The World Language and Cultures Department is offering a free six-session workshop to learn Arabic. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome to join. The workshop will be held every Monday from 5:30–7 p.m. from April 1 through May 6. Register for the workshop.

Ibrahim Khalaylih, World Languages and Cultures

The National Weather Service will conduct a statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, March 27. A test tornado watch will be issued around 10 a.m. followed by a test tornado warning around 10:15 a.m., in which sirens will sound.

The statewide drill allows us to test our planning and readiness and practice seeking appropriate shelter in case of a real tornado. Faculty, staff, and students should participate in the drill by following campus severe weather plans and going to the lowest level of their building, away from doorways and windows. View a list of designated severe weather shelters.

In the event of actual severe weather in the state during the drill, backup days are scheduled for March 28 and 29.

Learn what actions to take when a tornado hits, whether you are outside in a manufactured home or in a building.

Wherever you are, remember that most injuries associated with high winds are from flying debris, so protect your head.

Tornado facts:

• Tornados may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
• Funnel clouds usually last less than 10 minutes before dissipating, and many only last several seconds. On rare occasion, cyclones can last for over an hour.
• Tornados may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
• The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 mph, but may vary from stationary to 70 mph.
• Damage paths of tornadoes can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.

Tornado watch: Tornadoes are possible. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned to the NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for information.

Tornado Warning: A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Seek shelter immediately.

Chris Nickell, Environmental Health and Safety

There will be no OnCampus newsletter Tuesday, March 19, during spring break. OnCampus will resume the following week.

Ashton Hockman, University Communications and Marketing

Facilities Planning and Management is asking all faculty, staff, and students who will not be on campus over spring break to help conserve energy by following these simple guidelines:

• Shut down and unplug computers, monitors, televisions and all auxiliary devices if you leave them behind. When plugged in, many electronic items use electricity whether they’re turned on or not.
• Don’t forget to unplug phone chargers and small appliances, like coffeepots and microwaves as well.
• Turn off room lights in your space and any task lighting.
• If you can manually adjust the thermostat in your space, turn it down to low and adjust temperature to 65 degrees.
• Empty out refrigerators and unplug if they are not needed. This is a great time to dispose of old food items and clean the refrigerator. Be sure to keep the door open while you are away for the week.
• Make sure all windows are shut. If you have a window air condition unit, ensure it is turned off and unplugged.

Thank you for taking these simple steps to help Drake save energy across campus.  Have a wonderful spring break!

Kevin Moran, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management

Due to decreased traffic during Spring Break, we will be adjusting the building open hours to better secure the campus and improve resident safety. Please note that this will not affect any academic/administrative building “after-hours” card access. 

Almost all academic and administrative buildings will be closed on Saturday and Sunday during break (March 16, 17, and 23). Most buildings will have open hours from 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. during the week of Spring Break (March 18–22). Regular hours will resume on Sunday, March 24. 

Cowles Library open hours/after-hours are listed on their website.

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

ITS supports campus technology with on-campus and offsite data centers. Recently, our offsite data center raised its rates. To avoid increasing our annual costs, ITS is moving our offsite data center to a new location. At the same time, we are replacing aging equipment and improving internet connectivity by offering additional redundancy for campus. A project team has been created and is currently planning this work. 

Below are a few key project dates: 

• Spring Break (March 18 and 19) – Preparation work will begin by bringing new server storage online and moving some servers.
• Mid-April – New internet connections will be established and network communication equipment will be placed in our new location.
• After Relays – Equipment will be moved from the old offsite data center to the new offsite data center. The team will also make sure the new offsite data center communicates properly with the main data center.

Watch for additional OnCampus articles updating you on the project in April, May, and June. Also, ITS leadership will be providing more detailed information to some key stakeholder groups in the near future.

Please be aware that moving the offsite data center introduces the risk that campus technology may become unavailable. This is because for a period of time we will be unable to fail over to our offsite data center. The team is working to identify ways to minimize or eliminate any potential outages. In the event that any outages do occur, we will notify campus through our regular communication channels. 

Kris Brewster, ITS

Cowles Library is proud to present a collaborative project with Professor Sarah McCoy and her students entitled “Inspiring Women of Drake and the State of Iowa.” The Cowles Library Diversity Task Force formed the idea, and Professor McCoy’s students in the graphic design course “Content and Audience” visited our University Archives to research a woman of their choosing. The result is a collection of beautiful prints and posters that will be displayed throughout the month of March in celebration of Women’s History Month. Please come visit us and enjoy the artwork.

Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian

Protex Central, an expert in fire protection systems, will on be campus March 18 and 19 to inspect fire panels. They will begin inspection work at approximately 7:30 a.m. and work until approximately 4 p.m. on both days. 

Jolene Schmidt, Facilities Planning and Management

The work order system aims to support the Facilities Planning and Management commitments below, which were issued last October in response to the Administrative Service Survey.

1. Ensure that FPM meets the promised response and resolution timeframes.
2. Collaborate to find reasonable and supportable long-term solutions.
3. Strive to understand issues and requests before beginning work.
4. Confirm the request was completed to satisfaction.
5. Improve communication related to work order requests and projects.
6. Work as a team to provide facility-related services on behalf of Drake.

These commitments assure that the department achieves its Continuous Improvement Plan objectives.

Another measure that FPM plans to provide annually are its Satisfaction and Performance Survey Results provided through TeamDyanmix. View FPM’s 2018 results.

Manny Toribio, Facilities Planning and Management

Facilities Planning and Management along with President Martin and Provost Mattison have been receiving several emails and calls in regards to safety concerns and the well-being of faculty, staff, students, and visitors with the snow and ice on pavement around the campus.  FPM has the same concerns and is committed to ensuring that snow and ice are cleared to the best of our abilities with a staff of 10 dedicated employees responsible with clearing over 11 acres of parking lots and 13 miles of sidewalks.

This winter in central Iowa has been a record breaking one for snow fall and cold temperatures. Often the staff are starting early in the morning between 3–4 a.m. and working a 12–18 hour shift.  Most of the snow storms this winter have not completely stopped by the time the majority of people arrive on campus, which affects the parking lots once cars start to compact the freshly fallen snow.  The temperatures have also been too low for salt to be effective and sand is being used for traction. Our crews continue to clear drifts from walks and parking lots, and as it has been typical this winter, getting ready for the next storm to make its way to central Iowa.

FPM would like everyone to be aware of the conditions around them as they travel across the campus and remember these 10 tips to avoid winter injuries.  Hopefully there is some warmer temperatures ahead as spring nears.  Our staff would be the first to agree that this has been a long, cold February. We are looking forward to getting the campus lawn green and flowers growing for the track events ahead.  

Kevin Moran, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management