Stay fit during J-term! Gail will be teaching two lunchtime (12:15-12:45) classes every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month of January in the Bell Center Studio.
Tuesdays will be FUNctional Fitness, and Thursday will be all about Kettle Bells. We have so much fun, and we hope to see you in class!
—Gail Witte, Recreational Services
The countdown to the Drake Road Races is on! It’s the perfect time to make your Relays Resolution, whether you’re aiming for a personal best or simply enjoying the excitement of race day. We’ve already shared some inspiring stories of participants who are gearing up for the event—check them out and get motivated! Don’t miss your chance to join the Drake community in this exciting tradition. Register today and start your journey toward the Blue Oval!
Register here: https://www.drakeroadraces.org/
– Ben Huftalin, Assistant Director, Event Production
Drake reimburses mileage for the use of personal automobiles for actual miles driven during business travel, not gas receipts. The reimbursement rate is based on the current standard mileage rate issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the standard mileage rate issued by the IRS for the use of a car will be:
$.70 cents per business mile driven, up 3 cents from 2024.
The standard mileage rate is evaluated annually by the IRS and is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile.
If you have any questions regarding the reimbursable mileage rate, please visit the IRS website, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-increases-the-standard-mileage-rate-for-business-use-in-2025-key-rate-increases-3-cents-to-70-cents-per-mile, or contact Accounting at accounting@drake.edu.
—Jenifer Baugher, Accounting
End of the Fall semester: Building schedules will change for the Winter Break and the start/end of the semesters. Following finals, we will adopt “administrative hours” for most campus buildings while classes are not in session (buildings will be open on weekdays from 7:30 am – 4:30 pm December 16–20). Most extended hour student access plans will also be disabled for the break.
Winter Break: Doors will be locked for the winter break from December 21st to January 1st. 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 continue to be shut off during this time.
Start of J-term semester: “Administrative hours” (7:30am – 4:30pm) will resume for the staff’s return on January 2nd and 3rd, and then regular Monday – Friday academic year building hours and extended student access will resume at the start of J-term (January 6th). Due to decreased weekend traffic during J-term, we will again lock buildings on the weekends through January and will be 100% back to our normal schedule when Spring semester starts, the week of January 27.
If you have a scheduling conflict that will be affected by this door schedule, please speak to your building manager so they can put in a ticket to unlock the doors outside of our planned schedule. Please note that not every building will follow this schedule exactly (Rec, Cowles, Law, and Olmsted often have some schedule variations), so feel free to check in at those buildings if you are unsure of their schedules.
Please contact Public Safety (515-271-2222) if you have a door access emergency during this time. Feel free to email studentservices@drake.edu if you have a general (non-emergent) card access question or concern.
Happy Holiday Season!
—Sara Heijerman, Finance & Administration
Rec Services will have shortened hours November 24-December 1 for Thanksgiving. See attached flyer for specific hours.
—Allison Bjork, Recreational Services
Thanksgiving: Campus building hours will be adjusted for the Thanksgiving Holiday – most of campus will be closed Wednesday 11/27 through Saturday 11/30. Card access will still allow you to enter your authorized buildings, and most regular door schedules will resume on Sunday, December 1st.
End of the Fall semester: Building schedules will also change for the Winter Break and the start/end of the semesters. Following finals, we will adopt “administrative hours” for most campus buildings while classes are not in session (buildings will be open on weekdays from 7:30 am – 4:30 pm 12/16-12/20). Most extended hour student access plans will also be disabled for the break.
Winter Break: Doors will be locked for the winter break from December 21st to January 1st. 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 continue to be shut off during this time.
Start of J-term semester: “Administrative hours” (7:30am – 4:30pm) will resume for the staff’s return on 1/2 and 1/3, and then regular Monday – Friday academic year building hours and extended student access will resume at the start of J-term (January 6th). Due to decreased weekend traffic during J-term, we will again lock buildings on the weekends through January and will be 100% back to our normal schedule when Spring semester starts, the week of January 27.
If you have a scheduling conflict that will be affected by this door schedule, please speak to your building manager so they can put in a ticket to unlock the doors outside of our planned schedule. Please note that not every building will follow this schedule exactly (Rec, Cowles, Law, and Olmsted often have some schedule variations), so feel free to check in at those buildings if you are unsure of their schedules.
Please contact Public Safety (515-271-2222) if you have a door access emergency during this time. Feel free to email studentservices@drake.edu if you have a general (non-emergent) card access question or concern.
Happy Holiday Season!
—Sara Heijerman, Finance & Administration
This is an invitation to attend the reception for the upcoming exhibition, “Place and Belonging: A Collaborative Oral History Project of the Drake Neighborhood.” The exhibition showcases the stories collected by students of the “Practice of Oral History” class in collaboration with the local and global communities of the Drake Neighborhood.
—Chloe Lepak
Join Drake GroupX on Dec 5th from 6:30-7pm for Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is a relaxation and meditation practice that guides participants to a state of conscious relaxation, blurring the line between wakefulness and sleep. Practiced lying down, it involves systematic relaxation, breath awareness, and guided visualization to induce deep physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. Check the Drake Rec App for details and sign-up!
—Gail Witte, Recreational Services
Join us at the Bell Center on Dec 6th from 12:15-12:45 for a relaxing yoga session and a cup of tea to de-stress from finals. Check the Drake Rec App for details and sign-up!
—Gail Witte, Recreational Services
Ready to make this year’s Drake Road Races even better? We’re thrilled to announce our brand-new “Run Together, Earn Together” referral program, designed to help you save while bringing your favorite people to join the race!
Here’s how it works: For every one friend or family member who signs up using your unique referral link, you’ll earn $5 back. You can keep earning up to the full amount of your entry fee – which means, with enough friends, you could be running for free!
It’s that simple. Run together, earn together, and experience the excitement of race day with the people who make it all worthwhile.
—Ben Huftalin, Drake Relays
