options and answer your health and wellness questions.

How to find it: Log into myWellmark. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a column of tiles, the top one being “Home.” Go down to the “Well-being” tile and click on it. You can learn more about BeWell 24/7 on this page. To access this service call 844-84-BEWELL (844-842-3935).

#4 Pregnancy Support Program

What it is: This site provides expecting parents with support by:

  • Providing educational materials based on your needs
  • Helping you understand if you or your baby are at risk
  • Being available to answer questions whenever you have them

How to find it: Log into myWellmark. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a column of tiles, the top one being “Home.” Go down to the “Well-being” tile and click on it. If you click “Learn More” on the Pregnancy Support Program tile, you will land on a new page with a number of resources—including a prenatal assessment, “Count the Kicks” and “Text4Baby”.

— Maureen R De Armond, Human Resources

Access the Chronicle of Philanthropy with your Cowles Library card

For nearly 35 years, the Chronicle of Philanthropy has been the premier source of news, information, analysis, and opinion in the rapidly growing nonprofit world.

The Chronicle’s special reports, popular webinars, and free briefings provide indispensable information from top nonprofit experts.

You can register with your Drake email address to directly access content at philanthropy.com.

— Erin Menardi, Cowles Library

Winter break building schedule/card access update

Building schedules will change for the holiday break. Following commencement weekend, we will adopt “administrative hours” for most campus buildings while classes are not in session (most buildings will be open from 7:30 am – 4:30 pm, December 18 – 20).

Doors will be locked for the winter break from December 21 – January 2, with J-Term students and campus employees returning to campus on January 3 to their normal building schedules/hours.

Faculty and staff will still be able to utilize their authorized access plans over the break (for example, 24/7 access to their office building), but extended hour student plans will be shut off during this time.

Please contact Public Safety (515-271-2222) if you have a door access emergency during Winter Break, 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

Drake’s All In 24-Hour Giving Challenge set for March 7–8

Drake’s All In 24-Hour Giving Challenge is a fun philanthropic tradition that enriches the critical resources that support our campus community.

Mark your calendars for March 7–8, 2024, noon-noon, to celebrate Drake’s All In 2024 Giving Challenge. All In is 24 hours to support, share, and celebrate everything that makes Drake and our students exceptional.

Look for more exciting information in the coming months about matches and challenges, events, and ways to get involved!

— Kara Vaughn, University Advancement

New ESF e-form to replace old form in 2024

The last day to submit the old ESF form will be Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023 (last business day of the year). Beginning with the new year, the old form will no longer be accepted.

You can access the new e-form by going to myDusis/Administrator Tools/ProcessMaker Workflow.  It can also be found on the HR SharePoint ESF Information webpage.  If you missed the training, check out our self-paced training on this page as well.

— Teresa Downs, Human Resources

Azure virtual desktop release

ITS has been preparing a successor to Citrix for remote access to desktops and applications called Azure Virtual Desktops (AVD). This solution provides a more modern client and desktop experience. The desktop is the latest version of Windows 11, and all applications are the most up-to-date versions.  

Several months have been spent setting up the environment and testing to ensure AVD will meet the needs of the University. This included day-to-day use of AVD by a pilot group of students, faculty, and staff. The feedback provided has been very positive and was extremely helpful for identifying, preventing, and fixing issues before rolling AVD out to the entire campus community.   

If you currently use Citrix to access applications or desktops, you should have access to the same resources in AVD. Please begin switching to AVD at your leisure. Below are instructions for installing the Remote Desktop client used to access AVD on Drake and personally owned computers. 

Installing Remote Desktop on a Drake-Owned Windows Computer (How-to) 

Installing Remote Desktop on a Personally-Owned Windows Computer (How-to) 

Installing Remote Desktop on a Drake-Owned Mac (How-to) 

Installing Remote Desktop on a Personally-Owned Mac (How-to) 

Additional instructions are available and linked below. These provide guidance on using the Remote Desktop client including client, including ways to adjust display settings.  

Using Azure Virtual Desktops (How-to) 

Citrix will remain available until the end of J-term. Please transition to AVD before the start of the spring semester on January 29, 2024.

If you have any issues using or would like assistance setting up AVD, please contact the Support Center online at service.drake.edu/its or by phone at 515-271-3001.  

— Chris Mielke, ITS

Bulldog Bucks program: GrubHub giveaway

One of our Bulldog Bucks partners, Grubhub, has generously donated two sets of Beats Studio Buds, Grubhub gift cards, and Insomnia Cookies for giveaways this week that you can enter to win!

Prizes are available for both students and employees who have affiliated with Drake University in the Campus Dining section of the Grubhub app and have added Bulldog Bucks. To enter, you’ll place a $0 order in the Insomnia Cookie pop-up shop open today until Thursday, December 7, 2023, at 11:59 pm (one entry per person).

Stop by our table in the Olmsted Breezeway on Thursday from 2:30 – 4:30 pm and pick up an Insomnia cookie with your entry (while supplies last). If you can’t make it to our table on Thursday, you are still welcome to enter the contest in the app.

We’ll draw 4 winners on Friday, and you’ll be notified via email from studentservices@drake.edu if you’ve won! Reminder, with our Grubhub partnership you get a free Grubhub+ Student membership through graduation which means unlimited $0 delivery fees*! Plus, you can use your Bulldog Bucks to pay.

You can also use your Bulldog Bucks at the Bookstore, Gursha, Dough Co, Rico’s, Fernando’s, Hummus, and newly added Panka Coffee! Download the Grubhub app and connect to Drake University to get started.

Funds can be added anytime in the myDrake portal, and can also be used for on-campus Drake Dining purchases. Remember that Dining Dollars can ONLY be used on campus, but Bulldog Bucks can be used on OR off campus. Good luck!”

— Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center