Alumni want to stay connected to Drake by contributing to today’s student experience. Have you recently scheduled an alumnus to speak in your classroom, participate in a career fair, serve on a panel, or mentor a student?

If your answer is yes, there is an easy way to let Alumni Relations know so we can measure engagement, track interests, and communicate opportunities with our alumni. Please use the online form on the University Advancement Web page, or the link on myDrake under Employee Quick Links to submit your alumni engagement.

This past year we received over 150 submissions from faculty and staff regarding alumni who volunteered in Drake classes. Please help us again this year by using the submission form and helping us track this important alumni engagement.

 Andy Verlengia, Director of Alumni Relations

Online Programs will be available to meet and answer any questions regarding online teaching or online programs every third Thursday from 1 to 2 p.m. on the first floor of Cowles Library, in the coffee shop area. Christina Trombley, executive director for Online Programs, will be there on Thursday, Sept. 20, and is happy to have a general discussion regarding programs, teaching in the online format, or the process for moving a class to online.

Christina Trombley, Online Programs

The second session in our series on Grant Writing and Research is a week from today, Tuesday, Sept. 25, in the Drake Room in Olmsted from 3:30 to 5 p.m. The topic is Using Drake’s Grants Database. There is no need to register.

—Art Sanders, Associate Provost

The first in our monthly Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) lunches is Friday, Sept. 28, at 12 p.m. in TMR 133.These discussions are opportunities for those engaged in SoTL projects at any level—from just thinking about starting one, to almost complete, or those simply curious about SoTL—to share ideas, seek advice, or ask questions of colleagues engaged in the process. This year we will also be joined by members of the IT Support Services staff who can provide advice/information about SoTL projects that might involve technology usage. If you would like us to provide lunch for you, please register by Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 10 a.m.

For more information, contact arthur.sanders@drake.edu.

—Art Sanders, Associate Provost

All Drake faculty/staff are eligible to receive up to four complimentary tickets to the upcoming Drake Volleyball match. Tickets may be picked up at the Drake Athletics Ticket Office Monday—Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or at the ticket window on game day. A valid Drake Card must be shown to pick up tickets.

Volleyball
Drake vs. Northern Iowa
Friday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m.
The Knapp Center

More game information is available at DrakeTix.com/promotions.

For more information please contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647 or visit GoDrakeBulldogs.com.

Ryan Harris, Athletics

Email phishing is one of the most prevalent attacks directed at Drake – over 100 million phishing emails are sent each year to drake.edu addresses. That’s why ITS works to educate faculty, staff, and students on how to avoid these attacks designed to convince us to give away our information.

One goal of phishing is to coerce recipients to download or open malicious attachments and files. This specially crafted software runs on your computer, giving a foothold into the network. To help combat this threat, ITS routinely updates internet browsers and other susceptible software. Depending on the update, this may cause the software to restart. Please contact the Drake Support Center if you ever need assistance with updating computer software.

We’ll be distributing another phishing education scenario this month. These phishing email look-alikes provide information about how to spot malicious emails in a risk-free environment.

When you encounter an email you don’t recognize, always slow down and look carefully for red flags that give away its intent before acting. Report suspicious emails.

—Peter Lundstedt, ITS