Thank you to those of you who have completed the Survey of Administrative Services, but we still need to hear from more of you! Your voice helps shape continuous improvement in these areas across campus: Facilities Planning and Management, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology Services, Public Safety, University Communications & Marketing, and the SPARC (grants) office.
Click here to complete this year’s survey by today. 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.
Faculty and staff who exemplify the Core Value of Joyful Accountability will be recognized at the Provost’s Social today, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m. in the Schicklers Club (formerly known as Courtside Club). This is a family friendly event. Please join us to congratulate your colleagues who have been nominated for exhibiting Joyful Accountability!
As a reminder, the University will hold a budget town hall on Tuesday, Nov. 4,at 3 p.m. in the Olmsted Center, Parents Hall. All faculty and staff are encouraged to attend to learn more about the fiscal year 2025 results, overall financial health, fiscal year 2026 budget, and a look ahead to future fiscal years.
If you have questions you would like addressed at the town hall, please send them to president@drake.edu.
As always, you are encouraged to review Drake’s Continuous Improvement Plan. This is our strategic plan and lists out all our objectives along with major University initiatives. Please take time to explore how each of those objectives are embodied in many ways across our campus life. You can do so by clicking on the “Learn more” link or the “+” in each objective area to see more on student, faculty, and staff successes.
This site is continuously updated and can be found any time by going to the drake.edu home page, clicking on ‘Campus Links’ at the top and selecting ‘Strategic Plan’.
Our annual opportunity to contribute to United Way of Central Iowa, as a University, is coming again in November. Your optional contribution can be financial, volunteering, and/or needed supplies. We’ll continue to have some fun, giving-level incentives as well. This especially includes the incentive of getting a full-day off on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving instead of a half-day—if we can hit our campaign participation goal!
The campaign will kick-off on Monday, Nov. 10, with an email from United Way of Central Iowa and will conclude on Friday, Nov. 14. Some highlights to share:
The campaign is part of our commitment as an anchor institution and to the Des Moines community
One hundred percent of the funds donated remain in central Iowa (Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties)
Serves over 10,000 people in the 50311 zip code
United Way financially supports many organizations that are partners with Drake including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa
More details about this years campaign, giving level incentives, volunteer opportunities, and a supply drive is forthcoming in the next OnCampus.
We aim to create positive mental health environments both in the therapy office and outside in our Drake community. Faculty and staff can request to have a Broadlawns Drake Student Counseling Center staff member speak or guest lecture about counseling center services and other psychoeducational topics.Complete this form to request classroom support and select your topic(s) of interest.
— Tyler Jacobs-Lewis, Broadlawns Drake Student Counseling Center
Think you’ve got the best brunch dish on campus? Enter the All Staff Council Brunch Bake Off and show off your cooking skills. Casserole or pastry, sweet or savory—create your best dish for a chance to win prizes and bragging rights as Drake’s Brunch Champion!
Where: Johansen Student Center, Fisher-Stelter Hall
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 5
Time: 10 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Sign up no later than Oct. 20 to enter into the competition.
Everyone is invited! Beverages will be provided as well as sharing in all the yummy brunch dishes.
The call for travel seminar proposals for J-Term 2027 is now open. If you are considering proposing a travel seminar, your first step is to set up a meeting with Chelsea Funk to discuss your ideas.
Important Update: This year, Travel Seminar resources are available on our new Global Affairs internal site! The internal site replaces our previous PDF and has information on:
Proposal submission guidelines (please read before submitting the Qualtrics)
Program development
Faculty eligibility and compensation details
Additional resources will be published in the coming months for future stages of the Travel Seminar lifecycle, as well as other opportunities such as Faculty-in-Residence, etc.
Note: These pages are currently only accessible using the link above – NOT from the Drake Internal Pages site. Please reach out to me if you have any trouble accessing the pages.
Dates & Deadlines:
Submission: Sunday, November 16, 2025 (11:59pm)
Department & Dean Approvals: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Drake faculty and staff who exemplify the Core Value of Joyful Accountability will be recognized at the next Provost’s Social, Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Shivers Hospitality Suite beginning at 4 p.m.
How do we define Joyful Accountability at Drake? We look for colleagues who are curious, creative, bold, and brave, and who strive each day to be their best!
To nominate a colleague, please use the Qualtrics form. All those nominated will be recognized on a rolling display during the event. When you nominate colleagues, be prepared to describe how each colleague meets these descriptions. From among those nominated, several will be chosen at random for prizes.
Refreshments will include an assortment of beverages and light snacks. This is a family friendly event. Feel free to bring your children or partner!
Earlier this month ITS officially kicked off the planned multi-year network refresh project. This project aims to replace all wireless access points and network switches on campus over the next three years. This work is essential as we work to support growing connectivity needs, plan for future wireless technologies, and maintain a secure campus network.
The project will be completed in two major phases. The first will be focused on replacing wireless access points across campus with the second phase being focused on replacing network switches. While most of the new access points will replace existing older equipment, the team is working hard to identify areas where additional wireless coverage is needed and ensuring the resources are being leveraged in the best way possible.
Below is the tentative planned roll out of the wireless access points across campus. Please note that these building groups and dates can change based on hardware availability and building event schedules.
Building Type
Projected Implementation
Athletic Buildings
Fall 2025
Group 1 Administrative Buildings
Fall 2025
Group 1 Academic Buildings
J-Term 2026 / Spring 2026
Group 2 Administrative Buildings
Spring 2026
Residence Halls
Summer 2026
Group 2 Academic Buildings
Fall 2026 / J-Term 2027
We understand that stable and reliable internet access is critical to teaching, learning, and daily campus operations. To help ensure minimal campus impact, we will be reaching out to building managers prior to the start of work in their assigned building. We will notify them of projected start dates as well as identify any additional events or activities happening in that area.
For more information about the project and to see ongoing building status updates, please visit our project internal site.
