Category Archives: Campus Announcements Archive

Campus Announcements Archive

Check processing during the holidays

Please note the following schedule for processing check requests to accommodate the upcoming holiday breaks.

Thanksgiving Week:

  • Check requests larger than $25,000 were due to Accounts Payable by noon on Wednesday, Nov. 18, for processing on the Friday check run.
  • All other check requests were due to Accounts Payable by noon on Friday, Nov. 20.
  • Checks will be processed and available on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
  • Normal check processing will resume on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Winter Break:

  • Check requests are due to Accounts Payable by noon on Friday, Dec. 18.
  • Checks will be processed and available as normal with the final check batch to be processed on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
  • Normal check processing will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 5.

Thank you for your help in coordinating to ensure we meet all needs during the holidays.

Contact Jana Brem at x3168 or jana.brem@drake.edu if you have any questions.

—Submitted by Jana Brem, Accounting Manager

Campus Announcements Archive

Important campus operations update

Thanksgiving break door access

Due to the University closing at noon on Nov. 25, we will be locking doors to most campus buildings at 1 p.m. Card access will still allow you to access your authorized buildings, they will just be locked to the general public. Regular door schedule will resume on Sunday, Nov. 29.

Please contact Public Safety (515-271-2222) if you have a door access emergency during this time, or email studentservices@drake.edu if you have a general (non-emergent) card access question or concern.

Happy Thanksgiving!

—Submitted by Sara Heijerman, Manager, Campus Card Office

 

Building heating for 2015–2016

Campus is now set for the heating season with all systems up and running and cooling generally shut down and being winterized. Because the bulk of campus is cooled with water based cooling systems, they must be drained and in many cases winterized to prevent freezing. Once this is done they cannot be turned back on until warm temperatures in the spring. Facility Services begins this process prior to temperatures dropping below 32 degrees.

The University has adopted uniform temperature settings for heating and cooling: heating temperature is 68 degrees and cooling temperature is 77 degrees. In 2003 the University Sustainability Committee recommended energy efficient temperature set points for University buildings to the President’s Cabinet, which ratified the recommendation at that time. The set points were guided by the federal recommended set points, those used in federal buildings, and those recommended by MidAmerican energy for maximum efficiency and energy sustainability. These set points are intended for common spaces, classrooms and labs, offices and administrative spaces, athletic facilities, and auditoriums. Residence hall rooms are still on their own control and can be regulated to suit the resident’s liking.

—Submitted by Mark Chambers, Director Facility Services


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 Servi

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

Campus Announcements Archive

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

Campus Announcements Archive

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

Campus Announcements Archive

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

Campus Announcements Archive, HR Information Archive

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

Campus Announcements Archive

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

Campus Announcements Archive

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

Campus Announcements Archive

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