Drake’s Intensive English Program (IEP) provides free learning opportunities for faculty, staff, and full-time students to improve their English skills. Our IEP offers intermediate and advanced level classes with an academic focus. If you feel that you may need additional help in a certain English skill area, be it advanced academic writing, grammar, or speaking, or if you simply would like to improve your pronunciation, you may want to consider taking one of our classes.

Classes begin Monday, Aug. 29, and end Friday, Dec. 9. The last day to register for classes is Friday, Sep. 2. Exceptions may be made to this deadline at the course instructor’s discretion. Please note that these classes are not credit-bearing.

If you are interested in joining a class, wish to see the schedule, or have questions about the program, contact Kendra Hossain-Morehead at kendra.hossain-morehead@drake.edu.

— Kendra Hossain-Morehead, Center for International Programs and Services

Access and Success has moved! All of our services are now on the lower level of Cowles Library.

Academic Coaching, Student Disability Services, Tutoring, and the Writing Center and Speaking Center are now located in the same location.

Look for further announcements and events from Access and Success throughout the semester.

— Michelle Laughlin, Student Disability Services

The Nelson Institute will once again host a student research symposium as part of the spring Global Citizen Forum to be held March 1–3, 2023. The theme for the 2023 Global Citizen Forum is Social impact and responsibility.

The Nelson Student Research Symposium promotes a university-wide discourse on global intercultural topics. It is recommended that presentation topics for the 2023 symposium align with one (or more!) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs provide a framework for tackling complex global pressing issues such as poverty, sustainable communities, climate action, and justice.

While research presentations that support the theme are encouraged, all global topics from any academic discipline are welcome. We anticipate that the presentations will be about 15 minutes each.

Proposal submission

Papers (or concepts) should be submitted via Qualtrics form. Deadline: Friday, Feb. 10, 2023

Questions?

Learn more by visiting the Nelson Institute website or by contacting Professor Jimmy Senteza.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

We are pleased to share that all students, staff, and faculty may now self-select a pronoun from the list provided on the Personal Information page in Self Service. If a pronoun is selected it will be viewable by members of the University community in Starfish, Blackboard, Zoom, and class lists. Other details about replacing pronouns and review of the list can be found here: drake.edu/policy/category/academics/studentpronounpolicy/.

The Office of Equity and Inclusion will host a community conversation for any member of the Drake community who has questions about the policy and/or who wants more support identifying best practices for respecting the use of pronouns. Associate Provost Jen Harvey and Registrar Jenny Tran-Johnson will both be in attendance. The conversation will be held on Sept. 6 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Sussman Theater.

The goal of the pronoun policy is to create an environment in which we do not assume how people want to be referred to when referenced in the third person. It helps us proactively ensure people are given the opportunity to self-identify and reduce instances of misgendering (i.e., incorrectly referring to a person’s gender by assuming their gender identity). The policy aligns with Drake University’s commitment to cultivating equity and inclusion as it recognizes each individual’s sense of self and affirms the humanity of all members of our community, including transgender, gender non- conforming, non-binary, gender questioning, and other gender diverse members of our community.

The pronoun policy does not require that anyone discloses their pronouns. It is also important no one is ever pressured to disclose their pronouns.

Faculty members are encouraged to consider with intention practices for ensuring students in courses are referred to with the pronouns they use by both themselves and student peers. Best practices can include modeling sharing one’s own pronouns when introducing oneself and inviting—but not requiring—students to share theirs when they introduce themselves in class. Faculty are expected, according to the policy, to use the pronouns students indicate for themselves and to facilitate use of the correct pronouns by student peers in classrooms. Such practices are critical to create an effective and inclusive learning environment for all students.

Similarly, students and staff are expected to use the pronouns any member of the Drake community indicates are appropriate. We want each and every member of our community to experience their pronouns being respected as a shared community practice.

We warmly invite you to bring any questions or concerns, including about matters such as how to self-correct if/when you inadvertently use the wrong pronoun or otherwise grow one’s ability to use pronouns that might be new to us as part of our discussion during the Sept. 6 community conversations.

— Jen Harvey, Campus Equity and Inclusion

Global Engagement is seeking proposals for student and faculty presentations at the International Education Week Forum: China taking place November 18, 2022.

About the Forum
The inaugural International Education Week Forum will coincide with the U.S.-China Symposium at Drake University and will also have a thematic focus on China. Students and faculty members from Drake will present on research and other projects related to China. This mini-conference will provide an opportunity for students and faculty across disciplines to present their work and engage in meaningful dialogue.

Call for Proposals – Eligibility & Criteria
Undergraduate students, graduate students, recent graduates and faculty members are encouraged to submit proposals. Research and academic papers, poster sessions and panel discussions are all acceptable. Proposals may be submitted from any academic discipline.

How to Submit a Proposal
Submit a proposal using this Qualtrics form. Proposals must contain the following:

• Title of presentation
• Type of presentation
• Abstract or brief summary of presentation topic, themes, objectives, etc.
• Preferred length of presentation

Proposals will be accepted until September 30, 2022.

Contact global@drake.edu with questions.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

The ITS Support Center in Carnegie Hall assists students, faculty, and staff with campus technology issues.

During academic semesters, the Support Center is open:
Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

The ITS Support Center will have extended support hours during move-in and Welcome Week as follows:
Aug. 22–23, 8 a.m.–8 p.m.
Aug. 24–Aug. 25, 8 a.m.–7 p.m.
Aug. 26, 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
Aug. 27–Aug. 28, 1–5 p.m.

Students may drop in for help from Student Techs anytime we’re open. Faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to submit tickets via the ITS portal, as technicians resolve many problems remotely. If an issue can’t be resolved remotely, we’ll schedule an appointment with you to ensure appropriate technical staff are available to assist.

Visit the ITS service portal at service.drake.edu/its (or click the ITS Support button in myDrake) to find answers to most questions or report any tech issues. You can also call 515-271-3001 during our open hours. Classroom emergency? Select option 1 when you call.

eduroam wireless network: Connect to the eduroam network on campus and sign in using your Drake email address and password. Reminder: DUGuest is only for visitors and many campus resources are unavailable from this limited network.

Multi-factor authentication: Verify that you’ve completed the MFA setup process to ensure uninterrupted access to campus systems. If you experience issues accessing myDrake or connecting to eduroam, visit the ITS Support Center for help in making sure your MFA is fully setup.

Blackboard Learn Ultra: Over the summer, Blackboard updated and enhanced many features in Learn Ultra including Gradebook and Question Bank improvements. Up-to-date information about Blackboard Ultra changes and services is available on Drake’s Blackboard home page. Guides to help you use Blackboard Learn Ultra are available on the ITS service portal.

E911 services from Teams phones: To ensure the safety and security of the Drake community and remain compliant with federal and local regulations, ITS enabled E911 calling within the Teams phone system. This will allow Teams to send an approximate location to emergency services personnel when a user dials 911 from that device. To learn more about the E911 calling feature within Teams, see E911 Calling with Teams (FAQ).

Connect with ITS: Want to know about tech changes? Outages? Watch for more ITS information in upcoming issues of OnCampus, follow Drake ITS on Twitter @DrakeITServices, or watch our news feed on drake.edu/its or service.drake.edu/its. You can also sign up for outage text messages by texting DrakeITSALERTS to phone number 226787. NOTE: You must already be signed up to receive texts from Bulldog Alerts to add the ITS outage messages.

—Keren Fiorenza, ITS

Black faculty, staff, and students are invited to join the Black Faculty and Staff Affinity (BFSA) group for a welcome back ice cream social on Friday, Sept. 2, at 12:30 p.m. We will meet at Black Cat located at 2511 Cottage Grove in the Drake neighborhood. Ice cream is at your own expense. You don’t have to buy ice cream to join us. We hope to see you!

For questions about BFSA, email Brandi Miller at brandi.l.miller@drake.edu.

— Brandi Miller, Student Financial Planning

After being on hold for two years due to the pandemic, the Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Symposium is back with the theme: Innovative Inclusion: Reconnecting & Rebooting for Social Justice.

The event will be held virtually on Friday, Aug. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants are also encouraged to attend the virtual symposium kick-off event, Kicking-Off Innovative Inclusion, on Thursday, Aug. 4.

Drake faculty, staff, and students can register to attend the symposium for free with the code Reboot22.

— Ryan Arnold, Community Engagement