Faculty and staff are invited to submit session proposals for the 4th Annual Learning Symposium, which will focus on “inclusive excellence.” Click here for more details.
Category Archives: Campus Announcements Archive
Nominations for All Staff Council now open
Nominations are open for All Staff Council. Please take a few minutes to nominate yourself or others to serve on the All Staff Council. The nomination process will close on Friday, March 4, at 8 a.m.
The following committees and number of positions are open for election:
Communications: 2
Governance: 2
Recognition: 3
Special Event/Community Service: 2
Member at Large: 1
All nominated individuals will be contacted for confirmation that they wish to run and asked to provide a brief statement about why they wish to serve on the committee.
Click here to submit your nomination. (Link may be used multiple times for multiple nominations.)
—Chrystal Stanley, Academic Achievement Coordinator, Professional and Career Development Services
Managed print update
Drake has selected two vendors to assess our printing environment and propose a full plan to refresh our current system. These vendors, along with a Drake representative, will tour all University buildings that have printing equipment on Feb. 19, Feb. 22, and Feb. 23 in order to map their placement. If you have questions, please contact caron.findlay@drake.edu.
—Caron Findlay, Director, Purchasing & Business Services
Honorary Degree and Drake Medal nominations open
The Honorary Degree and Drake Medal Committee seeks your nominations for these honors, to be awarded during the 2016–2017 academic year. The nomination process is confidential—please do not inform the candidate of your nomination. A brief description of the awards and the nomination process with the nomination forms for each honor can be found online.
—Nancy Geiger
Contracts reminder
Contracts for services or involving any activity on Drake property must be reviewed by Director, Risk and Insurance Donna Blunck to ensure sufficient insurance coverage and other contractual protections. Submit your contract to ducontracts@drake.edu with a message requesting insurance review.
Send signed contracts to ducontracts@drake.edu so the contract can be maintained in Drake’s central contract retention system. Exceptions to the central retention requirement include independent contractor agreements and agreements for transportation, hotels, or entertainment for one-time events at non-Drake locations. Those contracts are to be retained at the departmental level for a period of three years.
For more contracting information, including the policy governing who is authorized to sign contracts on behalf of the University, visit the Drake online contracting resource.
—Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer
New policy on drones on campus
A new University policy, “Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones and Model Aircraft)” is posted on the University-wide policy website for your review. Please forward comments and concerns regarding the policy to dupolicies@drake.edu. In keeping with the policy on Policy Development, Approval and Communication, the comments will be submitted as a part of the president’s review and approval process.
—Submitted by Andrea McDonough, Senior Administrative Services Specialist
Reassessing managed print at Drake
In fall 2015, Finance and Drake Technology Services (now Information Technology Services (ITS)) organized a committee comprising members from around campus to review the current state of managed print at Drake, which is currently contracted with Xerox. Managed print encompasses 100 leased Xerox multifunctional printing devices (MFD) and 70-plus University-owned non-Xerox printers such as HP’s.
After identifying managed print issues and opportunities for improvement, members of the committee attended presentations by vendors—pre-qualified as able to offer a viable solution—to assess their capabilities. The committee has narrowed the original group to two companies that will be asked to do an assessment of campus and submit a proposal: Laser Resources, Inc., and Marco. This assessment will include mapping printer locations, tracking number of prints per machine, and discovering any additional unmet needs from the current devices.
Following is a rough timeline for the other activities in this initiative.
- February/March: Assessment and detailed financial proposal to Drake from the candidates, including a plan for machine distribution.
- March/April: Committee evaluation of proposals and selection of the vendor. Contract awarded.
- June/July/August: Install machines, train users, and ensure all software is working before the beginning of the fall semester.
Once a vendor is selected, all leased Xerox MFDs will be replaced, but not the University-owned printers. The new vendor will be responsible for providing all machinery, ink, and repairs as needed.
We will continue to update you as we move forward in the process. Feel free to contact Chris Gill (chris.gill@drake.edu) or Caron Findlay (caron.findlay@drake.edu) with any questions regarding this initiative.
—Submitted by Kristin Dunn on behalf of Chris Gill, CITO, and Caron Findlay, Director Purchasing and Business Services
Allergen policy reminder
As classes get underway, it is important that the Drake community be reminded of a campus-wide policy that was introduced in the fall: In order to accommodate the needs of individuals with severe allergies that rise to the level of a disability, Drake may at times implement restrictions on allergens, including latex, milk, peanuts, and wheat (a full list of allergens can be found in the policy linked below). Such restrictions could include prohibition of certain food and drink in classrooms, residence halls, or other campus spaces.
At this juncture, no widespread restrictions are in place, so students, faculty, and staff may proceed as usual, unless otherwise notified. In the case that you are asked to abide by certain restrictions, we ask that you do so immediately and respectfully. Creating and maintaining a campus community inclusive of all is vital to ensuring every student, faculty member, and staff member feels welcome and safe at Drake. After all, we are all Bulldogs.
You may review the policy in its entirety here. For additional questions or concerns, please contact Michelle Laughlin, coordinator of student disabilities services, at michelle.laughlin@drake.edu or 271-1835.
—Submitted by Michelle Laughlin
New classroom technology emergency number
In an attempt to improve response time for classroom emergencies, we have created a new classroom emergency phone number, ext. 3002. Calls to this number will receive top priority. Calls to the old classroom emergency line (ext. 3001, option 1) will still work, but we hope, this new system will help faculty return to teaching and learning with technology more quickly.
—Drake Technology Services
Levitt Mentor of the Year Award
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
To Drake faculty, staff, and students:
In 1994, the Madelyn Levitt Mentor Award was created in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake and her ongoing interest in faculty and staff achievement and academic excellence. Each year this award recognizes commitment to student success on the Drake campus by honoring a member of the Drake University faculty or staff for excellence in advising and mentoring of students.
You are invited this year to nominate a faculty or staff member for this prestigious award.
Process:
- A letter of nomination should be submitted recommending an individual for the award and explaining the context and manner in which the nominator has come to know the faculty or staff member. This letter should speak to the following qualifications:
• An outstanding commitment to student success in and out of the classroom in support of the Drake mission
• Integrity in personal relationships
• Typifying the ideal student mentor by providing for students the support they need to graduate and move forward to live productive, fulfilling lives.The nominee must be a faculty or staff member in at least her/his fourth year of service at the University. The nominee cannot have won this award within the past five years.
The letter is due to Associate Provost Art Sanders, no later than Feb. 15. The letter should be sent as an attachment to arthur.sanders@drake.edu.
- The nominated individual is notified by the Provost’s Office of her/his nomination and asked of her/his willingness to be considered.
- At the nominee’s acceptance, the nominator is asked to collect the following supporting material and submit it to the Provost’s Office by March 11: a curriculum vitae or resume, a minimum of one other letter supporting the nomination, and a description by the nominee of activities which illustrate her/his mentoring/advising involvement. At least one of the letters must be from a current student and there may be no more than five letters supporting the nomination. Electronic submission of materials is required. Send all documents to cherie.moen@drake.edu.
- A screening committee, appointed by the provost, will review all nominations and make appropriate recommendations to the provost.
Any individual who was initially nominated for the award in 2014 or 2015 may be re-nominated if the nominator resubmits a letter offering the individual for consideration this year. Files of previous nominees are maintained for two years. In the case of re-nomination, the nominator will be invited to review the file to ensure that the nomination is as current as possible. The limit of five letters of support, including one from a current student, also applies to re-nominations.
The 2016 recipient of the Madelyn Levitt Mentor Award will be announced at one of the spring 2016 commencements.
Additional information is available here.
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost