Alumni want to stay connected to Drake by contributing to today’s student experience. Do you plan to have an alumnus speak in your classroom, participate in a career fair, serve on a panel, or mentor a student this semester?

If your answer is yes, there is an easy way to let Alumni Relations know so we can measure engagement, track interests, and communicate opportunities with our alumni. Please use the online form on the University Advancement Web page, or the link on myDrake under Employee Quick Links to submit your alumni engagement.

This past year we received notice that alumni volunteered in Drake classes more than 215 times. Please help us again this semester by using the submission form and helping us track this important alumni engagement.

Andy Verlengia, Director of Alumni Relations

Drake faculty and staff are eligible to receive up to four complimentary general admission tickets to the Men’s Basketball game vs. Valparaiso on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. at the Knapp Center. Tickets may be picked up at the Knapp Center Ticket Office Monday–Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or at the ticket window on game day. Must show valid Drake Card at time of pick up.

For more information, contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647 or visit GoDrakeBulldogs.com.

Ryan Harris, Athletics

Please plan to attend the Provost’s Drake Social on Wednesday, Feb. 13, from 4 – 6 pm, at Shivers Hospitality Suite. 

Help us celebrate and honor those who have been nominated as examples of our third Drake Core Value: All in This Together. From among those nominated, three names will be chosen at random to receive prizes. We will also share the new Drake Core Value video for All in This Together. 

As always, come to enjoy conversation, snacks, and beer, wine or soft drinks.

Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

It was once good advice to “look for the padlock” as a means of determining which shopping, finance, and other sites were legitimate versus those that were phishing. Unfortunately, scammers have caught on to this advice and today, about 50% of phishing websites include the padlock and begin with https://, like the example below:

In reality, this information only signifies that data being transmitted to and from the site is encrypted and can’t be intercepted by third parties. It does not guarantee the site’s legitimacy or that it hasn’t been hijacked.

Instead of relying on the padlock clue, it’s important to carefully examine the full URL to ensure it matches the legitimate site. If an email or another web page invites you to visit a site via a link, think about the context, and consider typing the site’s web address manually instead.

If you receive an email that you suspect is phishing, don’t click any links, download any attachments, or reply. ITS will be continuing phishing education this month using emails that mimic real attacks.

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

—Peter Lundstedt, ITS

The Principal Center for Global Citizenship invites nominations for the Global Scholars/Practitioners-in-Residence program, which seeks 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 development of the institution as a whole through fruitful external collaborations.

Nomination Instructions:

Candidates should be nominated by the academic unit to which they will be attached. Please submit the following supporting materials: 
• A nomination letter discussing the qualifications of the candidate and expected contributions to the life of the University
• Candidate’s biographical information
• A letter of interest from the candidate
• A letter of support from the unit dean

Nominations should be directed to Annique Kiel, executive director of Global Engagement and International Programs, by March 1. Units considering a nomination are encouraged to consult with PCGC Acting Director Jeff Kappen. 

Among the criteria to be considered are:
1. A record of recognized international leadership and distinguished professional accomplishment in any field.
2. A documented commitment to international understanding and global citizenship.
3. An ability to bring unique perspectives and experiences to the Drake community. 
4. A willingness and ability to offer courses that complement the existing curriculum and meet rigorous academic standards.

In recognition of their contributions, Global Scholars/Practitioners receive a stipend, a travel allowance, an appropriate workspace, and access to all University facilities. Global Scholars/Practitioners will be affiliated with an appropriate academic unit for at least one semester and offer at least one course per term.

Jeff Kappen, Associate Professor

Do you know of a Drake student, faculty, staff, or alumnus doing great work in the community? Nominate them for an Engaged Campus Award. Nominations are due March 4. Awards will be presented at the Iowa Campus Compact Engaged Campus Awards and Summit Monday, April 29, at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Mandi McReynolds, Director of Community Relations and the Foundation at Principal, will be the keynote speaker. 
Nominate someone today.

Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning

Through a collaboration between the Public Safety, Title IX and Violence Prevention, and Equity and Inclusion departments, Human Resources is excited to offer a new series of programming focused on safety and inclusion called Bulldog Bites. The program will make our own campus experts accessible to faculty and staff to talk about how we can all make our community feel safe and inclusive. The next session is Wednesday, Feb. 13, at noon in Cowles Library, Room 201.

Mark your calendar for the brown-bag lunch series, which includes five sessions throughout the year.  Remaining sessions are:

Feb. 13: Equity and Inclusion part 2
March 13: Title IX/Prevention part 2

Those who attend will enter a drawing for Hubbell Dining Hall and annual parking passes.

Mary Alice Hill, Human Resources

Do you know of a Drake student, faculty, staff, or alumni doing great work in the community? Nominate them for an Engaged Campus Award. Nominations are due March 4. Awards will be presented at the Iowa Campus Compact Engaged Campus Awards and Summit Monday, April 29, at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Mandi McReynolds, director of community relations and the Foundation at Principal, will be the keynote speaker. 

Nominate someone today at https://iacampuscompact.org/award-recognition/.

Amanda Martin, Assistant Director of Community Engaged Learning

Faculty, if you taught a J-Term class, please submit your final grades by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

View instructions on how to send your final grades from Blackboard to MyDUSIS.

Those of you who want to submit grades directly into MyDUSIS should begin by clicking the Grading button in the Faculty & Advising menu in MyDrake and then finding the Final Grades—Submittal Link.

Kevin Moenkhaus, Associate Registrar