Drake will hold fire drills on Oct. 17, 18, 19, and 22 in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act and in conjunction with National Fire Prevention month. All drills will be conducted at 10:45 a.m. with the exception of the residence halls, which will be conducted from 6–9 p.m. on Oct. 22.

We have planned this to minimize disruption to classes, and the majority of academic buildings will be completed the week of fall break. This also allows us to have a more efficient utilization of our staff for these drills. The residence halls will be done from 6–9 p.m. to increase participation in the residence hall evacuation.

Fire alarms will be activated in all campus buildings to signal the start of the drill. When the alarm sounds:

• Evacuate the building.
• Buildings will be locked down and cannot be re-entered until the drill ends.
• Remember to dress accordingly.

The fire drills will be coordinated through the Office of Public Safety (271-2222) working with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (271-3804) and Facilities Services (271-3955). Please report any fire alarm malfunctions or evacuation problems to Facilities or Public Safety. Your cooperation in this very important campus safety exercise regarding the Drake Emergency Response Plan is appreciated. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Fire drill schedule:
Oct. 17
Meredith
Aliber
Cowles
Opperman
Cartwright
Harmon Fine Arts Center
Howard
Carnegie
Medbury
Collier-Scripps

Oct. 18
Olin
Science Connector Building
Harvey-Ingham
Cline
Fitch
STAH
Occupational Therapy
3206 University Ave.

Oct. 19
Olmsted Center
Hubbell
Student Health
Alumni House
ROTC
Bell Center
Knapp Center
Fieldhouse
Tennis Center

Oct. 22
Cole
Old Main
Public Safety
University Communications
Kinne Center
Multi-use resource (old Ray Center)
Vote Smart
Legal Clinic
Dial Center
All residence halls (6–9 p.m.)

Chris Nickell, Environmental Health and Safety 

The School of Education is now enrolling students in the undergraduate Talent Development (TD) concentration. Classes start in the spring of 2019. As a talent development professional, you will assess organizational needs and propose solutions. TD professionals design, facilitate, and evaluate training programs. Typical jobs include trainer, instructional designer, and e-learning specialist. You will need 15 credit hours to complete the concentration: three TD courses (Organizational Learning, Performance Consulting, and Designing and Facilitating Learning) and two elective technology or digital media courses approved by the TD advisor. All majors are welcome. Find more information on the School of Education website, or contact Dr. Cris Wildermuth at cris.wildermuth@drake.edu.

Molly Shepard, School of Education

Drake’s centralized air travel program with Short’s travel officially launched Oct. 2. All Drake affiliated airline travel for individuals, students, and groups will now need to be booked through Short’s Travel. There are two portal sites for you to create your login profile, one for University/Academic Travel and one for Athletic Travel:

University/Academic Travel: Below is a list of electronic training materials for University/Academic Travel. If you need more information or training, contact caron.findlay@drake.edu or jputz@shortstravel.com, our Short’s representative.

• Getting Started with Short’s Travel Management
• Short’s Travel Online FAQ
• FindIt User Guide

• Short’s Travel Online Mobile User Guide

Athletic Travel:If you need information or training on Athletics Travel, contact megan.franklin@drake.edu or jputz@shortstravel.com, our Short’s representative.

Please note the following when booking your travel:

• When creating your login profile, please be sure to use only your official Drake University email address.
• When booking international fares, please contact an agent rather than booking directly online.
• When splitting a fare between your P-Card and a personal credit card, please contact an agent.

Caron Findlay, Purchasing & Business Services

Following the launch of myDrake, ITS is making changes to the faculty and staff contact directory, currently located at www.drake.edu/directory. On Oct. 22, the full campus directory will only be available in myDrake from the Campus Directory link (under the Commonly Used Apps section). It will contain the contact information for departments as well as individual faculty and staff members. The directory at www.drake.edu/directory will be modified to only contain the main departmental contact information.

This change will centrally locate the main contact directory within myDrake, and over time, will decrease unwanted spam and phishing of faculty and staff by having individual contact information unavailable to the public. With the every-increasing complexity of attacks, we cannot afford to give away our personal information.

For questions, contact Peter Lundstedt at informationsecurity@drake.edu or Jeremy Sievers at jeremy.sievers@drake.edu.

Peter Lundstedt, ITS and Jeremy Sievers, UC&M

Domestic Trip Risk Mitigation Process Update. A more streamlined process for domestic trip registration and tracking of forms was developed over the summer. This updated process has resulted in a decentralized approach where departments, schools/colleges, and student organizations have ownership of their specific online trip forms and can easily monitor the receipt of the form(s).

A travel risk mitigation decision checklist tool was created to help identify the risk level for the domestic trip (low, medium or high) and then based upon risk level, determine what risk mitigation form(s), if any, to complete. Currently several travelers are using this process. Learn more. Please remember to book any airline travel through Shorts Travel.

>8 Passenger Vehicle Driver Approval Process.

Reminder: the driving >8 passenger rated vehicle driver approval process can be found online.  These driver protocols were implemented last year to improve Drake’s current vehicle/driver safety program and to help reduce potential accidents and losses.

Donna Blunck, Director, Risk and Insurance

The University Book Store hours for Fall Break:

Saturday:10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Monday: 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Tuesday:10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Katie Wilz, University Book Store

With classes back in full swing and a multitude of activities taking place on campus we want to take this opportunity to remind those of us who operate golf carts and other vehicles on campus to always put safety first. It is important to keep in mind that there are a large number of pedestrians on campus and the potential for serious accidents can be very high. Here are a few safety tips to follow when operating a golf cart around campus that can help keep everyone safe:

1. Always inspect your cart or vehicle before operating. It is important to make sure that your cart is functioning properly before operating it.
2. Always use caution when driving around pedestrians. Keep in mind that pedestrians have the right away. If necessary pull over and stop to let pedestrians by.
3. Use caution when entering or exiting pedestrian walkways. This is especially important for blind spots where you may not be able to see pedestrians using the walkway.
4. Park in appropriate spots. Never block pedestrian walkways or access to emergency equipment such as fire hydrants.
5. Keep your arms in legs inside the cart at all times when it is moving.
6. Never ride with more passengers than seats. It is also important to keep everyone, including the driver, inside the cart at all times while operating a cart.
7. Avoid distractions while driving. Your primary focus when driving should be driving. Make sure to stay off your phone and don’t allow yourself to become distracted by passengers.
8. Do not drive with items obstructing your view. It is important to always be able to see where you are going when operating a vehicle of any kind.

Another important thing to keep in mind when operating golf carts and other vehicles around campus is that not everyone will be paying attention when walking. Students and other pedestrians might be engaged in conversations or listening to music and there’s a good chance they won’t see or hear you driving near them. This makes it all the more important that those who operate carts take their time, drive slowly, and watch for pedestrians.

Chris Nickell, Environmental Health and Safety

Want to be notified of technology outages by text? Opt in by texting DrakeITS2018 to phone number 226787. Text messages will only be sent between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The list is cleared at the end of each academic year, so if you were signed up last year, please re-enroll. We will continue to also post outage and news on the ITS website, IT Service Portal, and our ITS Twitter account.

If you run into issues signing up for the service, first try responding HELP to any error message you might receive. Sometimes the service isn’t configured correctly for your carrier. If that doesn’t work, contact your cell phone provider to make sure they have enabled short code texting.

Questions regarding this new service? Call 271-2356 or email carla.herling@drake.edu.

Carla Herling, ITS

At most universities, space is a scarce and valuable resource. Here at Drake we try to utilize every square foot available. Storage rooms can be found in every possible location across the campus.

That has also brought up a concern lately with items being stored on floors. Even though they are climate controlled, it is not always a good idea to store items on the floor as the items can become susceptible to getting dirty, incurring water damage, or taking up an unnecessary amount of storage space.

We encourage everyone to organize items, so that items can be found easily when needed, and create walkways to make for easy access. If you are going to store items on the floor, be sure you take every precaution to protect items from damage. It is recommend to raise items off the floor several inches or place on shelving units, use plastic or other containers to protect valuable stored items from getting damaged or wet.

Facilities Planning and Management thanks you in advance for your cooperation and support.

Manny Toribio, Facilities Planning and Management

Polk County will offer an opportunity for qualified voters to cast their ballots early for the November General Election at a satellite voting location in the Olmsted Center on Thursday, Oct. 11, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Qualified voters who live in the following precincts will be able to cast their ballots at that time: 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46. To confirm your precinct, visit the Iowa Secretary of State website at https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/pollingplace/search.aspx.

Please be advised that voter registration forms will be available at the petitioned satellite station in Olmsted. Electors with a disability that need an accommodation to participate should call the Polk County Election Office at 515-286-3247 for assistance or email election@polkcountyiowa.gov

Drake University does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party for public office.

Jarad Bernstein, University Communications & Marketing