Category Archives: For Faculty Archive

Join Weight Watchers at Work

Now is the perfect time to get into the habit of making healthier choices. If your goals include losing weight, then Weight Watchers at Work may be the solution.

Weekly meetings include a confidential weigh-in prior to the meeting, followed by a 30-minute class. Weight Watchers unique mix of face-to-face interactions with a trained leader, group support, accountability, digital tools, and the convenience of meetings in the workplace have helped faculty and staff be successful in their weight loss goals.

The cost is $156 for a 12-week renewable series with a minimum of 15 paying participants. Payment may be made in a lump sum or split into three payments.

If you are interested in joining a Weight Watchers at Work series during the spring term, please contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

Linda Feiden, Wellness & Recognition Specialist

Drake Social: We’re All In This Together

The Provost’s February Drake Social will be held Wednesday, Feb. 13, from 4–6 p.m. in Shivers Hospitality Suite. During the social, faculty and staff who exemplify All in This Together, our third Drake Core Value, will be recognized. If you’d like to submit a colleagues name for recognition, email drinda.williams@drake.edu. In the email, include the name of the person you are nominating and a sentence or two telling how they exemplify “All in This Together.” All those who have been nominated will be included in a scrolling presentation, and three winners will be drawn at random to select from a menu of prizes.

All in This Together: We embrace robust communication and transparency. We thrive through collaboration and teamwork.

Please come to enjoy this social time with colleagues and to recognize those who exemplify collaboration and teamwork. Beer, wine, and soft drinks will be served, along with popcorn and snack mix.

Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office

In Memoriam: Diana Reed

Diana Reed, beloved faculty member, passed away on Jan. 9 in Des Moines. Diana taught organizational behavior, organizational theory, and business management in the College of Business and Public Administration since 1981, where she also served terms as assistant and associate dean.  She retired from Drake only two weeks ago due to deteriorating health.

Diana was known across campus and throughout the community for her dedication and commitment to service and engagement, evidenced by her leadership in Rotary and in receiving the Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award, among many other recognitions.  She was a true scholar educator.

Services will be held at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway, in West Des Moines, on Thursday, Jan. 17, with a visitation from 4–7 p.m., and a service of remembrance following at 7 p.m. Condolences and Diana’s full obituary can be found here.

Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence and Community Service Awards: Nominations Now Being Accepted

Nominations are now being accepted for the Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence and Distinguished Community Service Awards. Nominations are due to Human Resources by Friday, March 29, at 4:30 p.m. Late nominations will not be accepted.

Distinguished Community Service Award
Madelyn M. Levitt established the Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff to the Drake community. Recipients are chosen on the following criteria:

  • A demonstrated personal commitment to volunteerism and community service.
  • An outstanding record of leadership or substantial involvement in community projects, services and activities contributing to the quality of life in our region, state and/or the nation.
  • Professional and personal values and behavior that typify the ideals of “giving back to others” and “making a difference in the lives of others.”
  • The nominee must be a current faculty or staff member with at least five years of service at Drake.

Employee Excellence Award
The Employee Excellence Award is presented to a staff member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. Criteria for the award include:

  • Exceptional performance as an employee of Drake University
  • Outstanding dedication to providing courteous, prompt and quality service.
  • Demonstrated commitment to University programs, initiatives and services.
  • Professional values and behavior that demonstrate exceptional service to others and a commitment to Drake University 
  • The nominee must be a current staff member with at least one year of service at Drake.

To nominate a colleague, submit a letter of nomination to the Levitt Award Committee, care of (c/o) Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent through campus mail or electronically to drakehr@drake.edu. The letter should detail specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria. Additional letters of support are not necessary. 

The screening committee will review all nominations and make appropriate recommendations to the President’s Council.

The 2019 recipient of the Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Award and Distinguished Community Service Award will be announced during the Sapphire Awards on May 9 at 1 p.m. in Levitt Hall or during the Faculty Honors Luncheon.

Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Building Card Access Information

As a new semester is starting, we wanted to provide an update that the Student Services Center will remain in the temporary location in Lower Hubbell Hall for the remainder of the spring semester. 

We also want to provide some helpful information regarding campus card access. If you read the information below and feel you do not have the correct access on your Drake Card, please email studentservices@drake.edu so we can research your card issue. Please be aware that some access is based on a specific approval process, and may not be granted.

All Drake faculty and staff should have automated 24/7 exterior door access to the building that their office is in, and also have extended 6 a.m.–11 p.m. exterior access to other academic buildings for meetings/classes.

Additional card access is available when needed, and includes an approval process and manual update. Most manual access updates are tied to specific campus jobs or research. If you think you are missing a plan, speak with your manager, main building contact, or use one of the contact methods mentioned above for additional information. 

Lost cards are generally turned in at the Student Services Center, and cardholders are notified via email when they are found and available to pick up. If your card is lost and needs to be replaced, you may purchase a new card in the Student Services Center. The lost card will be deactivated automatically upon printing of new card. If your card is no longer working (but has worked in the past), check to see if there are small cracks in the card—cracked cards cannot communicate with door readers, and will need to be replaced at the Student Services Center. 

Have a great semester, and feel free to reach out with questions or card issues.

Sara Heijerman, Student Services Manager

Hubbell $5 lunch deal every Wednesday

Drake faculty and staff can enjoy lunch for just $5 at Hubbell Dining Hall South every Wednesday throughout the remainder of J-Term and the spring semester! Hubbell provides healthy choices, hot soup, full salad bar, and more, and it is located just 5 minutes from almost anywhere on campus. Save your parking spot and celebrate Hump Day at Hubbell. We’ll see you Wednesday!

Jennifer Bowersox, Drake University Dining

January phishing education

ITS will be continuing phishing education this month using emails that mimic real attacks. As a reminder, here are some indications that an email may be dangerous:
• A strange sender, or one that you don’t expect
• A request that you take ‘urgent’ or ‘immediate’ action
• Links or attachments that don’t match the message content or that you don’t recognize.

Slow down and take a second look before acting. If you receive an email that you suspect is phishing, don’t click any links, download any attachments, or reply. Instead, forward the email as an attachment to informationsecurity@drake.edu.

A short training lesson is assigned to faculty and staff members who repeatedly click links or open attachments in phishing emails, simulated or not.

For more information on how to report phishing emails, see the IT Service Portal guide, Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).

Peter Lundstedt, ITS

Join the Drake Executive Leadership Program at 40% discount

Drake Executive Education is offering two discounted seats for faculty or staff to participate in the 2019 Drake Leading Others program, a unique executive development leadership program serving leaders from our region’s top organizations. A 40% discount will be applied to the program fees for the first two qualified faculty or staff applicants.

This program is designed for mid- to senior-level leadership roles charged with creating organizational value. Participants are calling this executive program a “master class in leadership.” You will appreciate the opportunity to set intentions for your leadership growth, as well as learn how to drive your function-level plans to better Drake’s overall vision and mission. Enjoy a diverse and rich cohort based learning experience with minimal time away from the office.

Reach out to Sarah Ramsey for more information at sarah.ramsey@drake.edu by Friday, Jan. 18, and visit the Executive Education website for more information on the program.

Sarah Ramsey, Director, Executive Education

Celebrating our Core Values

To celebrate our core values, we have created videos on Joyful Accountability and Generosity of Spirit (with more to come). Please take a look!

Everyone also has access to an inventory of Core Value recognition cards. You are encouraged to use these cards to recognize and thank your peers. Each college dean and unit leader has a supply, so if needed — just ask!

Lastly, e-cards representing each of the Drake core values are now available for use in Peerceive, Drake’s online recognition tool.

Nate Reagen, Chief of Staff