Please consider nominating a colleague for the second annual Philanthropy Bug Award. Submissions are due to Emily Weaver by Friday, March 20.

The Philanthropy Bug Award recognizes faculty and staff members who embody Maddie Levitt’s spirit of philanthropy and service to Drake University. Maddie Levitt was a longtime volunteer, friend, and tireless advocate for Drake University.

Throughout her years of service to Drake, her beloved yellow Volkswagen Bug was a constant presence outside of Old Main, and it became a symbol of her enduring commitment to bettering Drake University for future generations of students.

If you would like to nominate a colleague who you think exemplifies Maddie’s spirit of philanthropy and generosity please submit their name, title, and a short paragraph explaining why you believe they are deserving of the award to Emily Weaver, director of donor engagement, at emily.weaver@drake.edu by Friday, March 20.

Last year’s recipients included Dan Alexander, Deb DeLaet, and Jen Harvey. These three faculty members were recognized for their efforts to establish the Catalyst Scholarship and Emergency Fund.

Award winner(s) will be celebrated at a Faculty/Staff Donor Appreciation Breakfast on May 6.

— Emily Weaver, University Advancement

Drake’s All Staff Council Recognition Committee recently recognized Law School staff with a Bulldog Applause. Read the Q&A below to learn more about the Law School team.

How many staff members are in the department? 
The Law School employs 28 support staff and administrative personnel in areas including admission, student services, career development, marketing, alumni relations, advancement, Legal Clinic administration, and general support to the faculty and deans. 

Who has been with the team the longest? 
The longest serving member of the team is Kara Blanchard, assistant dean for admission and financial aid. Kara joined the Law School in 1996—24 years ago.

Who is the newest team member? 
The newest member of the team is Elicia Ropte, public services associate in the Drake Law Library. Elicia joined the Law School staff last fall.  

What campus buildings do your team members “live” in? 
Law School staff work in Cartwright Hall, Opperman Hall, and the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center. 

Anything else noteworthy/interesting/special about your department that bears mentioning? 
Serving on the Law School staff is like being part of a big family. We support each other’s ups and downs, someone always has your back, and we throw a mean pot luck!

The Olmsted parking lot (lot 16) will be closed for the campus Job Fair Thursday, Feb. 13, from 6 a.m.–5 p.m. We apologize for the inconvenience. The closure is necessary to accommodate this large, campus-wide program. Yellow–Zone 1 passes will be honored in all non-premium commuter lots on Thursday (not lot 13/Ray Promenade or lot 18/Stadium lot).

— Scott Law

The Office of University Communications and Marketing has developed an online tool to share news of faculty and staff accomplishments. Accessible at http://www.drake.edu/accomplishments, you are able to write a complete story for submission to the newsroom, including the option to upload a relevant photo. The form is designed to act like a minimalistic word processor, capable of adding links, bullet points, and other style choices.

Submission of this form creates a draft story on the back-end of our newsroom. The communications team is notified of the presence of a new story so that we may make any necessary changes to accommodate Drake’s style guide or other minor editorial changes prior to publication. This process is designed to speed the process of sharing good news and to help ensure accuracy of what is published online. Following review, the story will be published to the University’s online newsroom, and you will then have an active link to share via social media, email, and other means.

Articles submitted to this form are reviewed weekly. In cases where a quicker turnaround is required, please reach out directly to Jarad Bernstein, director of communications at jarad.bernstein@drake.edu.

— Jarad Bernstein, University Communications and Marketing

For the second year, the Wold Languages and Cultures department is offering a free 5-session Arabic language workshop. It was so popular last year, and this Spring, you are invited to take advantage of this great opportunity to learn an amazing language and earn a completion certificate. All students, staff, and faculty are invited to join. The first 10 students to register get a free textbook (restrictions apply).

The workshop will be held Mondays from 5:30–7 p.m. from March 23 through April 20. View registration details at: https://forms.gle/Qc23SYEyGWXYmnjn6.

— Ibrahim Khalaylih, World Languages and Cultures

Faculty, staff, and students are now able to connect to classroom wireless displays using AirPlay. If you are using a Macintosh computer or iOS device (iPhone, iPad) you will now be able to share your screen to WirelessDisplay units in campus classrooms without needing an app (Extron Sharelink).    

ITS enabled AirPlay because of changes Apple has made with its newest operating system (OS), Catalina. For users who have purchased computers with Catalina pre-installed, or have upgraded to Catalina, the Sharelink application will no longer work.    

If you have not upgraded to Catalina, and are currently using the Sharelink app to connect to classrooms, you may keep using this option or switch to using AirPlay. Windows users will continue to connect via the Sharelink app.     

Learn more about connecting to WirelessDisplay for each type of device from the links below:

Using AirPlay to connect to WirelessDisplay on Mac OS (How-to) Using AirPlay to connect to WirelessDisplay on iOS (How-to)Using Wireless Display for Windows (How-to)

— Carla Herling, ITS

If you visited service.drake.edu/its or clicked on the IT Support link in myDrake, you may have noticed a new look. We’ve made some changes to the layout to make answers easier to find. In addition to submitting online requests for assistance, be sure to browse the tech resources and instructions available in our knowledge base. Never used our site? Learn more at Using the IT Service Portal (How-to).

We’re also launching a new feature allowing you to interact online with ITS staff to resolve technical issues. With your consent, ITS staff will be able to remotely access your computer to diagnose and resolve issues. All interactions will be logged as part of the request and no ITS staff member will ever access a computer without permission. In order to easily facilitate this new support option, ITS pushed out software to all Drake-owned computers on Wednesday, Jan. 29. As a result, you may see a new icon in your menu bar or software area for BeyondTrust, the remote support tool we’re using.

Learn about how remote support will work at Using Remote Support with ITS (How-to)

By switching to remote support, ITS is hopeful that we will be able to improve response and resolution times. Remote support will become the primary initial method of assistance and in-person support will only be provided if remote access cannot resolve the issue.

— Carla Herling, ITS

Registration for the Grand Blue Mile opens on Tuesday, Feb. 11, with just two days of flash sale pricing. For only $10, adults and youths can sign-up and receive a Grand Blue Mile 2020 race shirt, professional timing, and results and the opportunity to run the same course as the elite field. Head over to GrandBlueMile.com to take advantage of this unheard of price point. Mark your calendar and spread the word.

— Tanner Nissen, Assistant Director, Relays Event Production