Drake University’s Black Faculty and Staff Affinity (BFSA) Group is gathering for lunch off campus at Rico’s at Drake on Feb. 18, 2022, at 12 p.m. Black faculty and staff are invited to join!
— Brandi Miller, Student Financial Planning
Category Archives: For Faculty Archive
Coronavirus increasingly used for phishing scams
Scammers are using the recent Omicron surge as bait in phishing attacks. These new phishing campaigns often use official-looking emails about the Coronavirus to get people to provide their email addresses, personal information, and passwords.
In one example, the attackers promised to provide a list of the area’s active infections to trick potential victims into clicking a link in the message leading to a page designed to steal their credentials.
In another phishing email, the attackers tried to pass as an official alert message from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Coronavirus scams have taken many forms, including:
- Alerts from local or national health organizations about local Omicron cases.
- Updates from an employer about policies or procedures to address the risk.
- Emerging information about protecting yourself, your children, or your community.
- Charitable appeals to help Coronavirus victims.
Here are some tips to help you keep the scammers at bay:
- Don’t click on links from unknown sources. This could download harmful malware onto your computer or device.
- Go directly to the source for the most up-to-date information. Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) official websites.
- Do your homework before donating to a charity or a crowdfunding site. If someone wants donations in cash, by gift card or by wiring money, don’t do it.
- Beware of “investment opportunities” for emerging Coronavirus cures, tests, or treatments. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is seeing an increasing number of false online claims of Coronavirus-related stocks that are about to dramatically increase in value.
- Shop around. Scammers often overcharge for health-related products or their shipping costs, or send counterfeit items, so always comparison shop.
ITS will continue to simulate phishing and assign training to those most susceptible. If you believe you’ve been targeted by phishing, see Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).
—Chris Mielke, ITS
Proposals for Global Partnership Grants—deadline extended
The deadline has been extended to March 31 for Drake faculty and staff to submit a proposal for the FY23 Global Partnership Grants.
Drake University has established formal partnerships with multiple institutions abroad. Joint faculty and staff projects with our global partner institutions may be eligible for financial support through the Global Partnership Grants. Please contact Annique Kiel for more information or to get connected with a global partner institution.
Eligibility and criteria
Full-time faculty and staff are eligible to apply for Global Partnership Grants for activities taking place during FY23. Preference will be given to proposals that:
- identify a specific set of activities with distinct outcomes with one (or more) of our partner institutions
- demonstrate specific impact on Drake curriculum, students, and current global partnerships
- advance Drake’s global engagement with existing partners in new ways
- support involvement by individuals who have not previously been globally engaged
- are financially supported by the school, college, or department of the individual submitting the proposal
- align with internationally or globally focused unit objectives and/or the University’s Continuous Improvement Plan
Application process:
- Discuss the proposed activity with your unit director or dean prior to submission to help determine its strategic value and if it aligns with the unit’s global engagement priorities. The discussion will help determine the unit’s interest and ability to support the proposal with financial resources.
- Submit the online application via Qualtrics, which includes a description and budget (*see note) for the proposed activity. Deadline: March 31, 2022
- Deans/directors will review all proposals for their unit with the Global Partnerships Coordinator and the Executive Director of Global Engagement for prioritization and to make collaborative funding decisions. Final award decisions are expected to be announced in April 2022.
*Note, Global Engagement grant funds are not typically awarded for stipends for Drake faculty and staff; however, stipend requests may be considered for funding by your unit’s Dean/Director on a case-by-case basis. The College of Arts & Sciences will not fund stipends.
Learn more about Drake’s global partner institutions and other opportunities for funding global projects at drake.edu/global.
— Bonnie Ehler, Global Engagement
Call for nominations: Principal Global Citizenship Award
Nominations are being accepted for the Principal Global Citizenship Award, recognizing outstanding contributions to global engagement and internationalization of the campus and curriculum on the part of faculty or staff. The selected awardee will receive a plaque, up to $3,000, and will be announced at the 2022 Global Citizen Forum in March. A screening committee will review all nominations and make recommendations to the Provost. Nominations should be submitted to Bonnie Ehler at bonnie.ehler@drake.edu by Monday, Feb.14, 2022.
A letter of nomination should be submitted recommending an individual for the award and explaining the context and manner in which the nominator has come to know the faculty or staff member. This letter should speak to the following qualifications:
Pursuant to the University’s mission to develop “responsible global citizens,” explain how the nominee has made outstanding contributions at Drake toward realizing the following:
- Support Drake University as a global institution by creating linkages to global partners in local, national, and international settings;
- Develop and/or actively support global and intercultural learning opportunities for Drake students;
- Develop infrastructure, resources, and partnerships to support internationalization and global engagement.
The nominee must be a faculty or staff member with at least four years of service at the University. The nominee cannot have won this award within the past five years. Faculty and staff members who report directly to Global Engagement are ineligible.
Nominees who indicate a willingness to be considered will be invited to submit a resume or C.V. and a statement discussing their contributions to the above goals. Up to three letters of support from unit or institutional leadership, faculty, staff, or students will be accepted (this is optional).
Any individual who was nominated for the award in 2021 may be re-nominated if the nominator resubmits a letter offering the individual for consideration this year. Files of previous nominees are maintained for one year. If a faculty/staff member is re-nominated, the nominator will be invited to review the file from the previous year to ensure that the nomination is as current as possible.
Past recipients include:
2021 – Sally Haack, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Clinical Sciences
2020 – Jody Swilky, Ellis and Nelle Levitt Professor of English/Writing Workshop
2019 – Pramod Mahajan, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
2018 – Tim Knepper, Professor of Philosophy/Comparison Project Director
2017 – John Rovers, Professor of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
2016 – Ellen Yee, Professor of Law/Director of International Programs
Nomination letters are due by Feb. 14, 2022 and should be sent as an attachment to bonnie.ehler@drake.edu. Questions may be directed to Annique Kiel, executive director of Global Engagement and International Programs, at annique.kiel@drake.edu.
— Bonnie Ehler, Global Engagement
Deputy Provost 2:10 –Writing Workshop is open
Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.
The Writing Workshop opened Monday, Feb. 7. It is a wonderful resource for all students engaged in expanding skills in written communication.
The Workshop is staffed by peer tutors, all of whom have taken at least one course to train them and familiarize them with writing theory and pedagogy. Tutors help students identify areas of difficulty and work with them on a range of issues including fluency, organization, development, analysis and argument. Tutors also help students copyedit their work as needed. Tutors do NOT write papers for students, nor do they simply act as proofreaders. All work on development and copy reading takes place within the context of the student’s own writing.
How to sign up: The online address for student sign-up page site is library.drake.edu/writing. This site is also linked to the English website. The website itself will give students directions on how to proceed. Typically, an appointment is for one half hour. Students can sign up for more than one session if they choose. They may also request that a tutor keep a regular time slot available for them if they would like to come in each week. If students are having difficulty signing up, have them call The Writing Workshop at 271-4712. They can also email me with any concerns (jody.swilky@drake.edu).
Location: For Spring 2022 we will be offering tutoring in-person. The Writing Workshop is located in Cowles Library, Room 47, on the lower level. We are open:
• Monday through Friday during the day
• Monday through Thursday during the evening
• Saturday afternoon
• Sunday afternoon and evening
Communication with professors: If you refer your student to the workshop, please let us know via email (jody.swilky@drake.edu). Have them bring the assignment they are responding to, as well as any writing they have done to complete the assignment. As part of the first visit, tutors ask students if they have been referred. If a student is referred, the tutor will send an email letting you know that your student has attended, and will briefly describe what work was done. If a student attends on his or her own, we do not inform professors unless the student specifically asks us to.
Workshop services: In addition to tutoring students, workshop tutors are available to speak briefly to classes about the workshop. If you would like a tutor to come to your class, please call or email me. Please also feel free to call or email me with questions about writing, about working with students for whom English is not a first language, or with questions about any student who is having particular difficulty with writing.
— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost
Faculty grants for research, professional development
My office has funds available for grants in the service of faculty research, and faculty development. Some funding in both categories remains for this fiscal year (funds to be spent by June 30); and I am happy to announce a new round of funding for projects to begin in July, 2022, and carry to the end of the next academic year. Faculty who will be on sabbatical for any portion of the 2022–2023 academic year are eligible to apply for the research grant, to cover costs associated with research during that time. Please see the web pages linked above for details, and feel free to contact me (renee.cramer@drake.edu) with questions. Thinking ahead—you can anticipate a call for undergraduate assistantship funding, in collaboration with Student Financial Planning, released in the coming weeks.
— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost
Deputy Provost 2:10 – Lunch and money (SOTL and student assistantships)
Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.
Drake faculty engage our students in learning in ways that serve our own growth and development—it’s one of my favorite things about teaching, and one of my favorite things about our commitment to our students. We do this by hiring undergraduate research assistants, by mentoring students as they move through Honors theses and internships, and by developing projects around the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning—where our pedagogy becomes a focus of our own self-reflection and study.
The Center for Teaching Excellence invites you to join us for lunch with Adam Case, assistant professor of Computer Science, to hear about his scholarship of teaching and learning project. Lunch will be held in Howard Hall, Room 210, from 12:30–1:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18.
And, the Office of the Deputy Provost is partnering with student financial aid to offer awards to faculty in order that they can hire student assistants for their research, in the coming academic year.
— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost
Finance Self Service coming March 1
The next phase in the Self Service project replacing MyDUSIS functions is coming on March 1—Finance Self Service.
Finance Self Service provides a safe and secure portal to electronically submit and approve payment requests, journal vouchers, and budget changes. It is also a more user-friendly and modern platform for budget and financial queries and year-to-year analysis.
A pilot group has been busy testing Finance Self Service and we are using their feedback to finalize resources and training. Pilot testing will conclude on Feb. 11.
Beginning March 1, users will be required to use Finance Self Service to submit and approve payment requests, journal entries, and budget changes.
Direct emails have been sent to users who may be impacted by this change. If you are someone who will need to use Finance Self Service and haven’t been receiving direct emails, please reach out to Heather Travis. This will ensure you get information about upcoming training sessions taking place the week of Feb. 21.
Additionally, several resources have been created in the IT service portal at https://drake.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2025/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=22690.
For questions, contact payments@drake.edu or Heather Travis at heather.travis@drake.edu.
—Heather Travis, Finance
Seeking nominations: Levitt professorships
Three new Levitt Professorships will be named this year. The Office of the Provost invites nominations at this time.
The Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professorship has long been an important way to recognize and reward superior performance by Drake University faculty members. Levitt Professors are full professors who have demonstrated teaching effectiveness and/or mentoring excellence, professional contributions through scholarly activity, demonstrated leadership, consulting activities, and contributions to the mission of the department, college and university.
In addition to the title, Levitt professors receive a $5,000 annual supplement to their salary. The initial appointment is for five years. During the fifth year, performance is reviewed to determine whether continuation as a Levitt professor is merited.
Nominations should be submitted to the Dean of the nominee’s college or school by March 8, 2022. Self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged. Each nomination must include a letter of nomination that makes clear the qualifications of the individual to become a Levitt Professor and a current c.v.
Deans will send their recommendations, along with the nominees’ credentials, to Deputy Provost Renée Cramer, who will convene a selection committee composed of faculty members holding distinguished professorships, to review the submitted nominations. This group will make recommendations to Provost Mattison, who will make recommendations for appointment to President Martin and the Board of Trustees for appointment. The professorship will be awarded effective July 1, 2022.
Please direct any questions to Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost.
Thank you for your attention to this opportunity to recognize the excellence of our outstanding faculty members.
— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost
Unencrypted emails containing confidential information
In November 2021, we had a cybersecurity company, Grey Castle Security, perform a campus-wide review. One of the issues they identified was the sending of confidential information using insecure methods. As a response, we are beginning to send automated email messages to anyone who emails unencrypted confidential information.
This type of information can be emailed as long as it’s properly protected. See instructions linked below:
Sending and Receiving Encrypted Email Messages (How-to)
For now, anyone who sends an email with unprotected information will receive an automated response, but the email will still be sent. Starting May 1, any outgoing unencrypted emails including confidential information will need to be re-sent with appropriate security precautions.
Questions about this upcoming change? Please contact informationsecurity@drake.edu
— Carla Herling, ITS