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— Lisa Murphy, Rec Services

Deadlines for payroll around the holidays:

Due to the extended winter break communicated by President Martin last week (the University will now be closed Thursday, Dec. 21, through Tuesday, Jan. 2), payroll deadlines have changed and will be condensed.

Please follow this schedules to ensure all employees are paid timely and accurately.

Deadlines for monthly direct pays and ESFs are:

• 12/13/23 for payroll direct pays and ESFs for the December monthly payroll

Deadlines for biweekly direct pays and ESFs are:

• Pay period 11/20/2023-12/3/2023 direct pays and ESFs are due Monday 12/4/2023 at 10:00 AM
• Pay period 12/4/2023-12/17/2023 direct pays and ESFs are due Thursday 12/14/2023 at 10:00 AM
• Pay period 12/18/2023-12/31/2023 direct pays and ESFs are due Tuesday 12/19/2023 at 10:00 AM

Deadlines for student direct pays are:

• Pay period 11/1/2023-11/30/2023 direct pays are due Friday 12/01/2023 at noon
• Pay period 12/1/2023-12/31/2023 direct pays are due Wednesday, 01/03/24 at noon

Deadlines for the biweekly time sheets are:

• Pay period 11/20/23-12/8/23 timesheets must be submitted by Monday 12/4/2023 at 10:00 am and approved by Monday 12/4/2023 at noon. Payment date is 12/8/2023
• Pay period 12/4/23-12/17/23 timesheets must be submitted by Thursday 12/14 at 10:00 AM and approved by Thursday 12/14/23 at noon. Payment date is 12/21/2023
• Pay period 12/18/23-12/31/2023 timesheets must be submitted by Tuesday 12/19/2023 at 10 AM and approved by Tuesday 12/19 at noon. Payment date is 1/5/2024.

Deadlines for student time sheets are:

• Pay period 11/1/2023-11/30/2023 timesheets must be submitted by Friday 12/1/2023 at NOON and approved by Monday 12/04/2023 by NOON
• Pay period 12/1/2023-12/31/2023 timesheets must be submitted by Wednesday 1/3/24 at NOON and approved by Thursday, 1/4/24 at NOON

If you will be out of the office, plan ahead to ensure these tasks are completed by the stated deadlines. Instructions to set up a proxy to approve time sheets in your absence are at https://www.drake.edu/hr-internal/managerstoolkit/ under Online Time reporting.

— Emily Burk, Finance and Administration

It is with great sadness that we share that Professor Emeritus C. Walter Clark passed away on Nov. 9; he was 88 years old. Walter had a long and impactful career at Drake from 1963 to 1998 as professor and chair of the Department of Political Science.

Walter is remembered fondly by his faculty colleagues and by generations of students who he taught how to engage in political conversations. The Department’s Outstanding Senior Award in Politics is named in his honor and his family has supported that prize since its inception.  

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, four of his five children, his older sister, and many grandchildren. He loved educational travel, learning about world cultures and the environment. He had a significant and lasting impact on so many people around the world. He will be deeply missed. Walter’s celebration of life will be scheduled in the near future. You can share a memory and read his full obituary here.

— Gesine Gerhard, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Interested in teaching a group fitness class? Join us in the Bell Center Studio on Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m. for information about becoming an instructor.

Need to wind down before finals week or take a break from studying? We’ve got you covered.

• Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. – Soothe your mind and calm your body with Yoga Nidra, a cozy meditation focused class.
• Dec. 8 at 12:15 p.m. – Attend Yoga Flow– a seamless blend of poses and breathing techniques for a dynamic and energizing experience.
• Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. – Need to rally before finals? Light up the night at our Holiday Glow Light Dance workshop.

Sign up for these events and more on the Drake Rec app.

— Gail Witte, Rec Services

If you’re dining on campus during Thanksgiving break, see hours of operation for Hubbell, the C-Store, Starbucks, and Cowles Cafe.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has the nation’s largest newsroom dedicated to covering colleges and universities, serving as a central resource for news, jobs, workshops and professional development opportunities in higher education.

You can register with your Drake email address to directly access content at Chronicle.com.

— Erin Menardi, Cowles Library

The ITS Support Center will expand our open hours beginning Jan. 29 with the start of the spring semester. Under this new model, the Support Center will be staffed by Student Techs for extended weekday evening hours as well as limited weekend hours. Operational hours will vary when classes are not in session. The new hours will be: 

• Monday–Thursday: 8 a.m.– 9 p.m. 
• Friday: 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 
• Sunday: 3–8 p.m. 

The schedule change is due to ITS ending our contract with Blackbelt Help for after-hours support, effective Dec. 15, 2023. This service was discontinued due to declining call volume and increasing costs. Calls to the Support Center will be answered as usual during operating hours. When the Support Center is closed, calls will be directed to voicemail, and ITS staff will respond to these calls in the order received on the following business day. 

The classroom emergency line will be answered beginning at 7:45 a.m. on weekdays. We encourage the campus community to continue submitting support tickets via our 24/7 support portal at service.drake.edu/its.

In addition to the new Support Center hours, ITS will be updating our Service Portal. The Service Portal includes access to the Service Catalog to submit issues or make requests, the Knowledge Base to find how-to guides and information, and additional technology resources. This update will provide a clean, simplified layout with easy-to-access buttons and helpful tips for navigating the Service Portal. More information will become available as we approach the launch date. 

If you have questions, contact us by submitting a ticket though the Service Portal (service.drake.edu/its) or by calling the Support Center at 515-271-3001. 

— Becky Klein, ITS

The Drake Principal Center for Global Citizenship and the Nelson Institute are looking for submissions to the 2024 Nelson Student Research Symposium, which will be held March 8. This annual event promotes a university-wide discourse on global and intercultural topics. At the symposium, selected students are given a platform to share outcomes of their research on a global topic of interest, practicing presentation skills and obtaining useful feedback from Drake faculty.

We recommend that presentation topics be thematically framed by one of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide a framework for tackling complex, pressing global issues.

How to submit a proposal

While research presentations that support the theme are encouraged, all global topics from any academic discipline are welcome. Presentations will be about 15 minutes each. Papers (or concepts) should be submitted using this online form by Friday, Feb. 16, for consideration. Additional information about the Symposium and the submission process can be found at the Drake Nelson Institute website. For questions, please reach out to global@drake.edu.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

The International Student Association will be hosting its annual event with the theme Cultural Explosion on Nov. 18, 2023, in the Knapp Center from 5–8 p.m.

International Night (I-Night) is an annual event that is held every fall. It brings international students, domestic students, and members of the community together, to showcase and include many cultures represented at Drake. During this event, there will be cultural performances and a fashion show of students walking in their traditional clothing. We also include a menu of international foods and raffle prizes. Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite.  

I-Night 2023 Poster

— Nachalah Gardiner, Senior

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer—three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year thousands of Americans, like you, are saying “Yes” to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor.

Register for our Gatekeeper course Nov. 28 from 2–3 p.m. and learn QPR in one hour. Participants will learn valuable tools to respond to and support Drake students and anyone that may exhibit the warning signs of suicide. Register here.

— Kayla Bell-Consolver, Broadlawns Drake Student Counseling Center