Who is authorized to sign contracts on behalf of the University? Where do I send contracts once they have been signed? Where do I go if I need help negotiating contract terms? The answer to all these questions can be found in a new online contracting resource. —Submitted by Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer
Category Archives: Campus Announcements Archive
From the Office of the Provost: Week of Sept. 28
Religious Holidays
The release of the Climate Survey Report serves as a good occasion to remind the campus that in 1974, the University Senate adopted the following action:
“. . . that faculty members be urged to provide an opportunity for students to make up work missed as a result of legitimate absences, including observances of religious holidays.”
Consistent with the Senate action and our ambition to be a more welcoming and inclusive community, I urge all faculty members to provide students with an opportunity to make up work missed due to religious holidays. Since there are many cultures and faiths, University events cannot always be scheduled to avoid conflict with all holidays. Students should make their holiday needs known to faculty in advance, so professors can make arrangements for the appropriate accommodation. Further, I ask that when scheduling events, people check the calendar to avoid conflicts, if possible.
The list of religious holidays for the 2015–2016 academic year can be found at the Calendar link on the Provost’s Office web page.
Drake Social Club
Thanks to everyone who attended—more than 150 of you—the Drake Social on Thursday, making it, so I am being told, a big (and welcome) success. A shout out of thanks goes to Cherie Moen for managing it and making all the arrangements. Given the response, we are already looking for two more dates for this semester—stay tuned for future announcements.
Open Office Hours
If you are looking for me, this week you will find me on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 3–4:30 p.m. at Cowles Cafe.
—Submitted by Joe Lenz, Provost
Fire Drill Oct. 7
Drake University will hold a campus-wide building evacuation/fire drill on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015, at 9:10 a.m. in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act and in conjunction with National Fire Prevention month. Fire alarms will be activated in all campus buildings to signal the start of the drill. All buildings will be locked down during the fire alarms. During lock down, buildings can be evacuated, but cannot be re-entered. Members and guests of the campus community will need to evacuate all Drake University buildings at this time. Please dress according to weather.
This drill will be coordinated through the Office of Public Safety (271-2222) working with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (271-3804) and Facilities Services (271-3955). Please report any fire alarm malfunctions or evacuation problems to Facilities or Public Safety. Your cooperation in this very important campus safety exercise regarding the Drake Emergency Response Plan is appreciated and required by law.
As a reminder:
- Please evacuate when the alarms sound.
- If it is cold, please wear a coat.
- Buildings will be locked down during alarms.
- Buildings can be evacuated but cannot be re-entered until the drill ends.
—Submitted by Chris Nickell, Director, EHS
Construction update: Sept. 21
Pre-construction work begins this week north of Harvey Ingham along Forest Avenue as part of the pre-construction effort for the School of Education and Math and Computer Science facility and the new Science Connector building between Olin and Fitch Halls. This work will facilitate relocation of electrical and communication lines. Between now and the end of the semester you will see digging and trench work, which will be noticeable to those in and around the area. Fencing and signage will mark the work areas and efforts are being made to minimize disruption. Watch OnCampus and blueView for announcements about future work schedules and locations. If at any time you have questions or concerns please contact Venessa Macro at 271-3962 or Jolene Schmidt at 271-3957.
—Submitted by Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer
Material handling safety
With renovations wrapping up in Harvey-Ingham and new construction set to begin later in the school year there has been a lot of office moving going on around campus. Throughout all of this activity it is important that we take time to touch on a very important safety topic: material handling. Injuries resulting from material handling are a leading cause of lost time at work. These injuries are the result of both repetitive manual tasks and single exposure incidents. It is often the single exposure incidents that lead to the most serious injuries because they happen without warning and can therefore be more difficult to prevent.
There are a number of ways in which injuries can occur from material handling and many factors can contribute to the severity of the injury. Material handling does not just refer to moving product in construction, the plant, or a warehouse; material handling involves any kind of lifting or moving, whether it be moving a stack of books or sliding a desk to a different side of a room. Some of the most common ways that injuries occur from material handling are:
- Lifting or moving heavy objects
- Twisting or bending at the back
- Carrying objects too far away from your body
- Reaching over head to grab or set down an object
- Carrying awkwardly shaped objects or bulky objects without handles
- Doing the same task over and over for an extended period of time
- Falling or rolling objects
- Handling materials without proper hand protection
It is also important to be aware of the environmental conditions as they can have a negative effect on your ability to move objects without injury. Working in cold weather can increase joint and muscle stiffness, while working in hot weather can lead to dehydration and fatigue. Everyone should take steps to minimize or eliminate the risks involved with material handling. Using the tips and guidelines below can help in the effort to reduce workplace injuries:
- Use material handling equipment such as dollies and carts to minimize the stress on your body.
- Ask for help with moving heavy or awkwardly shaped objects. The general rule is to ask for help if the object weighs over 50 pounds, but you should always use your best judgment and recognize your limitations.
- Use proper lifting techniques anytime you need to pick something up:
o Plan your lift and the path you plan to take.
o Always bend at the knees and hips, not at your back.
o Avoid twisting motions; turn your hips and feet when you need to rotate your body.
o Keep feet shoulder-width apart.
o Keep the item close to your body.
o Take a deep breath before lifting. - Avoid carrying objects that obstruct your view.
- Use gloves when carrying and moving objects.
As always, it is important to use common sense and get help when needed. If you experience any pain it is important to report the symptoms early, and take a break from what you are doing. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact the Environmental Health and Safety Department.
—Submitted by Chris Nickell, Director, Environmental Health & Safety
From DTS: Blackboard migration
As of Sept. 19, the summer courses Blackboard system is offline, part of our final migration process into the new Blackboard Hosting Environment. This means that you will no longer have access to bb.drake.edu, and will be re-directed to drake.blackboard.com. All summer courses will be moved, with the final courses moved by Sept. 28.
Though we don’t anticipate any files being lost, we recommend that instructors save their files and/or course content on their personal hard drive as a backup. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you!
—Submitted by Chris Gill, Chief Technology Officer
Updates to policy development and approval process
Policy development and approval processes are outlined in the recently approved Policy Development, Approval and Communication policy. One key change is the use of a comment period during the policy development process, giving the campus community an opportunity to comment on policies before they become final. A working group is also developing a new policy library that organizes University-wide policies by type for easier reference. Watch for more information regarding this resource later this fall.
The Food Service Exclusivity Policy has also been approved and is posted as part of the University-wide policy library. This policy outlines changes to Sodexo exclusivity for catering services and provides alternatives for on-campus catering.
—Submitted by Andrea McDonough, Senior Administrative Services Specialist
Faculty & staff: Sign up for interactive workshop
Enhancing Global Experiences Through Critical Reflection and Scholarship
Friday, Oct. 23, 12–4:30 p.m.
Courtside Club Hospitality Suite
The Shivers Basketball Practice Facility
This half-day interactive workshop, led by Patti Clayton, senior scholar, Center for Service and Learning at Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis, will focus on critical reflection and partnership strategies to enhance student learning in a global context, as well as discuss how teaching can be an opportunity for research while adding to emerging scholarship in service-learning. Participants will leave with critical reflection activities and ideas for developing their own scholarship as it relates to service-learning. Lunch will be served at noon and the workshop will begin at 12:30 p.m. This event is free to Drake faculty and staff.
12:30–1 p.m.—Establish conceptual frameworks to work within for the day (for SLCE, for GSL/ISL, for integrated design, for scholarship)
Overview of example scholarship related to critical reflection and partnerships
1–2:45—Designing critical reflection
2:45–3—BREAK
3–4:15—Inquiring into learning and partnerships (scholarship)
4:15–4:30—Wrap-up
—Submitted by Maria Rohach, Global Learning Program Coordinator
Tuition Exchange program update
As you may be aware, Drake University participates in The Tuition Exchange, a program with members from 630+ public or non-profit institutions of higher education. The list of participating schools is available at www.tuitionexchange.org.
If you are the parent of a high school senior, have a college-aged dependent, or have a dependent currently receiving a Tuition Exchange benefit, it is time to begin planning for 2016–2017.
The Tuition Exchange benefit is limited to dependent children of Drake employees as defined by Drake University’s Tuition Rebate policy. Application for Tuition Exchange export benefits can be made for both undergraduate and graduate programs at participating institutions. At Drake University, undergraduate export applicants will be given priority over graduate export student applicants.
If you wish to apply for Tuition Exchange consideration, print and complete the application found on the Employee tab in blueView in the Human Resources channel. 2015–2016 Tuition Exchange recipients are required to submit an application to be considered for renewal in 2016–2017.
All applications must reach the Office of Student Financial Planning by Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. This deadline applies to both new applicants and 2015–2016 recipients who wish to be considered for 2016–2017 renewal. The applications will be verified for eligibility by Human Resources and ranked according to Drake guidelines. Applications received after the deadline will be placed on the waiting list.
Drake University’s Tuition Exchange Policy utilizes a point system to rank applicants according to their years of service and prior use of Tuition Exchange benefits. The point system is used to determine those approved for Tuition Exchange benefits when there are more applicants than available export spots.
Applicants will be notified of their status (approved/not approved) beginning Nov. 2.
Please feel free to contact Brandy Eganhouse at X2906 with Tuition Exchange questions or for assistance in completing the application process.
—Submitted by Brandy Eganhouse, Administrative Assistant 1
CNN coming to campus
Cowles Library is pleased to announce that the Reading Room will be the site of a CNN focus group following the Republican debate on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Portions of the building (including the Reading Room and Atrium) will be closed to public access from Tuesday, Sept. 15, through the morning of Thursday, Sept. 17. All library services and study facilities will continue as normal throughout the event window.
You can learn more about CNN’s visit to campus here.
—Submitted by Marc Davis, Coordinator, Program Staff Services, Planning & Projects