In July, the University will be working with the building contractor on warranty repairs for the heating and cooling systems. To complete this work, the cooling systems of one floor must be taken offline, one at a time, for a one week duration. The sequence of repairs will be as follows:

1^st Floor : July 7 thru July 11

2^nd Floor :  July 14 thru July 18

Ground Floor : July 21 – July 25

3^rd Floor : July 28 – August 1

While repairs are being made on one floor, the cooling system will remain operational on the other three floors.  Students and staff will have the options to: work remotely, remain in their uncooled (warm) office and meeting spaces while contractors occupy the space and work is being conducted on the respective floor, or temporarily office in one of the many JSC conference rooms or open areas throughout the building.

— Heather Winslow, Capital Projects – Project Administrator

We’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help welcome our newest students on Wednesday, Aug. 20, as part of the Move-In Crew.

Move-In Crew Sign Up

This is your chance to bring the energy, ease the stress, and create a warm first impression for first-years and their families as they settle into campus life.

Here’s how you can help:

• Sign up for a 2-hour shift anytime between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM
• Stay for one shift or sign up for multiple. You are welcome to come and go as your schedule allows.
• Tasks include curbside check-in, unloading cars, moving items, offering directions, and sharing that signature Drake spirit.

Once you register, you’ll receive an email on Monday, Aug. 18, with everything you need to know, including where to check in and what to expect on the day.

Let’s give our new students the warmest welcome yet!

Move-In Crew Sign Up

— Lynne Cornelius, Associate Dean of Students

Drake University is now partnering with TimelyCare to deliver a new virtual health and well-being platform for students. Through either a mobile app or your desktop, TimelyCare provides 24/7 access to virtual care from anywhere in the United States at no cost.

As part of our commitment to providing a wide breadth of services that meets the needs of every student on campus, Drake University has partnered with TimelyCare to offer students free and equitable access to mental health support. TimelyCare replaces our previous provider, UWill, and will serve as an extension of our campus health and counseling center resources. This partnership aims to enhance student well-being, engagement, and retention by ensuring timely and comprehensive support for all students.

Whether you’re feeling under the weather, anxious, or overwhelmed, you can talk to a licensed provider to get the care you need via phone or secure video visits.

How can I access TimelyCare?
Visit TimelyCare or download the TimelyCare app from your app store and register with your Drake email address. You can then start visits from any web-enabled device  smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop anywhere in the United States.

Who can use TimelyCare?
Any enrolled student.

What services are available?

• TalkNow: 24/7, on-demand emotional support.
• Self-Care Content: 24/7 access to self-care tools and resources, such as meditation
  and yoga sessions, helpful videos, and short articles from experts.
• Peer Community: An anonymous and judgment-free space where you can connect with, react to, and support other students going through similar situations.

How much does a visit cost?
TimelyCare services are available at no cost to Drake University students.

The need for 24/7 access to high-quality care has never been more important. According to a report by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation, 69% of students in bachelor’s degree programs who considered dropping out cited emotional stress as their reason.

Through TimelyCare on a phone or other device, Drake University students can now select from a wide-ranging menu of virtual care options from licensed counselors in all 50 states (at no cost and without the barrier of traditional insurance) including:

• On-demand mental health and emotional support (TalkNow)
• Care navigation
• Peer support community
• Digital self-care content

The partnership with TimelyCare allows Drake University to deliver a hybrid model of care in collaboration with on-campus resources. Benefits to students include:

• Convenient 24/7 care: Physical and mental health issues often present themselves outside regular business hours, and TimelyCare makes seeking support or treatment easy and convenient as making a video or phone call.
• Diverse provider network: TimelyCare’s diverse and culturally responsive provider network reflects and is proud to serve students who embody diversity in race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, age, religion and worldview, language, health, ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic and immigration status, and more. More than half of mental health providers identify as people of color. The platform also offers professionals who identify as LGBTQIA+, speak multiple languages, and translation services to support more than 240 languages. Students scheduling services can choose to meet with a specific provider or select the first available.
• Peace of mind: TimelyCare is a safe, secure, URAC-accredited and HIPAA-compliant platform that follows campus-specific protocols to facilitate care coordination and follow-up to ensure continuity of care.

TimelyCare licensed providers are available to offer emotional support via phone or secure video visits. If you have questions, visit TimelyCare or email your campus representative – lynne.cornelius@drake.edu.

— Lynne Cornelius, Associate Dean of Students

Tune into Everclass on Tuesday, June 24, at 12 p.m. via Zoom as Zimpleman College of Business Professors Ina Purvanova and Alanah Mitchell share insights on how to align organizational strategy with employee needs to create a more effective, balanced workplace.

The COVID pandemic forced many workers from office desks to home setups, prompting organizations to rethink how and where work gets done. As companies weigh office-forward, remote-first, or hybrid strategies, employees have developed strong preferences of their own. The challenge? Finding a workplace model that works for both sides.

In their new book, The New Workplace: Employee Alignment in Remote-First, Office-Forward, and Hybrid Work Organizations, Professors Purvanova and Mitchell reveal that success lies in alignment—not in choosing a one-size-fits-all model. There’s no single “right” way to build a workplace. Choice and flexibility are essential for navigating the evolving landscape of work.

Everclass is a virtual discussion series designed to inspire Drake alumni and community members. All sessions feature a keynote speaker, a panel discussion, or a Q&A style with a moderator. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend. 

— Andy Verlengia, Director, Alumni Relations

Parking permit sales for the upcoming academic year will begin on Tuesday, July 1.  Please visit Public Safety’s parking page and select “Online Parking Registration” to register for your pass. Please make sure to have your license plate number available at the time of registration.

Permits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and we ask that all permit sales be done online.  An email confirmation will be sent to you when your pass is ready to be picked up at the Student Services Desk in the JOHANSEN CENTER (temporary space for summer/early fall). Please bring an ID for verification.

• Resident passes: $400 (blue, 24/7 parking)
• Premium passes: $290 (yellow, Olmsted lot; red, Ray Promenade lots)
• Perimeter passes: $130 (all orange and purple lots)
• Evening/Weekend passes: $100 (valid from 4:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends)

Passes are valid from August to August and will be available to pick up in the Student Services Center (Johansen) in August.

Please visit drake.edu/map to see where the lots are located, and contact studentservices@drake.edu for questions.

— Sara Heijerman, Finance & Administration

Stay fit this summer with GroupX fitness classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Bell Center.

Functional Fitness – Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m.

Kettle Bells – Thursdays at 12:15 p.m.

Download the Drake Rec app to sign up. We hope you can join us!

Drake is proud to host 25 Mandela Washington Fellows for six weeks this summer as part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Join us to welcome the Fellows at a reception on Tuesday, June 24, at 5 p.m. in Fischer Stelter Hall, Johansen Center (Ballroom). The Drake community, along with the community partners who are interacting with the Fellows, are welcome to attend. Appetizers will be served. For questions regarding the reception of YALI, contact yali@drake.edu.

— Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center

Drake and The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center will host an event to celebrate the expansion of no-cost Character Counts! early childhood resources to nearly 1,700 classrooms in Polk County.

WHO: Students, Faculty, and Staff
WHEN: Thursday, May 15, from 9 to 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: The Gregory & Suzie Burt Boys & Girls Club.

The initiative is made possible by generous grant funding from four major community partners: the Lauridsen Family Foundation, Prairie Meadows Legacy Grant Program, Polk County Community Development and Community Betterment program, and the Gartner Family Foundation.

The campus community is invited to attend the event and hear from Walter Lauridsen who will speak on behalf of the four organizations responsible for the grants and from Cassidy LeCroy, director of The Bob & Billie Ray Child Development Center. Scott Raecker, executive director of The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University, and Marty Martin, Drake University president, will also deliver remarks.

— Amy Smit, The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center

The cost of long-term care has nearly doubled from the early 2000s to 2024, both for at home care and nursing home care. These costs are out of reach for everyone except the wealthiest households. Long-term care costs are internalized by caregiver families in some combination of the following: diminished or lost earned income, early retirement, direct caregiving expenditures, and mental and physical health issues.  There are a variety of policy options to address this economic burden on families across the income distribution. Join us for a free webinar featuring a panel of leading experts on LTC policies to learn more about current state, national, and international policies addressing long-term care needs.

Date: Thursday, May 22, 2025

Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m. CT

Location: Zoom Webinar (link will be sent to attendees closer to the event)

Cost: Free, but registration is required.

Accommodations: Live-captioning in English will be provided for attendees. American Sign Language interpretation is only available upon request due to interpreter shortages throughout Iowa. ASL and other accommodation requests can be made by emailing harkininstitute@drake.edu.

Click here to register!

— Kathryn Kuckelman, Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement

The 2025 Adams Leadership Awards Ceremony, held on May 3, recognized exceptional student leadership, service, and engagement across the Drake University campus. Please join us in celebrating the following students, staff, and organizations for their remarkable impact on our community:

• Outstanding First-Year Students: Allie Koenigsfeld & Sean Groh
• Outstanding Sophomore Students: Emerson Whittemore & Audrey Martin
• Outstanding Junior/P1 Students: Eli Benson & Olivia (Liv) Swaney
• Outstanding Senior/P2 Students: Josie Hildreth & Skylar Lathrop
• Oreon E. Scott Legacy Award: Ashley Dyson
• Outstanding Bright College Student: Princess Winters
• Outstanding Transfer Student: Brooklynn Grooms
• David Maxwell Outstanding Student Organization President: Eli Benson
• Outstanding Student Organization Officer: Chloe Isbell
• Outstanding Residence Hall Leaders: Valerie Vera & Sean Groh
• Wanda E. Everage Outstanding Peer Mentor Award: Elliot Nelson & Mia Stefani
• Drake Outstanding Individual Service Award: Beth Posey
• Outstanding Student Organization Advisor of the Year: Mary Edrington
• Outstanding Student Organization: NAMI on Campus
• Outstanding Group Service Award: American Pharmacist Association (APhA)
• Outstanding Educational Program: AOE Club: Alpha Phi
• Outstanding Social Program: Ramen Noodle Night at Herriott Hall
• Outstanding Equity & Inclusion Program: Alpha Phi’s DEI Committee
• Outstanding Alcohol Alternative Program: Dogtown After Hours
• Outstanding Collaboration Award: SAA’s 2024 Halloween Hoops

We are proud to recognize these students and organizations for their dedication to leadership, service, inclusion, and community-building. Their contributions continue to shape a stronger and more connected Drake University.

—Kristin Economos, Senior Director, Adams Leadership Institute