Category Archives: Campus Announcements Archive

New interdisciplinary minor

The Department of World Languages and Cultures (WLC) will offer a new plan of study, the Interdisciplinary Minor Language and Culture, beginning in spring 2016. It will be available in each of the languages WLC offers with the exception of American Sign Language. The new interdisciplinary minor will require 18 credit hours and will replace the Certificate of Competence in Language and Culture, which required 14 hours. For more information, please visit the WLC website.

—Submitted by Marc Pinheiro-Cadd, Associate Professor, Director of World Languages and Cultures

New website for Drake University Archives & Special Collections

Cowles Library is pleased to announce a new website for the Drake University Archives & Special Collections at https://archives.library.drake.edu. Located on the second floor of the Library, the Archives collects and preserves documents, artifacts, and images related to the history of Drake.

The new website features a search box for the Special Collections; Archives Finding Aids; links to the Drake Digital Collections; as well as the Political Papers Collection, which includes the congressional papers of Sen. Tom Harkin, Rep. Neal Smith, and the Iowa Caucus Collection. The site also provides links to eScholarShare, the scholarly repository for the University, and information about current exhibits and information regarding use of the collections.

University Archives and Special Collections welcomes students, scholars, and members of the general public to view and use the University’s historical primary source documents, including original letters and diaries, photographs, oral histories, and publications. Students are especially welcomed and encouraged to conduct research within these collections. University Archives and Special Collections staff are happy to work with instructors at Drake to incorporate primary source materials into the learning process. Arrangements can be made for classes or tours to be held in the Archives and staff are available to make presentations about the holdings or to work with faculty interested in including archival materials in the curriculum. For more information contact archives@drake.edu.

—Submitted by Marc Davis, Cowles Library

Mailing for the holidays?

Please prepare early for all your mailing and shipping needs for the holiday season, as this is a busy shopping and shipping season. We encourage everyone on campus to ship early when at all possible. To ensure timely delivery of cards, letters, and packages within the United States by Dec. 25, Drake’s Postal Operations is recommending shipping by the following dates:

  • Dec. 14 for standard post-ground service for less than urgent deliveries and oversize packages
  • Dec. 16 First Class Mail
  • Dec. 21 Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express

—Submitted by Jolene Schmidt, Director, Operations & Support Services

Nominations open for Global Practitioner in Residence

Nominations are open for the Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship (PFGCGC) Global Practitioner in Residence. These experienced professionals will engage with the campus and community through teaching, public lectures, and joint research projects while drawing upon their professional networks to help our faculty, students, and the institution as a whole develop new and fruitful external collaborations.

Global Practitioner candidates should be nominated by the academic unit to which they will be attached. Nominations must be accompanied by appropriate supporting materials, including a nomination letter that addresses the qualification of the candidate and the expected contributions the candidate would make to the life of the University, biographical information about the candidate, a letter of interest from the candidate, and a letter of support from the dean. Nominations should be directed to the vice provost for international programs, who will review nomination packages in consultation with Global/International Programs Academic Council (GIPAC). Upon the vice provost’s recommendation, the University president will send a letter of invitation to successful candidates. Units considering a nomination are encouraged to consult with PFGCGC Director David Skidmore.

Among the criteria to be considered are:

  • A record of recognized international leadership and distinguished professional accomplishment in any field
  • A documented commitment to international understanding and global citizenship
  • An ability to bring unique perspectives and experiences to bear in relation to relating to Drake faculty, staff, students, and members of the local community
  • A willingness and ability to offer courses that complement the existing curriculum and meet rigorous academic standard

Nominations are due Dec. 1. Additional information is available on the PFGCGC website. 

—Submitted by Drake International

Veterans Day at Drake

Wednesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day, a time to recognize the men and women who have served the United States through military service.

To commemorate Veterans Day, we invite any Drake employee who served in the military to stop by Human Resources and receive a printed voucher for a free meal at Hubbell Dining Hall. Bring evidence of military service (such as a U.S. Uniform Services Identification Card, a Current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) or your Veterans Organization Card. Alternatively, provide a photograph of yourself in your military uniform).

“Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served—not only those who died—have sacrificed and done their duty.”

For the history of Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day), lists of famous veterans, and ideas for showing your support or discussing Veterans Day with your children, visit  www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

“We celebrate this Veterans Day for a very few minutes, a few seconds of silence and then this country’s life goes on. But I think it most appropriate that we recall on this occasion, and on every other moment when we are faced with great responsibilities, the contribution and the sacrifice which so many men and their families have made in order to permit this country to now occupy its present position of responsibility and freedom, and in order to permit us to gather here together.”
Remarks by President John F. Kennedy
Veterans Day National Ceremony
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia
November 11, 1961

—Submitted by Laura Schwarz, Human Resources

Iowa Academic Library Alliance formed

On Oct. 22, all academic libraries in Iowa (private, regents, and community colleges) formed the Iowa Academic Library Alliance, and adopted a governance structure. The Alliance looks to build innovative approaches to accessing and maintaining knowledge that will positively impact the learning communities at all of the state’s academic institutions. Cowles Library Dean Rod Henshaw was elected to serve on the Alliance’s Coordinating Committee.

The Alliance complements existing collaborations that Drake maintains with other academic libraries through the Iowa Library Association, the Iowa Private Academic Libraries group, the Central Iowa Collaborative Collections Initiative, and the new Ex Libris Partnership. Collaboration with other libraries is a key strategic approach adopted by Cowles Library. By engaging in collaborations with other academic libraries, Cowles is able to provide access to materials and additional research services that extend well beyond the scope of a single institution’s limited resources.

—Submitted by Marc Davis, Cowles Library

Scheduled electrical shutdowns

On Nov. 25, a scheduled electrical shutdown will occur from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., affecting the following buildings: The Knapp Center, Fieldhouse, Bell Center, and Shivers Basketball Practice Facility. This scheduled shutdown is part of the electrical project that needs to be completed prior to the construction of the new School of Education/Computer Science and Mathematics Building and the new Science Connector Building.

Another scheduled electrical shutdown will occur on Nov. 27, from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., affecting the Fine Arts Center and Olin Hall. This scheduled shutdown is a routine shutdown that occurs ever year the day after Thanksgiving. This allows Facilities Services to clean the electrical transformer on campus.

—Submitted by Jolene Schmidt, Director, Operations & Support Services

First Databook installment online now

Need some information regarding Drake’s enrollment or student body?  You can find it on the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA) website.  Please note, faculty information will be available at a later time. As always, if you need anything from OIRA, please fill out the Request for Information form on our site.

—Submitted by Christine Marchand, Institutional Research and Academic Compliance Coordinator

Parking during snow removal

The Drake neighborhood is one of five neighborhoods established as an Odd/Even Side Snow Parking Zone, due to limited off-street parking. Other Odd/Even Side Snow Parking Zones are Carpenter, Drake Park, River Bend, and Sherman Hills neighborhoods. Citywide and odd/even plowing will occur as determined by the public works director based on total accumulation, prevailing conditions, and near future forecasts.

  • Snowplowing operation in odd/even neighborhoods will occur only between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Odd or even calendar days of the month are matched with street addresses ending in odd or even numbers. (i.e., odd numbered days, vehicles should be parked on the odd side of the street)
  • Vehicles must be on the correct side of the street by 7 a.m. to avoid a ticket.

Vehicles parked on the street will receive a $35 fine and may be subject to towing. Tickets can be appealed using the parking ticket appeal process.

If you wish to know when parking is prohibited on residential streets, text DMSNOW to 96000. If you wish to receive text messages, including notification of the parking requirements in the Odd/Even Side Snow Parking Zones, text DMODDSNOW to 96000. Standard text messaging rates apply.

—Submitted by Andrea McDonough, Senior Administrative Services Specialist

It’s On Us Week

This week, Nov. 8–13, is the It’s On Us National Week of Action, marking the one-year anniversary of the White House public service project aimed at ending sexual assaults on college campuses. “It’s On Us is a cultural movement aimed at fundamentally shifting the way we think and talk about sexual assault. It is a rallying cry, inviting everyone to step up and realize that the solution begins with us. The campaign seeks to reframe the conversation surrounding sexual assault in a way that empowers, educates, and engages college students to do something, big or small, to prevent it.” (It’s On Us campus organizing tool)

It’s on us—all of us—to stop sexual assault. Here are a few tips from It’s On Us as to what you can do to be part of the solution:

  • Talk to your friends honestly and openly about sexual assault.
  • Don’t just be a bystander—if you see something, intervene in any way you can.
  • Trust your gut. If something looks like it might be a bad situation, it probably is.
  • Be direct. Ask someone who looks like they may need help if they’re ok.
  • Get someone to help you if you see something—enlist a friend, RA, bartender, or host to help step in.
  • Keep an eye on someone who has had too much to drink.
  • If you see someone who is too intoxicated to consent, enlist their friends to help them leave safely.
  • Recognize the potential danger of someone who talks about planning to target another person at a party.
  • Be aware if someone is deliberately trying to intoxicate, isolate, or corner someone else.
  • Get in the way by creating a distraction, drawing attention to the situation, or separating them.
  • Understand that if someone does not or cannot consent to sex, it’s rape.
  • Never blame the victim.

What can you do at Drake University?

Take the pledge at http://itsonus.org/#pledge to help keep women and men safe from sexual assault.

What does the pledge look like?
I PLEDGE:
To RECOGNIZE that non-consensual sex is sexual assault.
To IDENTIFY situations in which sexual assault may occur.
To INTERVENE in situations where consent has not or cannot be         given.
To CREATE an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.

Learn more about It’s On Us by stopping by our table at Hubbell Dining on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Familiarize yourself with Drake University’s It’s On Us public statement and other resources at www.drake.edu/sexual-assault/

—Submitted by Kathryn Overberg, Title IX Coordinator, Equity and Inclusion Policy Specialist