Category Archives: Campus Announcements Archive

Campus Announcements Archive

Back to school information for University Bookstore

Some helpful tips for working with the University Bookstore as classes resume:

  • Fall 2015 Course Materials Listings can be accessed via the Bookstore website. Once on the homepage, select “Textbooks & Course Materials” from the “Books” menu (under the logo).
  • Donna Hallstrom, textbook manager, can be reached at her new email: 1623mgr@follett.com
  • If you need to submit an adoption OR re-submit an adoption, the online form is near the bottom of the bookstore homepage. The first time you use the page you will need to register as a new user. You will be asked for a bookstore password, which is our store number, 1623.
  • Katie Wilz, manager, can be now be reached at kwilz@follett.com

Submitted by Nancy Geiger, student information analyst

Campus Announcements Archive

Hosting a political speaker, candidate, or group on campus?

As political visitors flock to Drake’s campus this fall, any faculty and staff interested in planning events or advising student groups that may be planning events need to be aware of Drake’s policies regarding political visitors. Candidates and other political figures may visit Drake may be hosted by Drake-affiliated groups, rent University facilities, or serve as guest speakers in a class.

Drake values the opportunity to engage the political environment while recognizing the importance of each individual’s rights regarding political activities. All Drake employees and groups must adhere to Drake’s political activity policy in order to ensure compliance with IRS guidelines. Therefore, if students or faculty are approached about candidate events or want to plan events, the Political Visitor Team is here to help.

The Political Visitor Team, comprising faculty and staff members from across campus, provides logistical support and ensures institutional cooperation for political events on campus. By keeping this team aware of political events on campus, you can ensure that all candidates, campaigns, parties, and issue advocacy organizations are treated fairly and consistently and that Drake complies with federal law. They can also provide more information about upcoming events.

To reach the Political Visitor Team, contact Rachel Paine Caufield, associate professor of political science and Iowa Caucus Project director, at rachel.caufield@drake.edu or 271-1924.

Campus Announcements Archive

DTS: Summer 2015 changes to Blackboard

Drake’s Blackboard system has been upgraded and moved to a remotely hosted system. The upgrade provides improved performance and a more stable system.

As of August 22, all content (past classes and Fall 2015 courses) will be located in the new remote hosted system located at https://drake.blackboard.com/. The links on blueView will redirect to the new system.

If you encounter any issues or are missing any capabilities or content, please contact the Support Center at extension 3001 or submit a ticket. Otherwise, no action is needed by faculty or staff.

Submitted by Drake Technology Services

Campus Announcements Archive

Faculty and staff invited to discuss spring 2016 Engaged Citizen Experience

The Office of the Associate Provost, Art Sanders, will host a meeting to discuss the spring 2016 Engaged Citizen Experience on on Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 9 to 11 a.m. in Medbury 115. Faculty and staff are invited to join this discussion on finalizing the title of the theme and potential cocurricular events.

The tentative theme for the Engaged Citizen Experience is “Making Democracy Work,” a broad topic provided by students. Consider how this theme may take advantage of the 2016 presidential election.

Coffee, decaf, tea, water, and a snack will be available at the meeting. While no RSVP is required, please register through this Eventbrite invitation so we can order the right amount of food and drink.

Submitted by Office of the Associate Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

27th Street on campus closed Aug. 13

As Drake prepares to take ownership of 27th Street (between Forest and Carpenter Avenues) and Carpenter Avenue (between 25th and 27th Streets), there will be no parking allowed on the west side of 27th Street starting Thursday, Aug. 13. Barricades will be in place on Thursday to prevent parking and to allow for curb painting. Please make other arrangements for parking your cars on the 13th.

Beginning Monday, Aug. 17, parking on the east side of the street will be considered commuter lot parking requiring a Drake University commuter permit. The west side of the street will be treated as a fire lane and no parking will be permitted. Look through the 27th Street FAQ for more information about these changes.

Submitted by Finance and Administration

Campus Announcements Archive

Free resources through Cowles Library

Cowles Library is here to help with a new series of posts designed to let you know about some of the new and undiscovered valuable resources available for Drake faculty, staff, and students.

The first resource is an important one: Cowles provides access to The Chronicle of Higher Education (and its sister publication, Chronicle of Philanthropy) to all Drake employees and students. Online, The Chronicle is published every weekday and is a top destination for news, advice, and jobs for people in academe.

Unlike most of the Library’s resources, in order to take advantage of The Chronicle, you must complete a “one-time” registration process. It’s pretty simple, but it requires your Drake email account. Follow these instructions.

Online access to The New York Times is also available through its website via a subscription paid for by Cowles Library. Note that for initial signup, you MUST be on the Drake campus, but after that you can access the NY Times anywhere! Sign up today.

Campus Announcements Archive

Parking changes on 27th Street

Drake will soon assume ownership of 27th Street (between Carpenter and Forest avenues) and Carpenter Avenue (between 25th and 27th streets). Effective Aug. 17, there will be significant changes to parking on 27th Street. Parking on the east side of the street will be considered commuter lot parking, requiring a commuter permit. The west side of the street will be treated as a fire lane and no parking will be permitted.

Parking and traffic flow on Carpenter Avenue will remain unchanged; however speed bumps will be installed to slow traffic and enhance safety. The speed bumps will help regulate traffic speed on streets that are no longer regulated by city ordinance or patrolled by Des Moines police.

The purchase of these two streets was approved by the board of trustees in preparation for the next phase of the STEM@DRAKE project. Construction of the School of Education and Math and Computer Science facility and the new science connector building between Olin and Fitch Halls will require that 27th Street be available for construction access and equipment. Thus, once construction begins, it is likely that 27th Street will close. In the long term, 27th Street and Carpenter Avenue will become an integrated part of campus, with plans for a pedestrian-orientated plaza and enhanced green space.

Gates will also be installed along 27th Street to allow for street closure when work begins. Access to the Jewett parking lot will continue for at least the fall semester.

For more information about the changes affecting Carpenter and 27th Street please see our frequently asked questions.
Thank you to members of the advisory group whose input is critical to working through these issues: Jolene Schmidt (Chair), Gary Johnson (HR), Scott Law (Public Safety), John Edwards (Law School), Laura Linn (Admission), Brady Randall (Athletics), Matt Miller (Events Management) Linda Ryan (President’s Office), and Lorissa Lieurance (Residence Life).

If you have any questions or concerns about this information, please contact Venessa Macro, chief administration officer, at Venessa.macro@drake.edu.

Campus Announcements Archive

University Bookstore sees changes

This summer, Follett Company acquired the University Bookstore. While this won’t affect students, faculty and staff who work with the Bookstore should note that email addresses for personnel there have changed. Katie Wilz can now be reached at kwilz@follett.com and Donna Hallstrom, textbook manager, at 1623txt@follett.com.

Hallstrom highlighted some potential issues for those who work with the bookstore on stocking books for courses:

  • There is a known issue with the linking from textbook express to the bookstore site. This is causing viewing from MyDusis not to show books OR to show books, but not allow them to be added to a shopping cart. There are technical people working on the issue with a high priority to fix it. For now the link is going to redirect directly to the bookstore website, which is working fine. If a student reports to you that they can’t see or can’t select books for their courses and they say they are accessing via MyDusis, suggest they go directly to the bookstore site.
  • Textbook adoptions were sent from the old system to the new. While many records transferred fine, some did not. Bookstore staff are manually comparing lists between what is now listed and what was listed before the transition, but the process is tedious and not error proof. Therefore, instructors and administrative support personnel are highly encouraged to use the website to look at the books listed and reach out to Donna via email if you see anything that needs added, deleted, or edited. This double-checking will be required this term to make sure nothing has fallen through the cracks.
  • The process for submitting online adoptions is different and changed with little notice, but is better in many ways. If you need to submit an adoption OR re-submit an adoption, the online form is near the bottom of the bookstore homepage. The first time you use the page you will need to register as a new user. You will be asked for a bookstore password, which is our store number, 1623. You will know the answers to all the other questions.