The Broadlawns Drake Student Counseling Center offers various workshops and presentations, aimed to bring mental health education outside of the therapy office. If you are interested in the counseling center team discussing various mental health topics during your class time, please fill out our program request form.
If you have any specific questions, please contact Tyler.Lewis@drake.edu.
— Kayla Bell-Consolver, Director, Counseling Center
The Principal Center for Global Citizenship invites nominations for the Global Scholar/Practitioner-in-Residence program for Spring 2026, seeking to attract talented individuals from academia or the professions who have outstanding international expertise to teach a course, mentor students, give public lectures, work on joint research with faculty, and aid the global capacity-building of the institution through fruitful external collaborations. One scholar will be selected.
Candidates should be nominated by the academic unit to which they will be attached. Please submit the following supporting materials:
Nominations should be directed to Annique Kiel, Executive Director of Global Engagement and International Programs, by April 11, 2025. Preference will be given to practitioners or scholars from one of Drake’s global partners. Units considering a nomination are encouraged to consult with Annique prior to submission.
Among the criteria to be considered for the nominee:
In recognition of their contributions, Global Scholars/Practitioners receive a stipend, a travel allowance, an appropriate workspace in the host college/school, and access to university facilities. Global Scholars/Practitioners will be affiliated with an appropriate academic unit for the semester and will offer at least one course.
— Erin McSween, Cowles Library
On Monday, April 7, ITS and our partner KnowBe4 will share a mandatory cybersecurity awareness training module with all Drake employees. You’ll receive email instructions to access the training module that day, which should take you less than 10 minutes to complete. You’ll have a month to finish this mandatory training, but we encourage you to complete it right away.
This year’s training topic uses reading, videos, and a brief assessment to teach about the foundations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on our security. This training is required to maintain compliance with security laws applicable to the University and help reduce cyber insurance premiums. It also helps our Drake community be safer online and more effectively protect both institutional and personal data.
Thank you for investing your time to better safeguard Drake University against cyber threats.
— Becky Klein, ITS
DATE: Wednesday, April 9
TIME: 3-5 P.M.
PLACE: Faculty Lounge, Howard Hall, Room 212
Grant Reviewer Panel at 3–4 p.m.
Drake faculty who served as grant reviewers for federal, state and/or private agencies will provide information about what reviewers really look for in grant applications. Come hear what they have to say and ask questions.
Networking Session 4–5 p.m.
SPARC staff will also be on hand to discuss funding opportunities and answer questions. Refreshments will be available.
RSVP to lori.byrd@drake.edu.
Thank you to everyone who has already completed the Great Colleges To Work For survey. However, we have not yet reached our participation goal and your participation is needed. Currently, 41% of faculty and staff have participated. We are striving to have 60% respond. The good news is, there is still time to complete the survey. The survey period ends Friday, so if you have not completed the survey, please consider taking this opportunity to make your voice heard.
If you have not received an invitation to complete the survey, please check your junk or spam folder. If it is not there, please let Nate Reagen or Erica Kluver know right away!
We will follow-up before the fall semester with the overall, University results of the survey. All unit-leaders (with greater than five employees) will have the results to share by then as well.
— Nate Reagen, President’s Office
The Great Colleges to Work For (GCTWF) survey is back! On Monday, March 24, all full-time faculty and staff will receive an email invitation to participate.
What is the Great Colleges to Work For survey?
The Great Colleges to Work For survey is the primary employee survey used by the University to gather feedback on our workplace culture. The survey is administered by ModernThink, a management-consulting firm focusing on workplace quality in higher education. More information about the Great Colleges to Work For survey is available at greatcollegesprogram.com.
Why should I participate?
Your voice matters and your responses help the University identify opportunities to improve workplace satisfaction and engagement. Your responses provide valuable insight into employee opinions and needs. Overall responses are reviewed to identify actionable areas for improvement over the next year. For our last ‘Great Colleges’ Survey, 67% of full-time faculty and staff responded to the survey. This year, we are aiming to match or exceed that response rate. The higher the response rate, the more accurate and complete the results.
Is participation mandatory?
Participation is voluntary, although we do hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to share your feedback and make sure your voice is heard. A high response rate will help ensure an accurate representation of employee perspectives.
Are my responses confidential?
By having a third-party provider facilitate the survey process, your participation and the feedback you provide will be completely anonymous . No one at Drake will be able to trace results back to individuals. Drake will receive reports summarizing the results, but will not have access to any individual response data. Furthermore, ModernThink does not report back results for areas that have less than five respondents. Learn more by reading the Statement of Confidentiality.
When and how do I participate?
The 2025 survey period begins Monday, March 24th, and ends Friday, April 4th. The survey is administered online by ModernThink. Full-time faculty and staff will receive an email invitation to participate in the survey from ModernThink on March 24.
How long will it take to complete the survey?
It typically takes about 10-15 minutes to complete the survey depending on the amount of feedback you provide.
How is the data used and will the results be shared?
Consistent with past practice, a summary of the university survey results will be shared with employees and will be used to identify our strengths and opportunities for improvement. All of our units on campus, with greater than five employees, will also have results shared with that unit-leader. Several key measures and targets in the University’s continuous improvement plan (CIP), and in many unit-level CIP’s, are tied directly to feedback from the survey. ModernThink also provides valuable benchmark data that we can use to compare our results against other similar institutions. This information helps senior leaders and individual units can make informed, strategic decisions about improving our culture.
Can I complete the survey during work hours?
Yes. Faculty and staff are encouraged to complete the survey during working hours. Completing the survey is an important contribution that you can make to strengthen our campus community.
For further questions, contact Nate Reagen or Erica Kluver.
Thanks for your support in advance!
It’s that time of year when many departments across campus are planning summer camps and other programming for middle and high schoolers. There is a lot to think about when hosting minors on campus, including how to mitigate risk, ensure compliance with legal and insurance requirements, and, most importantly, provide a positive experience for participants. If you are planning an event involving minors on campus, please review carefully the resources provided by the office of Risk and Insurance found here. Also, make sure to submit a youth program or camp request form well in advance of the planned event or camp. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Risk and Insurance Office at durisk@drake.edu.
— Venessa Macro, Finance and Administration
The March Provost’s Social will be held Monday, March 24, in the Cowles Reading Room beginning at 4 p.m.
This month’s social will include a special celebration of faculty research and academic achievement. Those who submitted their recent publications will be featured on a rolling slide show, and their physical publications may be displayed. Please join us to celebrate our colleagues!
Refreshments will include an assortment of snacks and beverages. This is a family friendly event. Feel free to bring your children or partner.
— Madison Bemus, Office of the Provost
The Drake University SPARC office is happy to provide a one-hour grant writing workshop to assist you or your colleagues with developing their grant writing skills. To schedule a date and time for a workshop, contact lori.bryd@drake.edu. The workshop that will cover the core components of proposal development and grantseeking.
What is included in the session:
— Preston Miller, Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Compliance
Faculty and staff are invited to join the Center for Teaching and Learning for a faculty social in the Howard Hall Faculty Lounge (Room 212) on Wednesday, March 5, from 3:30–5 p.m.
The social is informal and family-friendly. There will be food and drinks available, music and art from Drake faculty, and of course, darts. If you have not come to see the new Faculty Lounge we would love to have you stop by.
— Bret Sikkink, Center for Teaching and Learning
