Short’s Travel is the exclusive provider for all Drake air travel transactions. When using the Drake P-Card for airfare, it should only be used with Short’s and no other airline booking sites. This eliminates the need for reimbursement requests to Accounting for air travel. If you feel that you require an exception, please contact Caron Findlay prior to making your arrangements.

— Caron Findlay, Business and Finance Office

Most campus buildings have shortened or administrative hours (7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.) during the summer.

Additionally, doors to most buildings will be locked for the Memorial Day holiday (Monday, May 27). Card access will still allow you to access your authorized buildings, but they will be locked to the general public due to decreased staffing and foot traffic. Regular door schedules will resume on Tuesday.

Please contact Public Safety (515-271-2222) if you have a door access emergency during this time. Feel free to email the SSC (studentservices@drake.edu) if you have a general (non-emergent) card access question or concern.

Have a great summer!

Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center

The Drake Choir and Chamber Choir will tour Italy, France, and Austria, beginning May 22. Enjoy their concert program at a performance on May 21, 4 p.m., at St. Ambrose Cathedral, 607 High Street, in downtown Des Moines. There is no charge for this concert, which will be followed by an ice cream social sponsored by Drake President Marty Martin. Please note that this is a change of location.

Kayla Jenkins, College of Arts & Sciences

Help three local non-profits (Drake Head Start, Grubb YMCA, and Central Iowa Shelter + Services) provide meals this summer during a donation drought by purchasing these products now through May 15:

— Bagels/bread
— Beef jerky products
— Canned items
— Non-refrigerated meals
— Pasta meals
— Protein/granola bars

Students, there are collection bins around the C-Store for donations. For faculty, staff, and students who do not regularly visit the C-Store, contact Hannah Cohen at hannah.cohen@drake.edu to schedule a donation pick up.

Any donation makes a difference, even if it is not one of the specific products above. Your donation will help provide aid to community members in need.

Contact hannah.cohen@drake.edu with questions or concerns.

Hannah Cohen, AS, JO

Are you spring cleaning, tidying up at the end of this semester, or perhaps retiring? Consider donating your Drake memorabilia and treasures to the Office of University Communications and Marketing to auction off for their scholarship fund. Their unique fundraising efforts caught the attention of The Chronicle of Philanthropy in this article.

The office has collected pieces of Drake memorabilia over the years and auctioned them off on their scholarship Facebook page. Many Bulldogs on campus have expressed a generosity of spirit in donating items they have once found joy in, but are now ready to let go after binging the Marie Kondo series. Some past items have included a piece of the blue oval, Bulldog bookends, flags, bobble heads, Drake basketball sketches, signed Bucksbaum posters, and a mixed CD personally curated by Vice President for Advancement John Smith.

If you have any items to donate, or want to make a financial contribution, please email us at socialmedia@drake.edu.

Niki Smith, University Communications and Marketing

Pets are an important part of many employees’ lives. Please keep in mind, however, that not everyone is comfortable around animals and that there are health, safety, and sanitation reasons why restricting animals in University buildings is appropriate. Drake University Policy prohibits pets in campus buildings unless they are a part of a controlled science lab, are Service/Assistance Animals, or are part of a regulated sponsored mascot program. Even in those instances, registration and appropriate controls are in place. Our campus is a diverse community with thousands walking through our doors each year, and adhering to our policy will make this a welcoming environment for everyone. The full policy can be found in the University Policy Library.

Chris Nickell, Director of Environmental Health & Safety

The end of the school year is fast approaching, and we would like to remind everyone on campus to unplug electrical items in their offices that are not necessary. This is especially true if you are going to be off campus for more than one week. We have scheduled an electrical shutdown of the entire campus on July 5 for approximately six hours. This electrical shutdown could cause computers and other electrical devices problems. Please help Facilities Planning and Management to save money by decreasing the University’s utility costs.

Jolene Schmidt, Facilities Planning and Management

Our beloved live mascot, Griff, turns SEVEN on Wednesday, May 8!  We will be celebrating by extending birthday wishes on social media on his birthday, tagging him @drakeugriff.  We encourage you to share your favorite photo(s) and send him virtual birthday wishes, using the hashtag #GriffTurns7. On Friday, we will be throwing him a party from 12–1 p.m. in Helmick Commons in conjunction with SAB’s Final Friday event.  All students, faculty, and staff are welcome!  If the weather does not cooperate, the party will be moved inside Olmsted.  We encourage everyone to stop by and have a frozen treat (while supplies last) and snap a photo with Griff. 

— Erin Bell, Associate Director of Marketing, University Communications & Marketing

Note: The revised Code of Student Conduct and the revised Sexual and Interpersonal  Misconduct Policy and corresponding Guidelines are available for review and comment in the Policy Library. Given the timing between now and final exams, grading, and graduation, the documents will remain posted for an extended period of 30 days.  Any comments or concerns regarding the documents may be forwarded to dupolicies@drake.edu for consideration.  The Dean of Students and Title IX staff continue to remain available for any questions during or after the review period.

During the student conduct process, both the Dean of Students and Title IX staff will meet with reporting and accused students to explain the investigation and discipline process under the Code of Student Conduct.   And while the process itself works, the staff charged with explaining it to students found that doing so was challenging at times.  Some of the challenges had to do with formal language or proceedings, while other challenges arose from specific requirements that applied only to Title IX cases of sexual assault, sexual harassment, or dating violence, for example.  At the same time, the Title IX Coordinator was looking to revamp the Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Policy into a more user-friendly document that is more accessible while also giving pertinent and helpful information to any student, faculty, or staff who needed to consult the policy for their own use or for someone needing assistance.  Like the Code, the content itself was acceptable, but its use-ability could be improved.  So the two offices went to work.

One of the goals in looking at the Code was that the disciplinary process for all cases – from theft and drugs to racial harassment and sexual violence – will follow the same procedures to ensure a thorough and equitable process, consistent with the requirements of Title IX and fundamental fairness; in short, the University wants to treat conduct that is similar in a similar manner.  This will help with a better understanding of the process and consistent application of the Code.  It will also hopefully make the process feel less intimidating, stressful, and long for any student involved.  The result is that the Code of Student Conduct has experienced an overhaul for the first time in a long time.  Definitions have been clarified and added, important concepts such as “amnesty” (i.e., situations in which a student will not be charged with alcohol or drug violations when it comes to health and safety of campus) are better explained, and more importantly, the formal disciplinary process has been clarified and will be administered the same regardless of the type of complaints.

At the same time, the Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Policy looks different as well.  The current document is quite long and combines policy statements with procedures, community resources, and appendices.  The Policy applies to all students as well as faculty and staff so it is important that all members of the campus community can locate it and can also find the information they need in a user-friendly, accessible document.  The underlying policy statements in the Policy – that is, the prohibitions and requirements – have not changed.  The result is a cleaner Policy with more headings and clearer language in addition to separate Guidelines that include resources and practical information about how the Policy and university processes will work in specific situations, including both formal and informal resolution options.

The Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Policy governs the conduct of students, faculty, and staff, while the Code applies only to the conduct of students.  Therefore, the Code and the Policy only work hand-in-hand when a student is accused of sexual or interpersonal misconduct; however, the two offices consulted each other and worked on their revisions simultaneously because of the impact one has on the other.  The Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Student Advisory Committee also shared thoughts on definitions and processes in the past year.  The Code will be presented to the Board of Trustees Teaching and Learning Committee at the June meeting.

— Kathryn Overberg, Title IX Coordinator/Equity & Inclusion Policy Specialist, & Jerry Parker, Dean of Students