Single sign-on (SSO) for Blackboard was implemented on Dec. 19. You now sign in using the standard Drake login page rather than the Blackboard login screen.

SSO is an authentication process that allows a user to access multiple applications with one set of credentials and a single login instance. Once a user logs in once, they gain access to different Drake applications, without the need to re-enter login credentials for each application.

Example: You log into myDrake first thing in the morning to check your email. While reading your email, you see that you need to check your Blackboard courses for upcoming assignments. Since you already logged into myDrake from checking your email, you can access Blackboard without being prompted to re-enter your Drake credentials.

Learn more about SSO and the additional systems Drake ITS is working on integrating with it by reading Single Sign On (SSO) and Drake applications (FAQ).

— Carla Herling, ITS

On Monday, Jan. 20, you can honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at events across central Iowa — Make it a day ON, not a day off.

7th Annual MLK Jr. Prayer Breakfast
7:30 a.m., The Knapp Center, hosted by John R. Grubb YMCA
This community event celebrates Dr. King’s legacy and promotes his message for peace and justice and recognizes the winners of the 2020 Make a Difference Awards. Proceeds benefit the John R. Grubb Community YMCA’s annual campaign, giving local families access to the Y through financial assistance and supports enrichment programs like Starfish Academy, a summer literacy camp. Listen to keynote speakers, a gospel choir, and more. Purchase a ticket.

Undesign the Redline Exhibit
10 a.m., 2 p.m., or 5 p.m., Franklin Jr. High
Stop in for a tour of this Polk County Housing Trust Fund exhibit at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., or 5 p.m. on MLK Jr. Day. This exhibit provides background on federal policies started in the 1930s which neighborhoods were worthy of investment specifically due to the race, ethnicity, and class of residents. These policies had a profoundly negative social and economic impact on those living in “undesirable” neighborhoods, especially African American residents, that persist to this day. The exhibit takes place at Franklin Jr. High.

MLK Day of Service at Bidwell Food Pantry
Volunteers are needed for a variety of tasks including helping clients check in for clothing and bread, stocking food pantry shelves, hanging and sorting donations, and cleaning and sanitizing day care rooms. Sign up on the United Way of Central Iowa’s website.

Urban Dreams MLK Day of Service
9 a.m.–1 p.m. at Urban Dreams (601 Forest Ave.)
The day of service will help the organization with thanking supporters, enhancing programming, deep cleaning the office so clients have a nice place for services, and other tasks needed. Learn more.

MLK Day of Service at Community Youth Concepts
10 a.m.–12 p.m. at CYC (1446 Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy.)
Community Youth Concepts will host service projects from 10 a.m. to noon at CYC. All are invited to participate! There will be a variety of service projects for people of all ages including: making cards for Please Pass the Love, assembling reading packets and making bookmarks for Everybody Wins! Iowa, making seed bombs and bird feeders thanks to Des Moines Parks and Recreation, and making CYC and Stowe Heights magnets to give out at the Annual Spotlight of Service Event. Come you when can, leave when you need to. Learn more.

MLK Jr. Day Packaging event at Meals From the Heartland
Volunteer for a 90-minute shift to package meals for the hungry here in Iowa and around the world. Learn more.

MLK Day of Service Blood Drive
LifeServe will host a blood drive in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. at both LifeServe locations. Donors will receive a free gift. Visit lifeservebloodcenter.org to book your appointment.

MLK Day Celebration at the Forest Avenue Library
4–5 p.m. at Forest Avenue Library
Join the Forest Avenue Library and the DSM community to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and remember the principles and beliefs for which he fought. The event will feature keynote speaker Dwana Bradley, recognition of student art and creative writing entries, and a hands-on art experience for youth with artist Jill Wells. All six DMPL locations will be closed in recognition of the holiday. Forest Ave. Library will only be open during the program. Learn more.

Volunteer Fair
5–7 p.m. at the Urbandale Public Library
Learn about volunteer opportunities and organizations to volunteer within Urbandale. In addition, those with library fines can donate a new personal care item or nonperishable food item to have fines removed.

Free admission at Science Center of Iowa
SCI invites the community to visit, explore programs and exhibits, and bring learning to life with free admission on Martin Luther King Jr. Day thanks to support from Principal Financial Group.

Free ice skating at Brenton Skating Rink
8–9 a.m. at Brenton Skating Rink
Free ice skating with donations of warm clothing, such as: Hats, gloves, mittens, and socks. All donations will be distributed to area shelters. Learn more.

Sing Ebenezer! Songs and Stories from Martin Luther King’s Neighborhood
7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21, Bldg. #6 Auditorium on the DMACC Ankeny Campus, A free-will offering will be taken
The show is an original program created by the Thresholds Music Projects, Inc.  It features two close friends of the King family.  Dr. Albert Brinson was an assistant minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church with Dr. King and his father before Dr. King was killed. The other is operatic soprano Sherry Dukes, who was encouraged in her singing by the Rev. King, Sr. and went on to sing with the Houston Grand Opera. They will be joined by Broadway and film performer Roosevelt André Credit and world renowned opera star Simon Estes. Learn more.

People are also encouraged to reflect upon our complex history and how we might best honor Dr. King’s legacy. Iowa Campus Compact shares these resources to explore:

• Reclaim MLK: Beyond Sanitized Narratives, Truthout (the #ReclaimMLK hashtag on Twitter is another place to look.)
• The King Philosophy, The King Center
• Ibram X. Kendi: Remember Dr. King’s Nightmare This MLK Day, History News Network
• Do’s and Don’ts of Celebrating MLK Day, Teaching Tolerance
• Segregation in America, Equal Justice Initiative
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s Vision for Education, The Atlantic
• Liberation Curriculum, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute at Stanford University

Please contact Amanda Martin, Assistant Director for Community Engaged Learning, at amanda.martin@drake.edu or 515-271-2767 for more information.

Earlier this year, Facilities Planning and Management staff walked the campus with a registered arborist from Perficut Companies to develop a maintenance plan for trees on Drake’s campus.  The work includes crowning, pruning away from buildings, and removal.  The trees being removed have begun to decay and have become safety hazards. Removing them helps to preserve the health of remaining trees and maintains the safety of everyone who visits campus from falling limbs that have died. Perficut will be on campus over the next 2–3 weeks completing the tree work depending on weather and accessibility to the trees with equipment.  If you have questions, please contact Patrick Williams, grounds supervisor.

View a map for a location of trees that require pruning, crowning, or removal.

— Patrick Williams, Grounds Supervisor

University Communications and Marketing (UCM) will hold a professional portrait session Friday, Jan. 17 from 1:30–3 p.m. at the UCM office (1229 25th Street). Professional headshots are free to all Drake faculty, staff, and students. Grab your blazer and head on over! A link to download your photos will be emailed to your Drake account within two weeks.

— Annie Spadt, University Communications & Marketing

Below are a few suggestions to help improve your experience with technology in 2020.

1. Check your Privacy settings and stop oversharing. This guide at staysafeonline.org will show you how to review and change privacy settings on common websites and device types.

2. Keep devices updated. Need to update a Drake-owned machine? Use MakeMeAdmin to get temporary access. Learn more here for Macs and PCs.

3. Clear out old apps, documents, and other files you don’t need. Find information on the best way to clear out old apps and disconnect from old unwanted accounts.

4. Create passphrases and consider a password manager. Learn more.

5. Recycle old devices and unneeded cords and accessories. Learn more.

6. Learn to use software more effectively. We have curated lists of training resources for faculty and staff and for students.

— Carla Herling, ITS

Following today’s issue (Dec. 17), the OnCampus newsletter will take a break for the holidays. The newsletter will return Tuesday, Jan. 14. Submit your content via the online submission form by noon on Friday, Jan. 10, for inclusion in the Jan. 14 issue.

— Ashton Hockman, University Communications & Marketing

Be sure to drive by campus in the evening to check out the holiday decorations the Drake Neighborhood Association installed on the construction fences. The Association hung lights at key spots in the neighborhood and held a special holiday lighting event Monday, Dec. 16. The lights and event were possible by a grant from Invest DSM, several neighborhood volunteers, and cooperation from Drake Facilities Planning and Management and Drake Public Safety, Weitz Construction, and Nelson Development. Hopefully, this brings some holiday cheer to neighbors as we exercise construction patience.

— Ryan Arnold, director of community engagement, University Advancement

As the adage goes, “Feedback is a gift.” That’s something I remind myself and my colleagues when we review and discuss the Administrative Services Survey feedback each year. What did University Communications and Marketing (UCM) learn from this year’s survey? First, that campus is as pleased with our department as they have been since the annual survey began. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being highest, UCM earned a 3.98 score. Moreover, three-fourths of all respondents reported being satisfied or somewhat satisfied with UCM’s work. Both of those scores continue a pattern of improvement.

Campus partners appreciate UCM the most for being courteous (4.58, up from 4.34 last year), professional (4.55, up from 4.23), and knowledgeable (4.45, up from 4.10). Those are the same top three strengths identified in last year’s survey.

Not all feedback is positive, of course. In terms of areas of improvement, respondents most want UCM to be more responsive (3.88) and to deliver more work on time (3.85). These are difficult criticisms to face, as we have worked hard this past year to improve our responsiveness and reliability, even though our staff is 25% smaller than the prior survey period. Making the department smaller was a difficult yet strategic decision to shift resources from staff to services, in order to expand marketing and especially to support the critical need for stronger student recruitment. Still, perception is reality, and we will reflect on what more we can do to improve our responsiveness and turn time.

How about the work itself? Respondents feel that UCM’s output is strongest in the areas of campus communication (4.27) and donor communications (4.05). They would like to see improvement in student recruitment (3.86), public relations (3.86), and strategic planning (3.64). 

Here are some steps we have in mind for spring semester:

Responsiveness and deadlines: 
1. Better educate campus partners on who to contact within UCM for specific needs.
2. Better communicate and reinforce the necessary lead time required to complete a request (typically 2-3 weeks for standard requests, and 4-6 weeks or longer for more complex needs)
3. Ensure campus partners clear their requests first through a Deans Council or President’s Council member so that all of the work being done for a unit is properly prioritized.

Student recruitment:
1. Finish and implement a digital dashboard. This dynamic tool is nearing completion (thank you, ITS and Admission!), and it will help us better understand the impact of marketing efforts across multiple platforms and the University website. We can then periodically report to campus partners on strides being made.
2. In addition to sharing digital dashboard metrics, we would like to periodically share with campus when we have launched new marketing campaigns (digital, social, email, etc.) or tools. This is likely to alleviate questions about what we are doing to help drive recruitment.

Public relations:
1. Work to define a more efficient process for promoting unit-level news, particularly the academic units.
2. Promote the self-serve “Faculty and Staff Accomplishments” form, which allows any faculty or staff member from across campus to generate a news item for the University’s online newsroom.

Strategic planning:
1. Initiate the annual strategic planning process earlier with key partners, particularly Admission and the academic units.
2. For other areas and projects, rely on our Wrike project management system as a tool to help ensure that all aspects of a project have been properly planned upfront – and that we are not just responding to an on-the-fly request that lacks sufficient details.

I welcome any feedback about these ideas, or other suggestions. We are proud and grateful to be stewards of the University’s brand and reputation, and to work with so many great partners from across campus and beyond.

— Dave Remund, executive director, University Communications and Marketing

The University Bookstore will operate on a modified schedule over the holiday break.

Dec. 16–20:  9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Dec. 21: 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Dec. 23: 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Dec. 24–26: Closed
Dec. 27–28: 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Dec. 30: 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Dec. 31–Jan. 1:  Closed
Jan. 2–4: 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Please note: If the building is closed, please enter the bookstore through the outside southwest doors.

I wanted to share with you the most recent results from the ITS section of this year’s Survey of Administrative Services. The results of the survey show that satisfaction with ITS decreased slightly from 2018. The survey makes clear that ITS needs to continue to focus attention on providing high-quality support for our colleagues.

In 2019, overall satisfaction with ITS decreased from 3.99 to 3.96 on a scale of 1 to 5 (see Figure 1). Although the decline is small, I am concerned about any decline in overall satisfaction and I will work closely with the ITS team to turn the trend back around.

Questions related to satisfaction with ITS staff showed modest declines in two key areas: the timeliness of our responses and the regularity of updates around requests (see Figure 2). This information points to the two key areas we will be working on in the coming year.

From left to right in Figure 2:
— ITS staff are courteous
— ITS staff are professional
— ITS staff are knowledgeable
— ITS staff resolve my requests in a timely manner
— ITS staff resolve my requests without errors
— ITS staff provide regular communication about the status of my requests

When I contact ITS, I have confidence my requests will be resolved to my satisfaction

Responses to questions related to ITS’ Continuous Improvement efforts were very similar to last year and even showed some minor increases. Consistent and dependable communication will continue to be a significant focus area for us in 2020.

From left to right in Figure 3:
— I have the right technology tools I need to do my job effectively
— I know how to use the technology I need to do my job effectively
— I have the right level of support to use technology effectively
— I know how to get training when I need to learn new technology
— I know how to find information about the status of technology issues or problems on campus
— ITS keeps me aware of changes to technology that will impact my work

Taken as a whole, my conclusion is that ITS must pay close attention to being consistent, dependable, and communicative. We must also work to decrease the time needed to complete requests.

One step, in particular, that we will be taking this year involves the use of remote support software to connect to users’ computers to resolve issues remotely. Although this may cause some concerns, I want to reassure you that the software system we are using requires you to authorize access each session before a technician can connect remotely. We will be slowly rolling out this capability over the next few months.

As I close, I want to emphasize how important your participation in the Survey of Administrative Services is to me and the rest of the ITS team. Every member of the ITS department reviews the results and the administration team reviews all comments in addition to careful analysis of the results. We then develop initiatives to help improve service based directly on the results of the survey. Thank you for taking your time to help us improve our service.  We are paying close attention to your voices.

— Chris Gill, Chief Information Technology Officer