Category Archives: For Faculty Archive

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Drake Athletics Hosts “Hoopy Hour” Friday and Saturday

Drake Athletics has announced a unique experience for Bulldog faculty and staff to partake in the celebration of their hometown team with Hoopy Hour at the Knapp Center on Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8. The event will allow fans to experience the revamped Mid-American Atrium and Morrison Hall of Honor while getting to enjoy live music.

On Friday, Feb. 7, Hoopy Hour will take place from 3:45-5:00 p.m. in the Mid-American Atrium of the Knapp Center ahead of the women’s basketball contest against Illinois State that begins at 6:00 p.m.

Saturday’s Hoopy Hour event will also occur in the Mid-American Atrium and will be held from 2:45-4:00 p.m. ahead of the men’s basketball game against Indiana State, which begins at 5:00 p.m.

Happy hour drinks will be served, and live music performances will take place for both events. Providing the live music on Friday will be the Dogtown Rhythm Band and Saturday will feature local artist, Damon Dotson.

Dogtown Rhythm Band is a blues ensemble recently formed by Drake professors David Lubbers and Tom Buckmiller. Lubbers, a 1986 Drake Graduate and former men’s basketball player, currently serves as an assistant professor at Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Buckmiller, is the Director of the LEAD program at Drake and is in his 15th year as a faculty member.

Dotson is a singer/songwriter based out of Des Moines, Iowa. Originally from Okoboji, Iowa, Dotson has opened for legendary performers like BB King, Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, Huey Lewis and The News, as well as modern artists like Matt Nathanson, The Band Perry, Edwin McCain, and The Lone Bellow. He has also been named Des Moines’ “Best Local Musician” by City View magazine.

Game tickets are required to attend the Hoopy Hour events on both days. For Drake faculty & staff on Friday, the event ticket is $10 and includes a ticket to the game. For Drake faculty & staff on Saturday, the event ticket is $15 and includes a ticket to the game. Event tickets can be purchased HERE using the promo code DSMUSA2.

— Greg Kay, Athletics

For Faculty Archive

Deadline Approaching for DU Spain Faculty-in-Residence, Spring 2026

Drake University is seeking interested faculty to apply for the DU Spain Faculty-in-Residence position to teach and support student learning on Drake’s semester-long, cohort-model, study abroad program in Seville, Spain.

The DU Spain Semester Faculty-in-Residence application is live through Qualtrics for Spring 2026. To learn more about this opportunity including eligibility, compensation, responsibilities, and to officially apply, go to https://drake.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NiU9mtxxVKgC3A

Submissions are due Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. If you have questions or want to learn more about this opportunity, please reach out to Maria Rohach, director of education abroad, at maria.rohach@drake.edu to schedule time to meet.

— Maria Rohach, Global Engagement

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Inviting Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Awards

In 1994, the Madelyn Levitt Awards were created in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake and her ongoing interest in faculty and staff achievement and academic excellence. Each year they are awarded to various individuals in recognition of their excellence in a respective area of achievement consistent with Drake University’s mission and core values.

This year, the Provost’s office has added the Madelyn Levitt Scholar of the Year Award to the list in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s awards. Each year a member of the Drake University faculty will be honored with this award for their scholarship excellence as detailed in the call for nominations accessible below.

Invitations for nominations for the various awards are accessible via the respective links below. All Drake faculty, staff, and students are invited and encouraged to nominate a Drake faculty member for the appropriate award(s) per the instructions included therein.

Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Teacher of the Year Award.

Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Mentor of the Year Award.

Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Scholar of the Year Award.

— Madison Bemus, Office of the Provost

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

SPARC Speed Networking Event

The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration & Research Compliance (SPARC) is hosting a fun, interactive faculty event on Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 3:30–5:30 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 212 (faculty lounge).

RSVP

RSVP by noon on Feb. 10 to lori.byrd@drake.edu.

The networking event is an opportunity to:

  • Meet other faculty
  • Bring your project ideas to share
  • Identify possible collaborations

Come and go as you are available! However, the longer you stay the more faculty you will meet.

SPARC staff will also be on hand to discuss funding opportunities and answer questions. Refreshments will be available.

— Lori Byrd, Director, Sponsored Programs Administration & Research Compliance

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Call for nominations: Levitt Employee Excellence and Community Service awards

All Drake faculty and staff are invited and encouraged to nominate a colleague for the 2025 Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service and Employee Excellence Awards.

The Employee Excellence Award is presented to a staff member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. The Distinguished Community Service Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff to the Drake community. The criteria to be eligible for each of these awards can be found here.

To nominate a colleague, submit a letter of nomination to Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent through campus mail or electronically to drakehr@drake.edu.  The subject line should read “Madelyn M. Levitt Award Nomination”.  The letter should detail specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria. Additional letters of support are not necessary. Nominations are due to Human Resources by Monday, March 3.

For additional information, please contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Reminder: Writing in Your Academic Field faculty development for Spring 2025

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) 2025.  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 completing the project and attending the final meeting, participants will receive a $500 stipend.

Participation is limited to 10 individuals.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Madison Bemus (madison.bemus@drake.edu) by Monday, January 27.

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

— Megan Brown, Professor of English/Director of Writing

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

FPM shares results of Administrative Services Fall 2024 Survey

The annual Survey of Administrative Services (SAS) is a valuable tool for gathering feedback from faculty and staff about the services provided by Facilities Planning and Management. This survey helps highlight successes and areas for improvement, creating an opportunity for the team to assess their performance and address any concerns. By using the feedback, FPM staff can make informed decisions to enhance our services and ensure better support for the campus community.

The results from this year’s Survey of Administrative Services (SAS) indicate a strong positive trend in overall satisfaction with Facilities Planning and Management (FPM) services. Respondents have provided encouraging feedback, highlighting several areas where FPM has made significant improvements over the past year in staff courtesy, professionalism, knowledge, timeliness and exhibiting the core values.

The Electrical Services Team has achieved an outstanding milestone by winning the FPM Annual Golden Bulldog Award, thanks to their exceptional performance and an impressive satisfaction rating of nearly 92%. This year, the team stood out among nine FPM-specific services, with improvements in satisfaction across all FPM areas. Congratulations to Corey, Ron, and Josh for their hard work and dedication—this achievement truly reflects their commitment to excellence!

Overall satisfaction with FPM has seen a notable increase from the previous year, rising by 4.7% to reach over 78%. This improvement is a direct result of the hard work and dedication our team has shown throughout the year, successfully closing nearly 5,000 work orders.

FPM is dedicated to continuously identifying areas for improvement. In the coming year, improving communication with the campus will be a top priority. We will proactively clarify the roles and responsibilities of FPM services to the campus community. Furthermore, FPM management will consistently review and update work orders to ensure issues are addressed promptly and information is communicated back to building contacts.

— Kevin Moran, Executive Director FPM

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Teaching and learning virtual conference opportunity

As a faculty or staff member of Drake University, you are invited to attend the upcoming “Transforming the Teaching and Learning Environment Virtual Conference” which will take place from February 3–14, 2025. A variety of exciting topics will be covered, including:

  • Teaching w/AI: Activities and Prompts you Can Use to Enhance and Engage.
  • Breaking Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Faculty Development for Virtual Reality.
  • Swipe Left: Changing the Classroom Model Using Social Media Tactics.
  • Finishing Strong, How to Keep Students Engaged All Semester Long.

Drake has covered the cost of institutional registration, allowing all faculty and staff to attend any of the sessions. You can view the complete schedule of sessions here, which will be updated regularly.

Every session has a “Join Session” link which will be your entry point. After clicking the link, you will be prompted to register via Zoom by entering your first name, last name, and Drake email address. Once registered, a direct link to the session will then be provided.

All sessions will be recorded and made available for viewing within an hour after each day’s conclusion. When a recording is available, the “Join Session” link will change to “View Recording”.

I encourage you to take advantage of this valuable professional development opportunity. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

—Jimmy Senteza, Deputy Provost of Academic Affairs

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Inviting nominations for the Madelyn Levitt awards

In 1994, the Madelyn Levitt Awards were created in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake and her ongoing interest in faculty and staff achievement and academic excellence. Each year they are awarded to various individuals in recognition of their excellence in a respective area of achievement consistent with Drake University’s mission and core values.

This year, the Provost’s office has added the Madelyn Levitt Scholar of the Year Award to the list in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s awards. Each year a member of the Drake University faculty will be honored with this award for their scholarship excellence as detailed in the call for nominations accessible below.

Invitations for nominations for the various awards are accessible via the respective links below. All Drake faculty, staff, and students are invited and encouraged to nominate a Drake faculty member for the appropriate award(s) per the instructions included therein.

Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Teacher of the Year Award.

Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Mentor of the Year Award.

Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Scholar of the Year Award.

— Madison Bemus, Office of the Provost

 

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Applications for the Ron Troyer Fellowship due Feb. 21

The Ronald Troyer Research Fellowship Endowment was created to recognize Provost Ronald Troyer’s unwavering commitment to supporting faculty research and development at the highest level. At this time, the application process for the Troyer Research Fellowship is open and applications are due on Feb. 21, 2025. Interested applicants should click here to access the call for applications.

— Madison Bemus, Office of the Provost