Changes have been made to Drake’s emergency response procedures regarding building evacuations. Previous emergency response procedures for evacuating buildings required all individuals to gather at a predetermined rally point upon exiting their buildings. Due to recent events, a policy change has been made and the procedures now state that you should attempt to notify a building representative upon exiting a building. If you are unsure of whom to notify, contact Drake Public Safety. The overriding principal is that all building occupants are accounted for during an emergency. The evacuation procedures are outlined below; number six reflects the new change.

1. Upon notification to evacuate the building (i.e., an alarm notification) all occupants should immediately stop what they are doing and head toward the nearest exit.
2. While exiting the building, take note of any hazards or remaining occupants.
3. If requested, assist others who need directions or other assistance. If individuals need physical assistance exiting a building, put a plan in place to assist those individuals.
4. Take with you only essential personal items (wallet, keys, etc.).
5. If you are the last person to leave a room during a fire emergency, shut the door behind you. Closing doors can help slow the spread of a fire.
6. Upon exiting, you should attempt to notify a building representative. If you are unsure of whom to notify, contact Drake Public Safety. The important thing is that all occupants are accounted for.
7. Individuals should never reenter a building until given clearance by the proper authorities.

As a valuable member of the Drake community, we do not want anyone to be placed in more danger, and a predetermined central gathering point may do that. Instead, once you have evacuated, get to a safe location. Each department or area should have a central contact that individuals can call or text. Text is preferred; that way no one is unaccounted for or presumed in danger because of a busy signal.

It is important that the changes to the evacuation procedures are communicated to all members of campus, so please share this with members of your department. Individuals should know what to do in the event of an evacuation, including where to go and who to contact so they are sure to be accounted for during an emergency.

The Emergency Response Manual can be found on the Public Safety and Environmental Health and Safety websites.

If you have any questions regarding the changes to the evacuation procedures, contact Public Safety at 515-271-2222 or Environmental Health and Safety at 515-271-3804.

— Chris Nickell, Environmental Health and Safety

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, which are the ITS website, blueView login screen, IT Service Portal, and ITS Twitter account. 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

Drake’s new internal campus portal, myDrake, will launch in late summer 2018. It will serve as an online gateway to campus resources and functions. Users will go to myDrake to register for classes, view their timecard, and to connect with most campus systems. Additional content and features of myDrake will continue to be added after its launch. If you have questions about myDrake, visit the FAQ page. If you don’t see your question listed or have other comments or concerns, let the project team know by providing feedback through a Qualtrics survey. We’ll continue to add more questions and answers as the project progresses. In addition, you can view regular progress updates on the ITS website.

— Carla Herling, ITS

Cyber criminals are constantly devising new and creative ways to compromise the University’s or your personal data. To reduce the risk of cyber-attacks, ITS is implementing two new strategies to protect our intellectual property and sensitive information.

Starting on Friday, March 23, when faculty, staff, and students receive an email that comes from outside of the drake.edu domain, they will see the label [External Email] at the beginning of the message.

This is an automated process that looks only at the sender, and not at the content of the message. This labeling does not imply that the email is malicious; it just alerts you that the email is not coming from a Drake email address, even if it appears to be.

In addition, a new security enhancement designed to protect employee direct deposit and bank information will be implemented. The direct deposit update page on blueView will only be accessible while on campus. When away from the campus, the following message will appear: “This page is only accessible from the Drake University campus. If you need to modify your direct deposit information, please try again from campus or contact the Human Resources department for assistance.”

For questions about the new external email labeling, contact ITS at informationsecurity@drake.edu. For questions about the changes to the direct deposit page, please contact HR at drakehr@drake.edu.

— Peter Lundstedt, ITS and Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Visit the Community Engaged Learning Blog to read how this year’s cohort of Engaged Citizen Corps members have been engaging with and serving in the community. The Engaged Citizen Corps is an academic plus service year experience for first year students at Drake. Recent blog posts include “Meet the Engaged Citizen Corps members,” which highlights the work of Service Learning Ambassadors, and “Just Sustainabilities J-Term Course,” which demonstrates how students explored advocacy for alternative transportation in downtown Des Moines. Engaged Citizen Corps is currently accepting applications for the 2018-2019 academic year. If you know of a high school senior who would be a good fit for the program, please encourage them to apply. The application deadline is March 1.

If you would like to be a guest blogger and share your community engagement work, email amanda.martin@drake.edu. Follow Community Engaged Learning and Service on Facebook and Twitter.

— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning and Service

The Bell Center has a Wellness Library that contains books and DVDs to help you learn more about health and wellness. Resources are available over spring break, so check out a book if you are planning on relaxing and reading.

— Drake Wellness

February’s digital faculty member of the month: Jill Van Wyke, associate professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Each month, a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate an innovative technology into their classroom. Read an interview between ITS and Jill below.

What type of technology (hardware/software) do you use?

Slack, a messaging app that streamlines workflow by centralizing communication and document sharing.

In what context do you use this technology?

We use Slack as our sole communication channel in the capstone. It replaces email, texting, and private messaging. Before we switched to Slack, our communication was splintered and fractious. Slack puts it all in one place. It syncs nicely with Google Drive, and it also archives all communication.

What course(s) do you use this technology?

Our journalism senior capstone joins students from three majors (news, digital media production, and magazine media) to publish the nationally recognized online publication Urban Plains. The class is run as a professional publishing staff. Students are responsible for the entire publication: writing, producing, photography and videography, editing, art, marketing, promotion, web design and analytics, social media, and so on. 

How does this type of technology align with your teaching pedagogy?

Our capstone attempts to simulate a real-world professional media company. It runs at a breakneck pace, with a sense of urgency and immediacy. Students often need us at odd hours, and we often need instant answers from them. With Slack, everybody is easily accessible at all times, wherever we are. The basic version of Slack, which allows 5G of storage, is free. Depending on the size of the class, we exchange 15,000 to 25,000 messages in a semester.

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change?

Our students and alumni reported a few years ago that they were using Slack in their internships and jobs. We decided it would be another way to prepare our students professionally.

How long did it take you to implement this technology?

No time at all. At least not any longer than it takes to set up an app. Students take to it quickly. The learning curve isn’t steep.

Are you interested in trying out new technology in your classroom? Want help from ITS staff? Schedule a technology adoption consultation.   

—Erin Ulrich, CPHS, and Carla Herling, ITS 

Drake will not hold a Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lectureship this spring; the next lecture will occur in fall 2018. The event will mark the 40^th Bucksbaum lecture. Stay tuned for more details. For questions, or to submit speaker recommendations, contact Erica Hartschen, at 515-271-4990 or erica.hartschen@drake.edu.

— Erica Hartschen, University Advancement

Take 15 GroupX classes and receive a free GroupX T-shirt or tank top. We offer a wide variety of classes (15 different kinds). Download the free IMLeagues app or visit imleagues.com to register for classes.

— Drake Wellness