The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a program that  helps low-income households pay for internet service and connected devices. Eligible households can receive up to a $30/month discount on internet service (or $75/month for households in Tribal lands), as well as a one-time discount of up to $100 for computer or tablet purchases.

Eligibility is based on household income or the receipt of certain government assistance programs, including the Federal Pell Grant, SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, Free and Reduced-Price Lunch, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and other programs. Visit acpbenefit.org for more information and to apply.

— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid

The Office of Spiritual Life at Drake University is excited to announce several new program offerings for the Drake community this semester:

Wednesday Drop In Meditation Sessions
Drake community members are welcome to join us for standing weekly meditation sessions with instructor Jenny Jones every Wednesday in Olmsted Center, Room 310, from 12–12:30 p.m. starting Wednesday, Feb. 9.

Group Spiritual Direction Opportunity
Spiritual Direction is not counseling, and it is not coaching, and it is also not necessarily religious. Rather, spiritual direction is a safe place to explore meaning and purpose and other issues that have a spiritual component, such as commitment and calling. In group spiritual direction, a small group of people meet once per month to support each other’s spiritual growth. Dr. Catherine Gillespie, who is the associate dean of the School of Education, and a spiritual director, will be present at all the meetings to act as a facilitator. There will also be an introductory meeting on Monday, Feb. 21, from 1–2:30 p.m. so that each group member can know what to expect. This group is limited to six students. Each student will have one opportunity to be the presenter. Those who are interested should sign up at: https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1WWWSLk6HO6UIKy. Information about Catherine’s Spiritual Director services can be found at: https://www.sdicompanions.org/about/what-is-spiritual-direction-and-companionship/

Monday, Feb. 28, 2022
1–2:30 p.m.
Max Capacity: Six Participants

Monday, March 28, 2022
1–2:30 p.m.
Max Capacity: Six Participants

Monday, April 25, 2022
1–2:30 p.m.
Max Capacity: Six Participants

Individual Spiritual Direction Sessions
Spiritual Direction involves meeting with a spiritual director (also called a spiritual companion), usually for one hour once per month, to explore your own spiritual life. Dr. Catherine Gillespie, who is the associate dean of the School of Education, and a spiritual director offers individual spiritual direction sessions to students. These sessions include asking questions to help students explore the spiritual aspects of their life. These sessions can be made via STARFISH by looking for Catherine Gillespie and making an appointment.

Spiritual Counselor Update
Ted Lyddon-Hatten, who has served as Drake’s spiritual counselor is unavailable for the Spring 2022 semester. Should anyone have questions regarding Spiritual Life at Drake, please contact Rudy Trejo, assistant dean of students, at rudy.trejo@drake.edu.

— Rudy Trejo, Assistant Dean of Students

All Drake faculty, staff, and students are invited and encouraged to nominate a faculty or staff member for the Madelyn Levitt Mentor Award, created in 1994 in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake, and her ongoing interest in faculty and staff achievement and academic excellence.

Each year this award recognizes commitment to student success on the Drake campus by honoring a member of the Drake University faculty or staff for excellence in advising and mentoring of students.   In order to make a nomination, please submit a letter that speaks to the following qualifications:

• an outstanding commitment to student success in and out of the classroom in support of the Drake mission.
• integrity in personal relationships.
• typifying the ideal student mentor by providing for students the support they need to graduate and move forward to live productive, fulfilling lives.

The nominee must be a faculty or staff member in at least her/his fourth year of service at the University.  The nominee cannot have won this award within the past five years.

The letter is due to Deputy Provost Renée Cramer no later than February 18, 2022  The letter should be sent as an attachment to renee.cramer@drake.edu and nicki.kimm@drake.edu

The nominated individual will be notified by the Provost’s Office of her/his nomination and asked if they are willing to be considered.

At the nominee’s acceptance, the nominator is asked to collect the following supporting material and submit it to Nicki Kimm by March 18, 2022: a curriculum vitae or resume, a minimum of one other letter supporting the nomination, and a description by the nominee of activities which illustrate her/his mentoring/advising involvement. At least one of the letters must be from a current student and there may be no more than five letter supporting the nomination. Electronic submission of materials is required. Send all documents to nicki.kimm@drake.edu

The Provost will appoint a screening committee to review the nominations and materials, and recommend an awardee to the Provost.

Any individual who was initially nominated for the award in 2020 or 2021 may be re-nominated if the nominator resubmits a letter offering the individual for consideration this year. Files of previous nominees are maintained for two years.  In the case of re-nomination, the nominator will be invited to review the file to ensure that the nomination is as current as possible. The limit of five letters of support, including one from a current student, also applies to re-nominations.

The 2022 recipient of the Madelyn Levitt Mentor Award will be announced at one of the spring 2022 commencements.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

All Drake faculty, staff, and students are invited and encouraged to nominate a Drake faculty member for the Madelyn Levitt Teacher Award, created in 1994 in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake, and her ongoing interest in faculty and staff achievement and academic excellence. 

Each year this award recognizes commitment to student success on the Drake campus by honoring a member of the Drake University faculty for excellence in teaching.   In order to make a nomination, please submit a letter that speaks to the following qualifications:  

•   an informed mind in inspirational dialogue with students 
•   integrity in personal relationships
•   rigor in intellectual endeavors
•   contagious enthusiasm for her/his subject matter.

A nominee must be a faculty member holding the rank of instructor, or above, and in at least her/his fourth academic year of service.  A nominee cannot have won this award within the past five years. The letter of nomination is due to Deputy Provost Renée Cramer no later than February 18, 2022.  The letter should be sent as an attachment to renee.cramer@drake.edu and nicki.kimm@drake.edu.

The nominated individual will be notified by the Provost’s Office of her/his nomination and asked if they are willing to be considered. 

At the nominee’s acceptance, the nominator will be asked to collect the following supporting material and submit it to Nicki Kimm by March 18, 2022:  

• a curriculum vitae;
• a short statement, by the nominee, of educational philosophy or about methods of teaching;
• teaching evaluations for the nominee for the previous two semesters.
• A minimum of one additional letter supporting the nomination must be submitted. At least one letter of support must be from a current student and at least one letter of support must come from a faculty member, and there may be no more than five letters including the nomination letter and letters supporting the nomination.

Electronic submission of materials is required. Send all documents to nicki.kimm@drake.edu.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Classes will be held remotely the first two weeks of the semester. During these two weeks, Cowles Library will be open the following hours:

Monday–Friday: 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday: 1–5 p.m.
Midnight Hall (24-hour space) will be accessible 24/7

The library will move to card access only during this two-week period.

As a reminder, all those who enter the library are required to comply with Drake University’s face covering policy. Please wear your mask at all times inside the library.

— Jill Gremmels, Dean, Cowles Library

Last Thursday (Jan. 13), the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the vaccine/testing requirement aimed at large employers, such as Drake, that had been published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). At the same time, the Court upheld the vaccine mandate for certain health care workers to go into effect nationwide, which had been adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services.

While OSHA could go back to the drawing board to re-envision a new Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), that will take time. For now, this means the OSHA weekly testing requirement for unvaccinated employees is not taking effect. As has been the case throughout the entire pandemic, Drake will closely monitor infection rates, public health guidance, and best practices to protect our students, employees, and visitors.

For now, there is an important part for you to play in all of this:

• If you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated.
• If you have not received your booster shot, get it as soon as possible.
• Continue to self-monitor your health.
• Do not come to campus with cold and flu symptoms.
• Continue to appropriately mask on campus (and, please, when in public)
• If you have not shared your vaccination status (including your booster) with the University, please do so through Drake’s secure online form.

Thank you for doing your part to keep not only yourself healthy, but also those around you!

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources; Chris Nickell, Environmental Health & Safety

Hear from Professor Alanah Mitchell about her research related to the effectiveness of hybrid teams and virtual collaboration in the time of COVID-19 and post-pandemic on Monday, Jan. 24, at 6:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams. Anyone is welcome to attend, regardless of their affiliation to Drake. Register.

Alanah Mitchell is the Aliber Distinguished Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Information Management and Business Analytics in the College of Business and Public Administration. Learn more about Alanah here: alanahmitchell.com/​​​​​​​

— Courtney Conrad, Office of Alumni Relations

We are excited to announce the return of our National Girls and Women in Sports Day Clinic. This year’s event will be held prior to the Women’s Basketball game versus Missouri State on Jan. 15. The clinic is open to all kids in kindergarten through 6th grade.

Each participant receives:

• Free T-shirt (sizes based on availability)
• Four (4) complimentary general admisison tickets to the Drake vs. Missouri State game at
  2 p.m.
• Free concession voucher valid for one slice of pizza and one 21 oz. fountain drink

Registration is limited to the first 200 kids so visit DrakeTix.com/ngwsd to learn more and register today. Registration closes on Thursday, Jan. 13, at noon.

Please note that per Drake University policy, all guests at the Knapp Center are required to wear a face covering including all clinic participants and their guests.

— Aimee Lane, Athletics

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is now required for students, faculty, and staff when they log into key Drake systems including myDrake, Self Service, Blackboard, Banner, and web-based versions of Microsoft products. This means you will be prompted to verify your identity using a separate device when logging in. There are three verification methods available:

1. The Microsoft Authenticator mobile app (on a smartphone or tablet)
2. One-time password code sent via text to your mobile phone
3. Answering a call from Microsoft (on cell, landline or office extension)

Instructions on these methods are linked below:

• Getting Started with the Microsoft Authenticator app (How-to)
• Getting Started Using Text Messages or Phone Calls for Multi-Factor Authentication (How-to)

Using multi-factor authentication is the best way to protect campus accounts and data. If you encounter any problems while setting up MFA, please submit a Multifactor Authentication Issue or contact the Support Center at 515-271-3001. Additional information and troubleshooting tips are available at MFA Project FAQ.

— Jeff Regan, ITS

Drake is continuing to roll out changes as part of the project to update the MyDUSIS system to Self Service. The next round of updates will be coming tomorrow and focus on our Student and Faculty pages. Here are the changes to expect:

On myDrake:

• The MyDUSIS link in the Commonly Used Apps section of myDrake will change to read Self Service and link to a new landing page (see navigation guide linked below)
• The My Information link will also be removed from the Commonly Used Apps section (it will still be in the HR section for faculty/staff and the My Drake Profile section for students)
• Other MyDUSIS-related links will be renamed or removed as Self Service has prominent links to access key functions

In Self Service:

• New navigation (see Navigating Self Service (How-to) for details)
• New student profile page (see the Self Service for Students guides)
• New screens for faculty members (see the Self Service for Faculty & Staff guides)
• A new method, Proxy Access, for students to allow parent(s)/guardian(s) access to their financial and academic information (see Authorizing Proxy Access (How-to) for setup details). There will be a transition period through February 1 to provide sufficient time for students to re-enroll parents/guardians and determine their appropriate level of access.

Please remember multi-factor authentication (MFA) is now required for accessing all Self Service screens. Learn more about MFA at Multi-factor Authentication Project (FAQ).

— Kris Brewster, ITS