Please join us in congratulating the September recipients of the True Blue Award. Here is a little information about our honorees with excerpts from their nominations.

Helen Frizel and Charnelle Harris, Catering, Sodexo

“Char and Helen along with Sky, the student worker, went above and beyond to make sure we had what we needed. They were kind and patient. They clearly communicated changes and asked many questions to make sure they got it just right. The whole team was outstanding all week.”

Alice Fynaardt, Administrative Assistant, Biology

“She has created a feeling of community within the College’s admin assistants. She always gets right back to me with correct information and good feedback and is cheerful about doing so, even when she herself is busy. She is an information sharer, and she wants all of us to succeed in our jobs.”

Mary Beth Holtey, Assistant Dean, College of Arts & Sciences

“During Welcome Weekend, we had a last-minute cancellation, leaving one of our departments without staff to speak with students. Without hesitation, Mary Beth ran the departmental overview, which lasts over an hour, with less than a 30-minute warning. She is truly a wonderful part of the Drake community, who is here to help at the drop of a hat and wants what is best for our students.”

Korrine Jackson & Heather Winslow, Payroll Coordinator & Admin. Services Specialist, Payroll & Finance

“Heather and Korrine are a delight to work with for payroll. They offer great communication and are team players for the betterment of Drake. Since payroll is a deadline-driven process, they offer quick updates and responses to ensure that everyone at Drake is paid correctly and in a timely fashion – something we don’t consider in our daily work at Drake because it is handled so seamlessly behind the scenes.”

Brandi Miller, Assistant Director, New Student Programs, Student Financial Planning

“More specifically, Brandi is a leader in serving Black staff and faculty on campus, to build a sense of belonging and voice. She organizes the Black affinity group and has been a strong voice in bringing forward issues and concerns. Brandi’s steadfast leadership demonstrates integrity and purpose. We are lucky to have her at Drake.”

Kara Vaughn, Associate Director of Annual Giving, University Advancement

“Kara epitomizes Drake’s core values every day. She is one of the first to raise a hand or jump in to help when needed. She is a cheerleader for her teammates – she celebrates successes and offers empathy during difficult times. She is a friend to all on our team and makes every effort to make others feel welcome and included.”

Do you know of a staff member or department that has gone above and beyond to exemplify True Blue spirit? Nominate them today!

— Betsy Wilson, On behalf of All Staff Council

Drake Online and Continuing Education welcomes Dianna Gray as the Director of Admission and Engagement for online programs.  Dianna previously served in this role for the College of Business and Public Administration.  Her phone and email remain the same.

— Christina Trombley, Drake Online and Continuing Education

Old Main will welcome children of Drake faculty and staff for trick-or-treat time on Monday, Oct. 31, from 3–5 pm. Offices will have treats and would love to see the kiddos’ Halloween costumes this year.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Every fall, we ask for your input on how we fulfill our commitment to elevate service excellence. It’s that time of year again and thank you for your input in advance! Your voice helps shapes continuous improvement in these areas across campus: Facilities Planning and Management, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology Services, Public Safety, and University Communications & Marketing.

Thus, you are strongly encouraged to complete this year’s survey. It is completely anonymous and often takes less than five minutes to complete. You will only be asked to provide feedback on the areas you work with regularly.

The survey was developed by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment in collaboration with each area on the survey. Continuous improvement efforts such as this drive intentional and strategic action within each area on the survey. Your collective input is reviewed and acted upon.

Thank you in advance for your participation by close of business Tuesday, Oct. 18.

— Nate Reagen, Chief of Staff, Office of the President

Each Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

The Speaking Center is open for both online and campus appointments for Fall 2022.

Drake University’s Speaking Center is here to support students, faculty, and staff in our shared efforts to develop and advance crucial skills in oral communication.

Students can book appointments to meet with a tutor or the director for help in preparing, composing, and delivering speeches and presentations—or even to get advice for initiating difficult conversations and participating in interactive discussions.

Please let your students know:

The Speaking Center will be holding appointments online through Blackboard and also in our new tutoring space downstairs in Cowles Library, room 039. Please follow the signs through the tutoring areas back to the SW corner to find our new location. Tutoring appointments are currently available Monday-Thursday afternoon.

To make an  appointment: Visit http://library.drake.edu/speaking to schedule a personal meeting with a tutor. Please enter a note specifying whether you prefer a virtual or campus appointment.

Virtual Tutoring Sessions are held on Blackboard Collaborate Ultra at the following link:

https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/7989fbe8f9314fa98d680dca692582e9

Appointments are scheduled for 30 minutes each, and students are encouraged to schedule multiple times while preparing for a single event if they wish. Any questions or concerns should be directed to speaking-help@drake.edu.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Full-time employees in a regular position at Drake University are eligible to participate in two tuition exchange programs, which offer waived or discounted tuition at other participating institutions for employees, their spouse/partner, or eligible dependent(s).

Those wishing to apply for tuition exchange in the 2023–2024 academic year can apply now. Applications should only be completed for students not already approved for tuition exchange—those who have been approved for tuition exchange in prior years will automatically be re-certified for consideration in the 2023–2024 academic year (assuming the employee remains eligible).

There are 3 main steps in the tuition exchange application process:

1. Employee submits the online tuition exchange application (and the student should also apply for admission at the schools listed on the application).
2. Drake’s Office of Student Financial Planning will confirm and certify the employee’s eligibility to participate in the tuition exchange program. This is done on a rolling basis as applications are received.
3. Each school listed on the application will determine whether they can offer the student a tuition exchange award.

Schools have different application deadlines and timelines for announcing award determinations. It is the employee’s responsibility to submit the tuition exchange application early enough to allow time for step #2 to be completed in advance of each school’s deadlines.

Details about each of Drake’s tuition exchange programs are provided below:

Tuition Exchange, Inc. (TE)
TE has over 670 participating schools. Visit tuitionexchange.org to learn more, view participating schools, and to submit an application.

Council of Independent Colleges & Universities Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)
CIC-TEP has over 440 participating schools. Visit cic.edu/tep to learn more, view participating schools, and to submit an application.

— Ryan Zantingh, Student Financial Planning

As we previously shared, Drake’s applicant tracking system (ATS), Hire Touch, is being sunset at the end of this year. We have contracted with PageUp to provide our new ATS.

In our last update, we asked for your help in naming our new job postings site. After considering suggestions from campus, we have decided to call the new application page Jobs@Drake. This will be the place to find and apply for Drake faculty and staff jobs. Handshake will continue to be the place for our students to find and apply for on campus student employment opportunities.

The ITS and HR project team continues to work closely with PageUp representatives to be prepared for the switch later this year. The team is currently working to connect Banner and PageUp and recently began testing to confirm PageUp is setup correctly. At present, the project team is anticipating a late fall launch. You can expect to hear from us next when we have determined the actual launch date and are ready to begin our training and transition work.

Here’s a high-level sneak peak on what’s ahead. We plan to have training and simulation opportunities for those involved in faculty and staff recruitment. Additionally, we plan to create documentation to help guide you through the new system. Finally, we will work with departments that have live postings so they are properly transitioned to PageUp.

For now, please keep following current recruitment practices using HireTouch. If you have any specific questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to share them with us. You can contact the project manager, Kris Brewster, ITS, or send them to Maureen De Armond, Human Resources.

— Kris Brewster, ITS; Maureen De Armond, HR

During suicide prevention month (and beyond), it is imperative to validate and appreciate each person working at Drake and the incredible job each person does to make sure that Drake is on mission for our students and our community.

Did you know that, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 5 workers will experience a mental health condition in a year? 

What can you do if you are feeling mentally strained?

• Talk to your supervisor or a trusted person about your feelings.
• Take a mental health screen at Self-Assessments – Employee and Family Resources (efr.org) to access your mental health quickly and confidentially.
• Schedule vacation or personal time away from work.
• Connect with:
  • Drake’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • DoctorsOnDemand/Telehealth mental health professionals,
  • Broadlawns mental health services Broadlawns mental health services
  • Visit with Marlene Heuertz in Human Resources (heuertz@drake.edu) for additional resources.
• Call 988 or chat online at: org/chat if you are in a mental health crisis and need to speak with someone immediately.

What can you do if you see that a coworker seems to be struggling with mental health?

• Talk with them privately and listen without judgment. You are not expected to be a mental health professional, but you can still help them by opening the conversation.  Ask open-ended questions like:
  • How are you feeling today?
  • Why do you think you feel this way?
  • How can I help?
• If comfortable and appropriate, relate to them on a personal level and share your own experiences.
• Always respect the employee’s right to privacy if the disclose a mental health condition.
• If someone is at immediate risk of suicide, stay with them until you can get further help. Contact emergency services or call/text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

All in This Together—Together we can make a difference.

— Teresa Downs, Human Resources

Starting this month, ITS will perform monthly audits to archive and remove unused content from the University’s Panopto service. Videos with zero views within a 13-month period will be archived and no longer immediately accessible. Videos can be restored through a self-service process, and instructions for restoring archived these videos are available in the ITS Knowledge Base.

Archived videos will remain on the Panopto service for an additional 13-month period, or 26 months from the last view. After that time, if there are no requests to restore the video, it will be permanently removed. Drake University will not archive, backup, or otherwise save any Panopto videos in any alternate manner.

This change is due to a new Panopto license model which bills the University for both hours created and shared as well as stored on the system. If you have any questions, contact the ITS Support Center.

— James McNab, ITS