The second Friday FYS lunch/discussion is on Oct. 7 at noon in the Medbury Honors Lounge. While these meetings are designed for those currently teaching FYS, we welcome those with an interest in possibly teaching FYS in the future as well. If you would like to attend, please let us know your lunch preferences.
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost
The first of our monthly Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) lunches is this Friday, Sept. 30, at noon in Olmsted Center, TMR 133. These discussions are opportunities for those engaged in SoTL projects at any level, from just thinking about starting one to almost complete, or for those simply curious about SoTL to share ideas, seek advice, or ask questions of colleagues engaged in this process. If you would like us to provide lunch for you, please register at http://tinyurl.com/SoTLsep16 by 10 a.m. on Sept. 28. For more information, contact arthur.sanders@drake.edu.
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost
Faculty & Staff Appreciation Lunch
Faculty and staff are invited to join us for lunch at Hubbell Dining for only $5 today, Sept. 19. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Food will be South-of-the-Border themed, including spicy chicken or tofu tacos, baked achiote pork, fried sweet plantains, mashed sweet potatoes, taco pizza, pumpkin crisp, and more.
Dining options for faculty and staff
There are two main dining options for Drake students, faculty and staff. Hubbell Dining Hall provides all-you-care-to-eat dining with a variety of fresh salads, pizza, pasta, grill items, international foods, desserts, home-style comfort foods, and more. Quad Creek Café offers many items including a Mediterranean station, subs, Chinese food, Mexican food, grill items, and fresh salads. For weekly menus and dining hours, please visit our website: https://drake.sodexomyway.com/
Sodexo provides the CINCH program free for frequent dinners in Hubbell Dining Hall. A CINCH card allows users to “Buy 3 Get 1 Free” for their meals. Also, receive a special discount of a half-priced meal when you first sign up. Ask the receptionist at Hubbell for more details.
—Jennifer Bowersox, Unit Marketing Coordinator, Sodexo
This fall’s workshop, supported by Ron and Jane Olson’s Endowment for Global Service-Learning, will build on the expertise of the Drake faculty and staff who have spent the past year learning about global service-learning.
Spend the afternoon engaged in hands-on activities, develop a deeper understanding of service-learning, and leave with specific tools and strategies for implementing critical reflection with your students. While it is encouraged that you attend the full workshop, see schedule below if you can only attend certain sessions. Lunch provided. Please RSVP.
Tuesday, Oct. 11
12–4 p.m.
Cowles Library, Room 201
Schedule:
12–12:15 Lunch
12:15–12:30 Welcome and building community
12:30–1:15 Defining service-learning: theory and practice
1:15–1:30 Break
1:30–2:30 Partnering on global service-learning, special guest Diego Zavala from Monterrey Tec, Guadalajara, Mexico
2:30–2:45 Break
2:45–4 Before, during and after: cultural competency and critical reflection
—Maria Rohach, Assistant Director, Drake Administered Programs Abroad
Drake’s Speaking Center in Cowles Library opens for the fall semester on Sept. 12. Students can book appointments online to see a tutor for help in researching, preparing, composing, and delivering speeches and presentations, or for advice and support with other situations requiring oral communication skills (job interviews, meetings, Mock Trial events, etc.). Students, faculty, and staff members can also reserve the Speaking Studio to practice and record presentations alone or in small groups. To reserve a time, visit http://library.drake.edu/speaking. For more information, review the Drake Speaking Center Information or contact Director of Speaking Instruction Joan McAlister (joan.mcalister@drake.edu).
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost
Drake’s Entrepreneurship Centers, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Cowles Library will hold an open house for the new innovation and collaboration space on Tuesday, Sept. 13, from noon to 2 p.m. in Meredith Hall, Room 124C. All faculty and staff are invited to stop by and see some of the new gizmos we have for use by all current Drake students, including photo studio equipment, Legos, clay, and a 360⁰ camera and VR goggles. We’ll also have snacks and beverages.
—Stephanie Cardwell, Administrative Assistant
It’s sunny and 90 degrees today, but I am thinking about the decision that gives everyone a headache—whether or not to cancel classes due to severe weather. You know I come from Iowa, and have lived in the Frozen Tundra, so the chance of me calling a snow day is slim (it’s probably snowing in Green Bay as we speak). However, I do recognize challenges and social justice issues related to that decision.
Changes in policy prior to my arrival allowed staff members to take a snow day when necessary, without taking a personal or vacation day. That doesn’t help faculty, particularly those who live at a distance or those with children under the age of 12-ish for whom schools are canceled. I spoke with Chris Gill, CITO, to ask how we might address this issue. He indicates that a product we currently license—the suite of Microsoft something or others (can you tell how well I understand technology)—that will allow a faculty member to hold class at a distance with no additional charge. Albeit not a perfect solution, it could help for a day here or there. It has the capability to allow lecture delivery, with handouts, PowerPoint slides, and chat questions. I’ve been told it’s easy to use, but will require testing and preparation ahead of an actual snow day. If you are a faculty member for whom this would be helpful on a snow day, and would like additional information, please send me an email. If you are willing to pilot test the process—it will take one or two faculty members to try it out (ITS will provide students to do the testing)—please also indicate that in your email. I hope the start to your academic year has gone well.
—Sue Mattison, Provost
Drake International will be holding an information session on Drake’s new study abroad application system and process on Friday, Sept. 9, 2–3 p.m. in Sussman Theater, located in lower Olmsted. This session will go over the application process and the new system’s features, which include the ability to search for study abroad programs by term, subject, location, and more.
—Breanne Ellis, Education Abroad Advisor
The first Friday FYS lunch/discussion is on Sept. 9 at noon in the Medbury Honors Lounge. Current and potential FYS instructors are welcome. If you would like to attend, please let us know your lunch preferences online.
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost
Reminder: the first planning meeting for this spring’s Engaged Citizen Experience is on Friday, Sept. 9 at 9 a.m. in Old Main, Room 208. The theme this spring will be Demographic Opportunities and Challenges: Domestic and International. For additional information contact me at: arthur.sanders@drake.edu.
—Art Sanders, Associate Provost
