The search for the next Executive Director of Human Resources is going well, with several highly qualified candidates submitting application materials. The search committee consisting of Scott Law (chair), executive director of Public Safety and Operational Services; Alejandro Hernandez, dean of Zimpleman College of Business; Kevin Saunders, director of Institutional Research and Academic Assessment; and Heather Travis, controller, have identified a group of eight semi-finalists. After virtual semi-finalist interviews a group of finalists will be identified for on-campus interviews. The on-campus interview process is likely to take place in late October and will include a wide array of campus constituencies. Thank you to the search committee and to Tricia McKinney for supporting the committee’s work and ensuring a smooth experience for our valued candidates.

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

Drake Men’s Soccer is hosting Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day during its game on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m. at Mediacom Stadium. All Faculty and Staff will be recognized at halftime. Don’t miss a marquee game as the Bulldogs take on the 11th nationally ranked Western Michigan. Admission is free.

— Colin Salig, Athletics

The Center for Teaching & Learning will host panel discussions about generative AI topics this fall. The panelists will be Drake faculty members who are using generative AI in their classrooms and for their research. Come learn more about this transformative technology from your colleagues across the University.

The first panel, “Navigating Student Use of Generative AI”, will be held on Friday, Sept. 27, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 212. The panelists are Alanah Mitchell (Zimpleman), Amy Letter (College of Arts & Sciences, English), and Dan Chibnall (Cowles Library).

Later this semester, we will be discussing how to use generative AI for instructional use, and how to use generative AI to further your research and scholarship.

The sessions are informal and you can come and go as your schedule allows. To give us an idea of how many to plan for, please open the event on the Campus Calendar and click on I’m Interested.

— Bret Sikkink, Faculty Development Specialist

All Staff Council is holding a fall bake-off competition and costume contest on Thursday, Oct. 31, from 12–1:30 p.m. by the Pomerantz Stage in the Olmsted Center. You are welcome to participate in one or both contests, or just come for the event and cheer on your colleagues. And for just $5 you can also get a chili lunch.

Bake-Off: Calling all bakers to another sweet bake-off competition. Bring your “A” game with your most delicious and decadent fall inspired dessert baked goods to be judged in this spirited competition. Judging will start at 11:45 a.m. with the goal to have samples of the desserts ready (while they last) for those enjoying the chili lunch.  The top three winners will receive prizes. Click HERE to register.

Costume Contest: Do you like to get spooky for Halloween? Do your kids always have the best costumes on the block? Do your pets love/hate you for dressing them up? To enter the costume contest, simply take a picture of yourself, your kids, and/or your pets and send it to Tiffany Hach at tiffany.hach@drake.edu no later than 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31. Pictures will be displayed in a slide show during the bake-off contest/chili luncheon for all to enjoy. Winners will be announced in OnCampus, and prizes awarded in two categories: 1) Adults and 2) Kids/Pets. Recent pictures only, and they must be appropriate, but have fun with it!

Chili Lunch:  In addition to the contest, please come enjoy community building and a chili lunch (plus dessert samples while they last) for $5.  If you’re not interested in the lunch, but want to attend and support your competing colleagues, please feel free to join us at no charge.

— Linda Feiden, On behalf of All Staff Council

On Oct. 17, ITS will automatically uninstall outdated versions of the Chrome and Firefox web browsers from all Drake-owned computers, including both Windows and Mac platforms. This change will not affect Microsoft Edge and Apple Safari. This update is part of our efforts to enhance security and protect our network from potential cyber threats.

To avoid losing your personalized settings, remember that both Chrome and Firefox allow you to create an account and login to save your bookmarks, preferences, and extensions, which can be accessed on any device where you login.

After the outdated browsers are removed, you can easily reinstall the latest version of your preferred browser by using the preconfigured installation apps in Company Portal (Windows) or Self Service (macOS). These installations ensure your browser is automatically updated for better security and performance.

If you have questions or need help after this change, contact us by submitting a ticket though the ITS service portal at service.drake.edu/its or by calling the Support Center at 515-271-3001.

— Becky Klein, ITS

Tuition Exchange, Inc. (one of the tuition exchange programs in which Drake participates) is offering a free webinar to families that will provide an overview of the tuition exchange process. To learn more and register, click here.

— Ryan Zantingh, Financial Aid Office

The Sponsored Research Administration and Research Compliance (SPARC) Office would like to congratulate the following faculty members on their grant awards from the National Science Foundation. These awards are the impressive result of their hard work and diligence.

Klaus Bartschat, PhD, Ellis & Nelle Levitt Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy was awarded a three-year, $319,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for his project entitled Photon- and Electron-Driven Atomic Collision Processes: General Theory and Accurate Numerical Calculations.

This study examines collisions of light (mostly lasers) and charged particles (mostly electrons) with atoms and ions. Elastic and inelastic processes, including excitation, single and double ionization, autoionization, and excitation-ionization for a wide variety of targets will be investigated by combining general collision theory with the development and subsequent application of highly sophisticated numerical methods. Continuing the close interaction with many groups in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia will lead to a deeper understanding of the quantum-mechanical collision dynamics while simultaneously producing data needed for many modelling applications, specifically in plasma and astrophysics.

Jerrid Kruse, PhD, Professor, and Lindsay Woodward, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair, Teaching and Learning Department, were awarded a three-year, $628,791 grant for their project entitled, Engaging Elementary Teachers in Developing and Implementing Instructional Materials Promoting Socioscientific Literacy.

Navigating complex societal issues such as water shortages, forest fires, and other phenomena-based problems requires understanding the social, technological, and scientific dimensions surrounding the issues and the ways these dimensions interact, shift, and change. Despite its importance, however, developing students’ socioscientific literacy has received limited attention in elementary science teaching and learning contexts. This project begins to address this problem of practice by focusing first on developing elementary teachers’ socioscientific literacy and their capacity to integrate socioscientific issues and local phenomena in their science teaching practice.

— Preston Miller, Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Compliance