Blackboard will be migrating to a different kind of environment without much change to its users. In order to complete the migration, Blackboard will be unavailable from Dec. 23 to 27. Please be sure to plan accordingly for this migration timeline. After the system is available, faculty may generate course materials and finish their preparations for J-Term and spring courses.

Our move to Blackboard’s SaaS (Software as a Service) will make new tools available and position Drake to provide better online offerings for years to come. The planned migration from managed hosting, which is housed on Blackboards servers, to SaaS, hosted on Amazon Web Services data centers, will occur during winter break to have the least amount of impact.

Once the migration takes place, we will continue running the current experience on Blackboard known as version 9.1. By moving to SaaS, we gain some major benefits from the new environment, which will also allow us to make future upgrades and patches to our environment with little to no downtime.

—Karly Good, ITS

Please join us in celebrating Gloria Lawless’ retirement from Drake on Monday, Dec. 11, between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Student Life Center, Olmsted Center. Gloria, better known as Glo, has served Drake students, faculty, and staff for almost 30 years. Gloria’s commitment to teamwork, communication, and service has made a huge impact on the Drake community. She will be dearly missed. Stop by the Student Life Center on Dec. 11 for coffee, treats, and to congratulate Glo.

—Marina Verlengia, Academic Excellence and Student Success

Last spring, Drake completed a facility feasibility study of Cowles Library. As a result, the University decided to move forward with improvements to the east side of the library’s main floor. One of these improvements includes new furniture.

To help determine what furniture to purchase, Cowles staff are soliciting feedback from the campus community. Furniture is set up and on display now through Dec. 15 for students, faculty, and staff to test out and provide feedback. Please stop by the library during this time to have a say in determining the new furniture.

—Leslie Noble, Cowles Library

Do you know someone who should earn an alumni award? Drake and the National Alumni Association Board are proud to honor exceptional graduates each year during the Drake Relays at the Alumni Awards Reception. These awards recognize the significant contributions of our alumni to their alma mater, their profession, and their community. Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2018 Alumni Awards. Submissions must be completed by Monday, Dec. 11.

Submit a nomination

Please direct questions to Nicki Kimm in Alumni Relations at nicki.kimm@drake.edu or 515-271-2463.

—Meredith Ponder, University Communications

Surprise the Bulldog fan in your life this holiday season with one of our Bulldog Basketball Holiday Gift Packs. For just $44, you will receive four tickets to a basketball game, four hot dogs, four souvenir sodas, and one miniature basketball. This package is perfect for fans of all ages, especially the little Bulldog fans in your life.

Offer is valid for all men’s and women’s basketball games from Dec. 9 through Jan. 14. To purchase, visit draketix.com/holiday or The Knapp Center Ticket Office.

For more information, contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647 or tickets@drake.edu.

—Ryan Harris, Drake Athletics

You can now donate non-perishable canned food and personal hygiene items to Drake’s Little Pantry project by simply placing items at the mail pick-up location in your office. Encourage others to donate by printing off a flyer and posting it in your office.

The collection initiative is organized by All Staff Council and Campus Mail Operations. Drake’s Little Pantry project is in need of donations year-round. Donations can be dropped off at any time to the mail spot located in your office. Campus Mail Operations will pick up the donations to be distributed to one of three Free Little Pantries on campus. Pantries are located at Sprout Garden near 24th Street and Forest Avenue, in the Olmsted Parking Lot, and at the bus stop across from Aliber Hall.

The motto of the Free Little Pantries is “take what you need, leave what you can.” Anyone is welcome to either take from or give to the pantries. Much of the Drake Neighborhood resides within a food desert––a USDA classification for an urban area where it is difficult to buy affordable or high-quality fresh food.

The project was funded thanks to a kickstarter grant from the Wellmark Foundation, and implemented with support from the Office of Community Learning and LEAD students and faculty. Local artisan Doug Hesseltine created and built the pantries. More information about the project can be found on the organization’s Facebook page. Contact ascspecialevents@drake.edu with questions.

—Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning/All Staff Council

A cross-departmental project team has been formed to upgrade Banner, Drake’s campus-wide computer information system that manages student, faculty, staff, and financial information. The project team is comprised of representatives from key campus departments, including finance, financial planning, human resources, ITS, and the registrar’s office. The project team is tasked with completing the migration of DUSIS to Banner 9 by Dec. 31, 2018 when the current version (Banner 8) will no longer be supported.

The project’s initial focus is on Internet Native Banner (DUSIS). Changes to MyDUSIS tools, such as self-registration and time sheets, will be a multi-year project. Planning will begin in spring 2018. More information about the schedule for the MyDUSIS upgrade will be shared at that time.

Although this is a major change behind the scenes, the upgrade to Banner 9 is more of a facelift for campus users that offers a more current web browser look, feel, and navigation experience. As part of this rollout, the project team will coordinate training for all current Banner 8 users to ensure a smooth transition to the new version.

As the timeline illustrates, development and testing will happen behind the scenes over the next eight to 10 months.

Read more on the Banner 9 project and other major ITS projects.

Kris Brewster, ITS