Did you know appliances, electronics, and chargers use electricity whenever they’re plugged in—it doesn’t matter whether the device is in use or not? This wasted power is called phantom load, or vampire load. On a single-user scale, this might not seem like a big deal, but when you consider every staff and faculty member on campus, the numbers add up.

For example, two computer monitors, one laptop, and one mobile charger can cost $5/year in vampire load. If you multiply that by the number of faculty and staff, that means around $4,915/year goes to waste on vampire load, not taking into account a multitude of other appliances.

Everyone on campus can play a role in reducing vampire load and costs by simply turning off appliances and unplugging what you can before you leave. This is especially important to do before you leave for a weekend or an extended break.

Power strips are a great solution to ease this process. Instead of unplugging everything, you can just turn off the power strip. Here are a few tips:

1. Keep your power strip in a visible, easy to reach place. On top of a desk is a great option.
2. Utilize Post-its or reminders to ensure you turn your power strip off.
3. Contact hannah.remke@drake.edu if you need a power strip! The Office of Sustainability has been collecting gently used power strips to redistribute throughout campus. They can be delivered as supplies last!

Visit this Energy Calculator to see an annual usage and cost estimate of your vampire energy. These tips can also be translated to your home!

—Hannah Remke, Sustainability Coordinator

Please join us for the December Provost’s Social on Tuesday, Dec. 12, in the Cowles Library Reading Room, beginning at 4 p.m.

At this month’s Social, we will also be celebrating CPHS Dean Renae Chesnut for her well deserved retirement. Please stop by to congratulate Renae and enjoy a slice of cake!

Other refreshments will include snack mix, beer, wine, and soda. We hope to see you there!

— Madison Bemus, Office of the Provost

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) 2024.  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 the initial meeting(s) with the Director of Writing to develop a writing assignment or writing project, participants will receive a stipend of $250. After completing the project and attending the final meeting, participants will receive an additional $250.

Participation is limited to 10 individuals.

If you are interested in participating, contact Madison Bemus (madison.bemus@drake.edu) by Friday, December 1.

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

To those of you who took time to complete this year’s Survey of Administrative Services (SAS), thank you! The most worrisome aspect of the results was the shocking drop in responses. Last year, 616 faculty and staff took time to provide feedback. This year, that number dropped to 330.

What conclusions or theories should we draw from this? A lack in faith that SAS matters? General disengagement? No news is good news? We’re not sure, but we will rethink how we can increase SAS responses next year. We also want to assure everyone that this survey is worth the small investment of time. I can’t speak for the other areas highlighted in the survey, but I read every comment. We look at all of our scores and assess whether they are going up or down. This information helps us identify where we need to focus more time and effort in the coming year. In short, the survey matters and your participation helps paint a full picture of how we are doing.

Regarding the responses to the HR portion of the survey this year, we are grateful for both your qualitative and quantitative thoughts. In some areas, HR went up just a little, in other areas we went down a little, and we remarkably stayed in the exact same spot in some other areas.

Many people took time to provide us with comments. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly:

• Consistency: We need to continue working on assuring we are consistent with our responses and assure that the answer you get doesn’t depend on which member of the HR team you engage.
• Responsiveness: We have made great strides in being more responsive, but we have some additional room for improvement here.
• Staff Evaluations: We need to invest more time working with managers to assure staff performance evaluations are meaningful and relevant. The Great Colleges To Work For survey sent that same message. Managers, that means you’ll need to lean into performance management, too!
• Wellbeing & BUILD: The word is getting out that our wellness, wellbeing, and BUILD programs are great! Linda Feiden does an amazing job with the programs she designs and the partnerships she solicits across campus (and among community partners). If you have not participated in the past in any of these events, it is time well spent. You can learn more about BUILD here and Wellbeing/Wellness here.

We did have a few people who had performance and conduct matters addressed this year. When this happens, it is far easier to blame managers or HR for those experiences than spend time self-reflecting. My hope is that people who have conduct or performance issues brought to their attention will take to heart the feedback—maybe even grow. Not everyone will, but we’ll redouble our efforts to assure those conversations, processes, and events are focused on improvement and opportunity, not blame or judgment.

As with last year’s survey, we got dinged for a few things that are not HR matters. I won’t go into the specifics, as that feels like throwing another department under the proverbial bus, but we’ll share those comments with the departments who do own the processes or topics mis-attributed to Drake HR.

Thank you again for providing us with insight into how you think we’re doing. It’s important to us—it really, really is. If you did not complete this year’s SAS, make a note to do so next year. And, if you have ideas or suggestions for Drake HR, you never have to wait for an annual survey, you can email us directly (drakehr@drake.edu) or complete our standing feedback form anytime you please. Thank you!

— Drake HR

The Advertising Capstone is conducting research for a local client and is seeking your help. Please consider completing this research survey. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Feel free to share this link with others in your family, friends, or loved ones. We appreciate your help.

Survey: https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bgcRqESaaAXCTZQ.

— Emy Hayes, Senior, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Please note the following schedule for payment processing, through the Finance Self-Service portal, to accommodate the winter break:

• Friday, Dec. 15, 2023 – All Payment requests (including wires) are due, with proper approvals, and need to be received by AP by the end of the business day. Requests received by this deadline will be processed for payment before Winter Break.
• Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024 – Normal payment processing will resume this week.

The accounts payable office will be closed during winter break.

Thank you for your help coordinating requests to ensure we meet all needs during the upcoming season.

Please contact Jeni at ext. 4509, or jenifer.baugher@drake.edu, with any questions you may have.

— Jeni Baugher, Accounting Supervisor

The Office of Sustainability has discovered there is a demand for an interdepartmental program to extend the life of office supplies at Drake. In response, the office is planning to pilot an OSCAR (Office Supply Collection and Reuse) program.

This will keep supplies out of the landfill and save money by reducing the need to repurchase items.

A survey has been put together to gather feedback prior to the pilot.  Please consider filling it out if you have any ideas or input you would like to add. This should help ensure the pilot goes smoothly and is beneficial to those involved.  This survey is anonymous, so be sure to include your name if you would like me to respond to any comments or questions.

If you have supplies that you need to get rid of before the pilot, reach out to hannah.remke@drake.edu.

—Hannah Remke, Sustainability Coordinator 

The Ray Center and Drake Women’s Basketball Team are excited to again be hosting the CHARACTER COUNTS! Day with Drake Women’s Basketball game! Thousands of K-8 students will join us on Dec. 8 for a morning full of fun, character education, and basketball. The Ray Center is looking for volunteers from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help thousands of students on and off buses, find their assigned seats, carry in coolers with sack lunches, assist teachers, help with concessions, etc. If you are interested in volunteering for this fun event, please email Megan Wesselink at Megan.Wesselink@drake.edu. Please RSVP by the end of the day Thursday, Nov. 9, to receive a free game day T-shirt. Go Bulldogs!

— Megan Wesselink, The Robert D. & Billie Ray Center

Welcome back to the Student Success spotlight, an opportunity to recognize the people and resources that make a difference in Drake students’ lives. Each week, we’ll shine a light on the outstanding individuals and initiatives that contribute to the success and growth of our community.

This week features Claire Muselman, assistant professor of practice in leadership, HR, organizational behavior, and The Happiness Wall.

Regarding The Happiness Wall:
The Happiness Wall began as a heartfelt extension of a practice I introduced when I started teaching at Drake in 2019 – the “Tell me three good things since the last time we saw each other.” As an adjunct for a night class, my time with the students was limited. I yearned to create genuine connections and look for mutual connection points to foster a sense of belonging and trust. I continued this and still do in all of my classes. Now that I am full-time faculty, it is time to create something that will make the world awesome and expand the depth of this gratitude practice.

With the Happiness Wall & Three Good Things in the classroom, I aimed to:|
1. Make each student feel seen, heard, and acknowledged. For those moments, time is theirs. 100% undivided attention.
2. Cultivate a positive environment because a positive mindset is always more open to learning.
3. Emphasize the undeniable health benefits of gratitude, supported by numerous studies.
4. Learn about my students – their hobbies, values, and joys – fostering deeper human connections. This is a great way to learn about where they spend their time, talent, and treasures. <- Truly the only things that we have in life.
5. Set each student up for success by creating an optimistic culture wherein they feel encouraged to explore, make mistakes, and grow.
6. Control the classroom environment to ensure it is supportive and conducive to student growth.
7. Facilitate easy ice-breakers to kickstart each session.

When the pandemic hit, the importance of focusing on the good things and expressing gratitude became even more pronounced. The activity not only became a way to keep spirits high but also a beacon of resilience. I still feel this way even post-pandemic because of the mental health crisis we see all around us. Finding even the simplest of joys within a day can be a small sliver of hope someone needs to keep going.

Advice for others who are interested in this initiative:
It is simple and powerful. Start small, be consistent, and always come from a place of genuine interest in the well-being and success of your students or team.

Highlights:
Seeing students’ faces light up, witnessing their growth, and observing deeper bonds forming among peers have been the most heartwarming outcomes. The Happiness Wall has become more than just an activity; it is a testament to the strength and resilience of our community.

Specific wins of note:

– I had my first therapy session today.
– Saturday night in San Diego after the win was one of the best nights I’ve ever had.
– My last-second play made ESPN’s Sports Center Top 10.
– I watched my friend win the MVC Championships.
– I shared a meal of food with my roommates.
– The holiday season is approaching, meaning more time with friends & family.

My favorite things about teaching and advising Drake students:

It is witnessing their transformative journey – from being unsure freshmen to confident individuals ready to take on the world. Their passion, enthusiasm, and dedication inspire me every day.