Join the continued ascent of Drake men’s basketball under new head coach Darian DeVries by placing your season ticket deposits for the 2018–2019 season now. Current and/or prospective season ticket holders, make your $50 per seat non-refundable deposit now to secure your place at The Knapp Center next season. All fans who place a deposit prior to April 20 will receive a 1968–1969 Drake basketball vintage T-shirt in honor of the team’s 50th anniversary Final Four appearance.

To secure your season tickets, a deposit of $50 per seat is required and will be applied to your season ticket balance. At the time of seat selection, you will have the option to pay for your tickets in full or enroll in a payment plan. Drake faculty and staff also qualify for discounted season tickets.

Deposits can be made at The Knapp Center Ticket Office, by calling 515-271-3647 or visiting www.draketix.com.

— Ryan Harris, Athletics

1 Million Cups Des Moines is taking a field trip to Drake. The Entrepreneurship Centers are hosting the startup and entrepreneurial community at Patty’s Place in the Turner Jazz Center at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 4. There will be fresh coffee, networking, and presentations by Adjunct Instructor Tobi Parks of Station 1 Records and McKenna Haase of Team Haase Racing. For questions, email jpec@drake.edu.

—Stephanie Cardwell, Entrepreneurship Centers

Cowles Library is hosting a contest to name its beloved bulldog statue. Submit a name idea by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11. Public voting for the winning name will take place the week of April 16. The winner will be unveiled on Friday, April 27. The person who submits the chosen name will win a $25 Amazon gift card.

— Carrie Dunham-LaGree, Cowles Library

During the 2017–2018 academic year, the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment held two Data to Action Workshops aimed at turning data into more meaningful action steps and inviting the campus to think about ways that they can use the data. Please see our website for additional information and notes from the workshops that focused on the first year experience and diversity and inclusion.

— Kevin Saunders, Office of Institutional Research & Assessment

Two current policies entitled, Contract and Legal Service Authority and Executive Purchasing are under review to be revised and combined. A new draft policy, Approval Authority Policy, is posted on the University Policy Library website for review and comment. The revised policy includes both contracts and transactions. Budget managers are now included and will be able to sign contracts and transactions under a certain threshold. Many of the other revisions expound on current practices. This policy is subject to approval by the Drake University Board of Trustees and will be presented at their April meeting.

In compliance with Drake’s Policy Development, Approval and Communication policy, the two-week review period will be through April 17. Please take a moment to review the revised Approval Authority policy. Any comments or concerns regarding the policy may be forwarded to dupolicies@drake.edu for consideration.

— Teresa Krejci, Finance and Administration

The 109th Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee is right around the corner and we need you to help make it a success. Register to volunteer and invite your friends and family to join. Volunteers receive a free T-shirt, a free meal (if working over lunch), and free entry to the action. Volunteer opportunities begin Saturday, April 21, and run all week long. We hope to see you on the Blue Oval!

— Shannon Saunders, Athletics

As part of Drake’s Commitment to the Campus Compact Civic Action Plan, the University created a centralized website for Drake’s Community Engagement efforts. The site, drake.edu/community, will serve as a landing page for the Office of Community Engaged Learning and Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations. The campus community can find volunteer opportunities on the website.

— Renee Sedlacek, Community Engaged Learning & Service

Let’s celebrate our local businesses and “eat local” during the month of April. Just show your Drake ID at the following eateries to receive a promotion.

Our Continuous Improvement Plan calls for us to “strengthen our engagement with community partners.”  This is a great way to show your support.

— Nate Reagen, Office of the President

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to opt in to a new text message service to receive alerts regarding unexpected technology outages. 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. This new notification system is in addition to ITS’ regular communication channels (ITS website, blueView login screen, IT Service Portal, and 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.

If you have any questions regarding this new service, call 271-2356 or email carla.herling@drake.edu.

This is the second text alert system rolled out to campus this year. In January, Facilities Planning and Management introduced a text notification system that provides alerts on snow removal work, water main breaks, custodial projects, and other facility-related incidents. Campus members can participate by texting Facilities Notification 2018 to 67283.

— Carla Herling, ITS

For over eight years, Drake ITS has paid for a campus subscription to Lynda.com to provide campus access to online self-paced training for software programs like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite.

Our most recent three-year contract with Lynda.com is expiring at the end of this fiscal year on June 30. We began negotiations for a new contract in mid-January and despite our best efforts, we were unable to successfully negotiate a long-term agreement that meets our budgetary needs. Lynda.com continued to quote an annual fee that was substantially more money each year than our current fees, and more than our budget can absorb.

As a result, ITS signed a one-year extension of our current subscription. After June 30, 2019, we will be dropping our campus subscription to Lynda.com.

Over the next year, we will be investigating other options. We hope to have a new online training program in place on July 1, 2019. We will be requesting feedback from faculty, staff and students as we choose a replacement for Lynda.com.

If you have questions regarding this decision or are interested in volunteering to review other options, please email me at carla.herling@drake.edu.

—Carla Herling, ITS