From day one of the pandemic, our world changed. Wearing masks in public, social distancing, remote work, and extra cleaning procedures.  You did your part to slow the spread, as fears of getting sick grew.  Now, eight months later, you may be feeling burnt out, exhausted, and just plain over this so-called “new normal”.  You are experiencing pandemic fatigue. Here are a few ways to reduce the impact of pandemic fatigue.

Acknowledge your feelings and take control. When you are tempted to step out without a mask or ignore social distancing guidelines, remind yourself that taking these precautions is a way you can assert control over the situation. To make it easier, have multiple masks and keep them in various places, and keep small bottles of hand sanitizer in several locations to encourage frequent use. This is crucial to control the spread.

Take care of yourself.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and finding time to be physically active. Doing these things can lift your spirits, boost your energy levels, and strengthen your immune system.  It is also important to take your vacation days to relax and re-energize.

Find what brings you joy.  Focus on activities that are calming or bring you joy.  Cooking, practicing meditation, reading.  Anything that offers you stress relief can be helpful.  Engaging in these activities helps creates a sense of normalcy.

Let yourself laugh.  When we laugh, we release endorphins, which help promote an overall sense of wellbeing.  Laughter also relieves physical tension and stress.  A good laugh can even burn a few calories and boost your immune system.

Connect with others and share your feelings.  Make a phone call, set up video calls, chat on social media, or write letters.  Speak to friends and loved ones who might be struggling with similar feelings to support each other and share coping strategies.

Be compassionate with yourself and take it day by day. Don’t expect perfection.  It is fine if you don’t have all the answers or always know what to do.  No one does.  Moreover, avoid looking too far down the road.  We put ourselves through unnecessary misery projecting into the future or worrying about the past.

Reach out.  Employee & Family Resources offers a variety of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources to help you now, or anytime.  You can reach EAP by phone (800-327-4692) or visit their website at https://www.efr.org/login/.  All EAP benefits are confidential and available 24/7/365.  

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

As we previously noted, ITS is upgrading the campus phone system and moving faculty and staff to using Microsoft Teams for calling in early 2021. The Microsoft Teams client will replace traditional handsets and allow faculty and staff to make and receive telephone calls using their office extension from anywhere they are connected to the Internet. 

To prepare for this change, ITS is distributing headsets to employees who haven’t already received one. If you haven’t received a Qualtrics survey request via email and haven’t already been issued a headset, please let us know by submitting a Telephone Issue request. 

Headsets will be distributed through campus mail before Thanksgiving break and can be used for online meetings and internal calls before the phone system changes next year. 

Because we know you have questions about the transition and what it means for calling, we’ve launched a FAQ page at drake.edu/its/teamscalling/.

If you don’t see your question there, please share it with us at drake.edu/its/giveitsfeedback/ and we will contact you with a response and add it to the FAQ when appropriate.  

— Chris Mielke, ITS 

On Nov. 25, Facilities Planning and Management will be cleaning three electrical high voltage vaults on campus. This means that the Bell Center, Shivers, Knapp Center, Field House, Fine Arts North, and Olin will be without power starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 12 p.m. Please remember to turn off your computers and electronics before leaving for the Thanksgiving Holiday period. Please contact Ron Tart, chief electrician, at ron.tart@drake.edu, if you have any question.

— Ron Tart, Facilities Planning and Management

About Module 4 : Module 4 is being released this week. This self-paced module is expected to take less than two hours and is focused on adding course content in the Ultra Course View. All Fall 2021 courses will be built using the Ultra Course View. 

You will be spending more time creating content and discovering new workflows in your sandbox course sites than learning from this Orientation course module. You have multiple sandboxes so that you can design more than one course simultaneously in the Learn Ultra Course View. 

Need Assistance with your Ultra Sandbox Courses? If you don’t see the sandbox courses in Ultra Course View in your Courses list (sandbox course names follow this formula: Ultra Sandbox #: Drake ID), please submit a Blackboard Site Creation request in the IT Service Portal. 

What’s Next: The end of the semester is a busy time so module 4 is the final module for the fall semester. In Spring 2021, likely late March, we will launch additional modules covering more advanced tools in Blackboard Learn Ultra Courses. 

This should allow you sufficient time to prepare your Fall 2021 courses in the Ultra Course View. In addition, a team of about 20 colleagues will be available for consultations around pedagogy and technology. 

Watch for more information in OnCampus in early spring. 

— Karly Good, ITS

Thanks to all faculty and staff who responded to this year’s Administrative Services survey. Feedback provides helpful perspective and particularly so during these challenging times. By necessity, COVID-19 has been top priority for University Communications and Marketing (UCM) for nearly nine months. We have been helping address day-to-day issues and needs, on top of managing the COVID-19 website and issuing an average of 3-4 updates per month to keep campus well-informed. Additionally, UCM has pivoted time and again to create virtual experiences for commencement, admission visits, donor recognition, and other programs that would traditionally be held on campus and in person. All of these efforts have been on top of the team’s normal workload. To call this an extraordinary year would be a gross understatement. 

Despite the many challenges posed by COVID-19, survey feedback signals solid satisfaction with UCM. On a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being highest, campus colleagues rated UCM as 3.77. While that’s a decrease from 3.98 in 2019, the score is still above average and higher than years prior to 2019. And as has been the pattern for several years now, campus colleagues ranked UCM well above average for being courteous (4.42), professional (4.36) and knowledgeable (4.29). We are especially proud of these scores, and we appreciate the support and affirmation.

Survey respondents ranked UCM highest for campus communications (4.11) and branding (4.10). Alumni/donor communications (3.76) and student recruitment marketing (3.75) were perceived as the next-highest areas of strength. Still, UCM has room to improve. Colleagues ranked UCM lowest for responsiveness (3.84), compared to the very high marks for courteousness, professionalism, and knowledge. Some other general areas of desired improvement include better understanding audience needs (3.74), creating unique solutions to challenges (3.60) and making more of a significant impact (3.54). Specific areas of concern are strategic planning (3.38) and unit-level support, particularly in the area of public relations (3.65). Despite these criticisms, it’s worth sharing that UCM came in under budget for FY20 and improved in 15 of its 17 continuous improvement measures, including double-digit percentage gains in performance across platforms—i.e. paid media (advertising), earned media (PR), shared media (social media), and owned media (website and other digital assets). 

Still, we will take some time before winter break to reflect on this past calendar year—from the caucus season to COVID-19—and talk through how UCM might make even more of a positive impact in 2021. In addition, I will reach out to a cross-sample of campus partners in the next few weeks, to try to better understand how they define the main areas of criticism (e.g. “responsiveness”) and to gather more robust feedback on these concerns. Finally, the search for my successor has begun and a new UCM executive director should be in place by the time spring semester gets underway. She or he will have access to the survey feedback and my notes from campus partner follow-up discussions. No doubt this new leader of the UCM team will bring fresh insights and ideas on how to effectively support the University and its many needs.

— Dave Remund, Executive Director, University Communications and Marketing

Please note the following schedule for payment processing through Accounts Payable to accommodate winter break.

• Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020 – All payment requests (including wires) are due to Accounts Payable by the end of the business day.  Requests received by this deadline will be processed for payment before Winter Break.
• Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 – Normal payment processing will resume this week.

The accounts payable office will be closed during winter break.

Thank you for your help in coordinating to ensure we meet all needs during the upcoming season.

Please contact Jeni Baugher, accounting supervisor, at ext. 4509 or jenifer.baugher@drake.edu with any questions.

— Jeni Baugher, Accounting