In January, the Center for Teaching & Learning will offer four sessions of a workshop called “Kickstart Your Semester: Strategies for Effective Course Planning.”

Each hybrid session will be offered on campus in Howard Hall and virtually through Zoom.

All faculty and staff are invited to connect with colleagues to reflect on your goals for the spring, organize your calendar, and consider how you might use generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot for support.

Session dates include: Wed, Jan 15 (1:00-3:00 pm); Thurs Jan 16 (10 am-Noon); Tues, Jan 21 (1:00-3:00 pm), and Wed, Jan 22 (10:00 am-Noon).

RSVP using this Qualtrics form

The Offices of Finance and Financial Aid would like to thank everyone for taking the time to complete the Administrative Services Survey earlier this fall.  We have gained valuable feedback to help us maintain and improve the services we provide to students, faculty, and staff.

Ratings for nearly every question improved over the prior year ratings.  Each of the departments within Finance individually scored between 4.4 and 4.8 on the 5-point scale.  The overall satisfaction with the services provided by the Offices of Finance and Financial Aid score was 4.62 compared to 4.42 in 2023.  While there is always room for improvement, the unit’s staff are clearly doing their best to meet our service-oriented objectives to:

• Ensure our constituents are engaged and informed
• Ensure integrity and transparency
• Process university resources timely and accurately
• Improve service excellence

The comments included in the survey were very helpful.  We appreciate the many positive comments that recognized outstanding service provided by staff.  An item for improvement that we noted and plan to work on over the next year is to review our rules and processes for unnecessary complication and difficulty in navigation.  Another is to ensure that we are timely in our communications and responses.  Like most areas of campus, reductions in staffing within the Finance and Financial Aid functions have put additional pressure and expectation on the existing staff and we request continued grace as we work to streamline and continually improve our operations.

Thank you again for participating in the Administrative Survey and please know that your input is reviewed and analyzed by the entire staff of the Offices of Finance and Financial Aid.

– Adam Voigts, Chief Financial Officer

The March 24th Provost’s Social will serve as a celebration of faculty research and scholarship, showcasing the incredible contributions made by the Drake academic community. This event will provide an opportunity for us to recognize and honor the achievements of our faculty in advancing knowledge across a variety of fields.

Please help us to prepare by submitting this form with information about books you have authored, co-authored, or edited within the past two years, as well as peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, and notable papers.

Your contributions are an essential part of our academic success, and we look forward to sharing them with our colleagues!

– Madison Bemus, Academic Affairs Operations Specialist

The Sponsored Program Administration and Research Compliance (SPARC) office would like to extend our thanks to everyone who completed the Survey of Administrative Services this year. The SPARC team has taken the time to review the responses and commit to enhancing our support for the Drake Community.

The assessment of the SPARC office is difficult to compare to previous years due to the number of transitions that took place over the last few years. However, the survey was able to provide helpful feedback for the current SPARC staff.

The mean overall satisfaction score for services provided by the SPARC office was 4.38 on a five-point scale. Areas of highest satisfaction include professionalism and courteous nature of the interactions with staff (4.79 and 4.77, respectfully) and the provision of valuable grant administration services (4.38). Room for improvement was indicated in funding opportunity identification (3.67) and budget development and up-to-date information (4.08, 4.13, respectfully). Respondents did comment about the significant staff transitions but expressed optimism about moving forward.

Since I started at Drake in May, I’ve also taken the opportunity to meet with Deans, Directors, and Faculty individually and in groups to discuss the experiences, concerns, and hopes for the services we provide. With all this input, we are updating processes (i.e. online proposal routing form, indirect cost waiver request form) and educating the faculty about the services the SPARC office provides.

The SPARC staff are committed to helping you identify grant opportunities, assisting in writing and submitting grant applications, and managing grants once they are funded. We aim to guide you through the entire grant process from start to finish.

Our website offers a wealth of information on grant applications, as well as IRB and IACUC applications. We’ve recently added a News & Updates section to keep you informed about the latest grant-related information, and we’ve launched a new podcast, SPARC’ing a Conversation, featuring interviews with Drake grantees.

In November, we hosted our first grant networking event, providing faculty with the opportunity to discuss project ideas and potentially identify collaborators. We plan to continue hosting these networking events, along with educational workshops and webinars, in the new year. Keep an eye out for future announcements. We can also provide individualized education to colleges and other units upon request.

The SPARC team looks forward to strengthening our relationships with the Drake Community and fostering a supportive, service-oriented grant-seeking environment.

—Lori Byrd, Sponsored Program Administration and Research Compliance

Writing in Your Academic Field: Spring 2025

Written communication is important in almost any academic field, but the genres and accepted conventions of writing vary from discipline to discipline. In this project, we will discuss ways to integrate writing instruction into courses for which written communication is not necessarily the primary learning outcome, as well as courses that require students to communicate in field-specific ways (for instance, lab reports or business memos).

Instructors who participate in this project will have a one-semester commitment that will include:

• Working with the Director of Writing, Megan Brown, on the development of a writing assignment, writing activities, or a writing project for one of their spring classes.
• Attending hour-long meetings of all participants in the program in February, March, and April (or early May) 2025.  These meetings may be structured as two sessions each month, with half of the group at each session, to facilitate more in-depth discussion.
• Requiring all students enrolled in their class to attend tutoring sessions at the Writing Center at least twice during the semester.

After completing the project and attending the final meeting, participants will receive a $500 stipend.

Participation is limited to 10 individuals.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Madison Bemus (madison.bemus@drake.edu) by Monday, January 6.

If you have questions, please contact Megan Brown (megan.brown@drake.edu).

—Megan Brown, College of Arts & Sciences

All Staff Council and Human Resources invite faculty and staff to attend this year’s Holiday Cheer gathering on Tuesday, Dec. 17, by the Pomerantz stage in the Olmsted Center. You are welcome to come and go as you please from 9 to 11 a.m.

Relax and enjoy some tasty holiday treats and beverages with friends and colleagues. Griff II is going to stop by, so bring your phone for a chance to get your picture taken with him in your favorite holiday attire. And we encourage everyone to bring at least one non-perishable food or other goods for Drake’s Free Little Food Pantries.  We would love to stock it up prior to the holiday break.

This event is a chance to give back to others in the Drake community, while mingling with coworkers.  Please take a moment to stop by, grab some cheer, and drop off a donation.

—Linda Feiden, Human Resources