Faculty and staff are invited to the Provost’s Drake Social Wednesday, Sept. 29, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the patio on the east side of the Olmsted Center. This is a family friendly event.
— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost
Category Archives: For Faculty Archive
Access and Success offers a variety of resources: Coaching, tutoring, workshops, and more
Access and Success is a resource that offers academic coaching, disability services, and tutoring. We also offer workshops and webinars on a variety of topics.
If you have a student who could benefit from coaching in areas such as developing more effective study habits, building a time management routine, or addressing motivation challenges, refer them to Access and Success, and we will help them out.
Our next workshop, Tests and Time, is coming up soon. Check out our website for more information: Access & Success Workshops.
— Michelle Laughlin, Access and Success
Update: Teams calling/phone disruptions
In January, ITS began upgrading the campus phone system and moving faculty and staff extensions to Microsoft Teams. Previously, our phone system consisted of a patchwork of four different systems connected by a hub that was more than 30 years old.
Throughout the year, ITS staff have moved additional extensions in common areas to Teams calling and have continued to decommission older systems. The overall project, however, is still in progress.
Throughout this transition, faculty and staff have notified us of issues with response delays and dropped calls. If you have already reported an issue to the IT service portal, thank you. Our staff continue to work through these requests. As we troubleshoot issues it is very helpful for us to know when calls are dropped or other issues occur. If this happens, please submit a Calling/Phone Issue at the IT service portal.
Thank you for your patience and assistance as we work toward this project’s completion. We are dedicated to providing reliable services and expect disruptions to decrease as this work progresses.
— Keren Fiorenza, acting CITO, Information Technology Services
Help spread the word about open positions at Drake
The pandemic has rocked the workforce in many ways. One of the struggles we are experiencing—along with many other employers—is getting quality candidates to apply for current openings.
“We have had some great jobs posted recently for entry-level and early-career professionals,” said Julia Gwebu, director of Student Account Services. We are not getting the same number or quality of applicants we have in the past—even for the same positions we’ve recruited for in recent years.”
HR will be examining its recruitment practices and developing more strategic approaches, but that will take time and we have openings now. We are calling on the Drake community to help spread the word about current opportunities.
“With so many jobs available in Des Moines, we could really use a boost from people who already work at and care about Drake,” said Anne Kremer, dean of Admissions.
If you know people who are job-hunting, fit with our core values, care about students, and would contribute to a positive work culture, please encourage them to check out the current opportunities available at Drake. If you have strong connections via LinkedIn, social media, or just connections via email, please share and help get the word out. Below are some sample communications you can modify for your use. Please feel free to include this flyer as well.
Sample Email
Subject Line: Job Opportunities at Drake University
Hello,
I know you have been considering a job change, so I wanted to let you know that Drake University has some positions posted right now that may interest you. You can search for current opening here: https://drake.hiretouch.com/.
We are looking for great people to join the Drake team. I think you would enjoy working here and relate to our core values and mission. If you have questions about working at Drake, I am happy to share my experiences here. If you have specific questions about any of the jobs posted, benefits, etc., feel free to reach out to drakehr@drake.edu.
Thank you,
[Name]
Sample Social Media Post
Hello, friends! If you or someone you know is looking for a new job, please check out the jobs posted at Drake University. You can search for current opening here: https://drake.hiretouch.com/. Right now, there are a variety of opportunities to explore. Please take a look or share with anyone you know who is job hunting. If you have specific questions about any of the jobs posted, benefits, etc., feel free to reach out to drakehr@drake.edu. Go Bulldogs!
— Maureen De Armond, Human Resouces
Internal department sites coming to myDrake Sept. 23
In an effort to better target communications to both internal and external audiences, ITS and University Communications and Marketing are collaborating to expand myDrake. This team has been developing an internal website (intranet) to house campus-facing information securely, and provide an easier path to navigate to forms, instructions, department news, and other key information for the Drake community. This internal website (intranet) is built on the same platform as the myDrake campus portal and the new navigation page will become available from myDrake on the evening of Sept. 23.
A new link called Department Sites will be added to the Campus Resources section of myDrake and will initially take you to existing departmental sub-sites on www.drake.edu. ITS will be working with departments to move selected content into the new internal website and out of www.drake.edu.
If your department would like to volunteer to be an early adopter, please reach out to Jeff Regan at jeffrey.regan@drake.edu.
— Carla Herling, ITS
Direct Travel: Drake’s new non-athletic travel partner
Drake University made a change to its travel program earlier this spring switching to Direct Travel as its new travel management partner for all non-athletic departments. Drake Universityand Direct Travel have been working closely over the past few months to ensure a seamless transition with minimal impact to our travelers and overall travel program.
As the University begins to allow some travel again, we wanted to take this opportunity to outline how to get set up with Direct Travel.
A few items to note:
- Existing travel profiles including preferences, loyalty numbers, unused tickets, etc were transferred to Direct Travel
- The phone number is still 877-263-2550
- New agent support email address: corporatealo@dt.com
- New Direct Travel Itineraries (Direct2U)
Online Booking Tool
Drake University is using Etta powered by Deem as its online booking tool. Etta provides business travelers an effortless and modern booking experience including enhancements like Deem’s innovative Travel SafetyCheck which presents hotel neighborhood safety scores as well as current and historical COVID related information in the selected area. Setting up your Direct Travel profile is easy! Just follow these simple steps. Watch the training video for step-by-step instructions on how to book your first trip!
In the coming weeks, we will continue to share information about our travel program, so stay tuned. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email procurement@drake.edu.
— Heather Winslow, Administrative Services Specialist
Community Engaged Learning faculty conversations
This fall the Office of Community Engaged Learning is facilitating a Community of Practice focused on Changemaking.
Changemaking has become the umbrella term we are using to inspire a culture of students with a bias toward action—whether as an entrepreneur or engaged citizen—to challenge prevailing social issues. It is also the theme of our spring Global Citizen Forum and one of the priority themes of our next comprehensive campaign.
If you missed our first Changemaking 101 session, a recording of the session is available on the CEL website. (Select the Community of Practice drop down).
Our second session, “Moving from Direct Service to Social Innovation: The Drake Way,” is scheduled for Oct. 5 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Building upon our Changemaking 101 session (slides attached, review the recording by clicking the Community of Practice drop down) we will dig into what Changemaking can look like in practice at Drake and continue to explore the Grinnell Service and Social Innovation model in context to Drake’s culture and campus. We will also introduce the Pathways of Civic Action and Social Change, explore Drake examples in action, and provide room for you to share current social change projects you and your students are working on.
Please contact Renee Sedlacek Lee, director of Community Engaged Learning, at renee.sedlacek@drake.edu to register.
— Renee Cramer, Provost’s Office
Curriculum, croissants, and conversation
The Deputy Provost’s Office will be hosting a series of open meetings for interdisciplinary conversations about how to make sure our curriculum delivers on its promises. We’ll announce a full schedule soon; some of these meetings will be focused on particular areas of the curriculum, some will be meant to help departments and units collaborate across institutional boundaries. All of them will be open-ended and meant to help faculty ask good questions, know where to find good answers, and think across disciplines.
This first conversation is wide open, and especially welcoming of department chairs and associate deans who want to talk about leading curricular change. We will meet in person in Howard Hall in the Academic Affairs conference room (2nd floor) on Thursday, Sept. 23, from 3:30–5 p.m. There will be croissants from La Mie. No need to sign up—just show up—but feel free to email renee.cramer@drake.edu with questions or thoughts prior to the gathering.
— Renee Cramer, Provost’s Office
Faculty and staff affinity groups begin
The Office of Campus Equity and Inclusion is glad to support faculty and staff affinity groups. Please see the following descriptions, schedules, and contact information for existing and emerging groups. If you are interested in starting an affinity group that aligns to further Drake’s stated institutional mission for diversity, equity and inclusion, please reach out directly to Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion Jennifer Harvey.
The AAPI Faculty and Staff Affinity group welcomes all AAPI faculty and staff to join. You will be able to connect and network with other AAPI faculty and staff on campus. Please come to our visioning meeting on Monday, Sept. 27, at 3:30 p.m. We will meet outside at the covered space just east of Colliers-Scripps to determine how we can support the AAPI campus population. We will plan meetings and events based on what serves AAPI faculty and staff best. Please contact Maureen Yuen (maureen.yuen@drake.edu) with any questions and also if you are unable to attend the meeting but wish to be included in AAPI Affinity communications and future events.
The Black Faculty and Staff Affinity group welcomes all Black faculty and staff to join us for our virtual Brown Bag Lunch Fellowship on Microsoft Teams. You will be able to connect and network with other Black faculty and staff on campus. We will meet on the first Friday of each month starting Oct. 1. We will hold space between 12 and 1:30 pm. You may join us from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 pm or anytime in between. To receive a Teams invite, email brandi.l.miller@drake.edu.
The Jewish Affinity group: Shalom and welcome to a new school year at Drake! Jewish faculty staff are welcome and encouraged to join Drake’s Faculty and Staff Jewish Affinity Group. The group supports each other—and Jewish students on campus—at many times of the year. In the past, Jewish faculty and staff have noshed together on bagels, enjoyed Shabbat dinner and Passover Seders with Drake Hillel, and more. Affinity group members will also be on our email list for future communications. Please email Lilianna.bernstein@drake.edu to join our group.
The Latinx Affinity group is a space for LatinX faculty and staff to get to know one another socially and provide support for each other. We will be planning an outdoor gathering later this fall. Please email marina.verlengia@drake.edu to be included on our distribution list and to get information about our fall gathering. We also have a Facebook group, please click here to join.
The Office of Campus Equity and Inclusion is particularly interested in exploring whether faculty and staff with disabilities and/or who identify as lgbtq+ would like to form an affinity group to provide mutual support and connection. Please reach out directly to Jennifer Harvey if you would be interested in facilitating such a group.
— Jennifer Harvey, Campus Equity and Inclusion
Learn about Drake’s Sprout Garden
All Staff Council invites you to the Sprout Garden to learn about composting initiatives on campus with Sophia Siegel, sustainability coordinator. Bring your lunch Friday, Sept. 24, at 12 p.m. The Student Alumni Association (SAA) will provide lemonade and cookies. The Sprout Garden is located on 30th Street across from GK residence hall.
You will learn about Sprout Garden and are encouraged to collect food scraps during the week leading up to the event. The food scraps can be brought and placed in the compost bins at the Sprout Garden during the event. Food scraps to compost include produce waste (banana peels, apple cores, vegetable scraps, etc.), coffee grounds or loose tea, rinsed eggshells, and bread/tortillas. Please see the flyer outlining items not to be composted at the Sprout Garden. Contact Sophia Siegal if you need a container for your compost.
— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost