You are invited to participate in a one-week faculty/staff development workshop, sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Provost/Center for Teaching Excellence, on the topic of “Responding to Student Writing in and outside of the Classroom.” This workshop will include both FYS faculty and faculty from across the disciplines, and will be coordinated by Jody Swilky.

Participants will meet on five mornings from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. The first three meetings will be Wednesday–Friday, May 25–27. The workshop will then break for the Memorial Day Weekend and continue Tuesday and Wednesday, May 31 and June 1.

Participants will be asked to read and respond in writing to articles that address both the theory and practice of teaching writing in a variety of classroom settings. We will begin the workshop focusing on the different kinds of response one might give to student writing, depending, for example, on the purpose of the writing assignment, the academic discipline, the professor’s goals at different points in the term, etc. We will take up issues of how to help students develop their thinking within their writing, as well as ways of addressing error and other problems students have with written expression. Since any feedback faculty provide to student writing should be considered in relationship to the assignments students respond to, we will also investigate different approaches to designing assignments.

Participants will be asked to respond in discussion to the writing we ourselves produce in the seminar, as well as to sample student essays.

Participants not on a 12-month contract will receive a summer stipend in the amount of $625. All interested faculty/staff are invited to apply. Participation is limited to ten people. First priority will go to people teaching FYS for the first time. Beyond that, preference will be given to full-time continuing Drake faculty or staff, with an attempt to provide broad representation across various schools/colleges/departments.

Please register here by April 30 if you are interested in attending the workshop.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

The Office of the Provost invites faculty and staff to a retirement reception honoring and celebrating Kathleen Richardson, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Friday, May 6, from 3–5 p.m. in the north lobby of Meredith Hall.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

You are invited to the next Provost’s Drake Social Tuesday, May 3, in Shivers Hospitality Suite, adjacent to the Knapp Center, beginning at 4 p.m.

During this event, faculty and staff who celebrated (or will be celebrating) a milestone anniversary or retirement between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, will be highlighted. Their names will be scrolled on video screens around the room.

Those who celebrated a milestone service anniversary between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021, are also encouraged to attend. We were unable to hold this event in May 2020 or 2021 due to COVID restrictions.

There will be soft drinks, wine, beer, and light snacks.  President Martin will speak at 4:30 p.m.

Take a moment to stop by and congratulate your co-workers!

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Starting May 1, all emails that include any of the types of confidential information listed below must be encrypted to send to any non-drake.edu email addresses.

• Social Security numbers
• Tax Identification numbers
• Driver’s License numbers
• US Passport numbers
• Credit card information

Emails that include this confidential information will be flagged by the system and you will receive an automated notification letting you know your email was not sent. You must then either add encryption or remove the confidential information to send your email.

See instructions below on how to send and open encrypted emails:

Sending and Receiving Encrypted Email Messages (How-to)

Further questions about this upcoming change? Or about Drake’s Information Security policy? Please contact informationsecurity@drake.edu.

— Chris Mielke, ITS

As we head toward May 1, I want to simply send a public note of appreciation to Dean of Admissions Annie Kremer and her entire team, as well as to the faculty and staff across the University who have worked so hard this spring to help families imagine their students here.

I’ve had the good luck of being present at several of our admitted student days and have seen the lovely mix of excitement and trepidation that families bring to the decision process. And, I’ve seen the high energy and thorough preparation that Admissions brings to these events, from the snappy welcome video to the heartfelt speeches from students, to the information-packed sessions on J-Term, global engagement, pre-professional programs, co-curricular activities, and more.

We wouldn’t be a university if we didn’t have students—and we wouldn’t have students without the tremendous work of Admissions and those of us who partner with that office.  So: thanks, Annie and all, for the work you’re doing!

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

I’ve just reviewed the slide deck for Prof. Cathy Davidson’s upcoming address to the campus community, and slide six features a quote from DJ Questlove, inviting us to reimagine ourselves and our institutions, post-COVID-19. Since I love Tribe Called Quest, I got excited—and since I love thinking about innovation in higher education as a great way to serve our students and keep ourselves engaged, the rest of the slides made my day!

Please consider joining us for what promises to be an interactive, illuminating, and invigorating virtual event on Wednesday, May 4, at 7 p.m. Sign up to receive the link to this event. If you’d like to join us for a catered watch party and after-presentation discussion, please let us know. We will also have the opportunity to gather together on Monday, May 9, from 3:30–5 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 210, to discuss Dr. Davidson’s book, after her visit. Please register here, so we know how many books to buy and can provide an appropriate amount of refreshments.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Drake University Recreational Services offers a faculty/staff golf league in the summer for all faculty/staff. The league is 10 weeks (8 regular season, 2 weeks of playoffs) on Wednesday afternoons. The first week of matchups will begin at Grandview Golf Course on Wednesday, May 18.

This league will be administered on a handicap basis, with 80% of the difference between a person’s average and scratch used as the handicap. Spouse/significant others are welcome to play in the league.

Registration deadline is Wednesday, May 11, at 4 p.m. View the entry form for more information.

For questions, email ryan.parriott@drake.edu.

— Emily Madsen, Rec Services

Drake, DMACC, and Grand View University have transfer agreements among institutions. As part of this consortium, we hold an annual event to bring together faculty and staff. This event has resulted in introductions of individuals holding similar faculty and staff positions, scholarly collaborations, and sharing effective practices, as well as a chance for social interactions.

Please save the date: Wednesday, Sept. 21, from 3–4 p.m. on the DMACC Ankeny campus.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Entertainment, snacks, and the change to recognize amazing colleagues!  That’s what you can expect at the Sapphire Awards on Thursday, May 12, from 1–1:45 p.m. in Levitt Hall. We will recognize True Blue individual and group nominees and announce the Sapphire Award winners. The Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Award and Distinguished Community Service Award winners will also be presented. Dance without Borders will be our entertainment as they share their Mexican cultural dance with us. Please save the date. We look forward to seeing you there!

— Teresa Downs, Human Resources

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

Do you know that rare, rare feeling, as a faculty member or part of university staff, when you’re talking with someone from outside of your institution, but within the profession, and they absolutely get it? It’s that feeling when you connect with someone who understands deeply the context you’re working within, sees the potentials and the roadblocks, and has actual ideas for moving forward. It’s the sometimes too frequently rare feeling of being energized through work—motivated to plan a bit, think a bit, act a bit, even though you’re tired and overwhelmed.

I had the opportunity to experience that feeling yesterday, for the brief twenty seven minutes I spent on the telephone with Cathy Davidson, the author of The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux. That energetic conversation carried me through the entire rest of an email-and-meeting-filled day. To be honest, that conversation carried me through an intense evening of parenting, painting my bathroom, and avoiding doing dishes-laundry-tidying.

I am so happy to be able to provide an invitation for you to spend a virtual hour with Cathy on Wednesday May 4, at 7 p.m. because I know it will energize you, focus you, and provide you with concrete examples of how to shift your pedagogy and practices in ways that will benefit our students. Dr. Davidson is the winner of the 2021 Annual Advocacy Award from the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, the Founding Director of the Futures Initiative at CUNY, and a founding member of HASTAC: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory.  Her keynote address to the campus community will kick off an entire month of programming that I’m designing, meant to help our faculty and staff address the ethical imperative of meeting our students where they are—emotionally, intellectually, and socially—in a post-pandemic but always-disrupted world.

Sign up to receive the link to this event. If you’d like to join us for a catered Watch Party and after-presentation discussion, please let us know, here. We will also have the opportunity to gather together on Monday, May 9, from 3:30–5 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 210, to discuss Dr. Davidson’s book, after her visit. Please register here, so we know how many books to buy and can provide an appropriate amount of refreshments.

If you are teaching an FYS in the fall (or have always wanted to spend a day or two learning more about FYS), or a writing intensive course, or a course that you want to make certain is accessible to all learners, extend the energy you’ll get from Cathy’s talk, by attending a newly imagined All Faculty Development Workshop: Meeting Our Students As We Find Them Post-COVID. You can plan now for an intensive two-and-a-half day workshop; we will meet as a whole group, and in cohorts, on May 18 and 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, May 20.  Faculty who attend and participate will receive $375 stipends, access to some terrific guest speakers, all materials, ample time in shared conversation and directed learning, and meals – as well as an invitation to be part of compensated faculty learning communities meeting through fall and summer. To assist in our planning, please register at this link, as soon as you are able to commit.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost