The Woolverton Manufacturing e-store is your source to purchase Drake customized paper goods such as letterhead, envelopes, and business cards. The Competitive Edge e-Store is your source to purchase Drake branded giveaways and promotional merchandise such as pens, pencils, and pennants. Both Competitive Edge and Woolverton Manufacturing have agreed that orders placed through the e-stores on or before June 15 will be delivered and invoiced by June 30, unless a representative of one of those companies notifies the purchaser otherwise. Orders placed after June 15 will be delivered and invoiced after June 30. For questions, contact Sara Sommerlot at 271-2169 or at sara.sommerlot@drake.edu.

— Sara Sommerlot, University Communications & Marketing

A bicycle ride for staff and faculty will take place tomorrow, May 31. All abilities are welcome. Cyclists should meet in front of Old Main at 4:30 p.m. The route will depend on attendance. In the event of bad weather, the ride will be rescheduled.

— Amy Cutler, Law School

Last year, All Staff Council added a new committee, the Special Interest Committee. This committee explores initiatives, questions, and/or concerns presented to All Staff Council through research, planning, and collaboration with appropriate offices on campus.

Over the year, the committee reviewed recommendations that policy documents be added to the HR website. The committee has also been working on a staff mentoring program that will launch in August, 2018. At that time, if you are interested in becoming a mentor or mentee, you can fill out an application. Mentees will be matched with a fellow staff member and will build their mentoring relationship throughout the year. Stay tuned for the application and more information.

As a reminder, this committee seeks your suggestions, questions, or concerns. All suggestions are kept confidential.

The Special Interest Committee chair is Carla Herling, and the chair-elect is Andy Verlengia. Additional members of the committee are Shelly Biondi, Pam Pepper, Jennifer Reitano, Niki Smith, and Patrick Williams. If you have anything to reach out to the committee regarding, please direct those inquiries to chair Carla Herling at carla.herling@drake.edu or 515-271-2356.

— Niki Smith, University Communications & Marketing

Each month a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate innovative technology into their classroom.

May’s digital faculty member of the month: Jeff Inman, assistant professor of journalism, School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Read an interview between ITS and Jeff below.

Which courses do you use this technology in?
JMC 195: Mobile Application Development
JMC 172: Journalism Capstone

What type of technology do you use?
In the mobile app class, we bring together three different disciplines—computer science, graphic design, and journalism—to help ideate and execute proof-of-concept applications for Android devices. To make that happen, the class uses everything from Android emulators to InDesign to Trello to create truly inventive products.

As for the journalism capstone, it’s based around Urban-Plains.com, a multimedia website that covers the stories of the Midwest, from the latest trends in Chicago to the tales hidden in the cornfields of Nebraska. To do that, we use everything from 360 video to traditional written stories. Together, it creates a picture of the Midwest that is as eclectic as we all know it truly is.

In what context do you use this technology?
Both classes are built around collaborative projects everyone contributes to based on their skill sets and ambition; it’s all about creation. I merely act as a guide through each, helping students find the best way to achieve their goals. Technology is the tool that makes it happen.

How does this type of technology align with your teaching pedagogy?
Whatever helps tell a better story, create a better project or run a better team.

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change?
We live in a world that, technologically, is in a state of flux. There is always something new to learn, something new to try, and while we could teach students the best new tool, those often end up by the wayside. I think it’s better to teach students to experiment with technology and find the best way to get the results they want rather than stay locked into one tool or another.

Did ITS assist you in implementing this technology?
ITS set up 18 Android tablets for class. Otherwise, the students handle all the magic.

Are you interested in trying out new technology in your classroom? Want help from ITS staff? Schedule a technology adoption consultation.   

 —Erin Ulrich, CPHS, and Carla Herling, ITS 

If you are looking for used or new furniture for your office and/or classroom, Facilities Planning and Management is here to assist you. We are currently collecting an inventory list of used items available in the warehouse that are free to departments around campus. If you are looking for something we do not have available, we will work with our preferred furniture vendors to help find a solution that fits your budget and space. If your furniture is damaged, notify Facilities Planning and Management and we will check the warranty status to see if the item can be fixed or replaced. Please contact Kelly Foster at kelly.foster@drake.edu for any furniture related inquiries.

— Kelly Foster, Facilities Planning and Management

A bicycle ride for staff and faculty will take place on May 31. All abilities are welcome. Cyclists should meet in front of Old Main at 4:30 p.m. The route will depend on attendance. In the event of bad weather, the ride will be rescheduled.

— Amy Cutler, Law School

Late last week, University Communications became University Communications and Marketing. This involved some difficult decisions and staffing changes in order to streamline operations. A smaller in-house staff and this new name are part of a comprehensive effort to improve efficiency and more effectively promote the Drake University brand. There will be an intentionally strong focus on marketing going forward, to help the University remain viable and vibrant in these challenging times.

The UC&M team strives to be audience-focused, data-driven, and also digital-first whenever possible. (Note: The amount of printed materials has been reduced by more than 35 percent in the past 18 months.) Priority audiences are faculty/staff, prospective students, alumni, and other stakeholders in the public realm.

Turn to UC&M for guidance and support. More tools are in place now to empower campus partners to fulfill their own needs; see the department website and click on the Toolkit tab. When you have more complex needs that require strategic planning and/or full-service support, the UC&M team will step in directly.

Need help from UC&M? Your three primary points of contact will be:

Communications: For help communicating with faculty and staff, or sharing significant stories with the public via news media, contact Jarad Bernstein, Director of Communications, x3119 or jarad.bernstein@drake.edu.

Marketing: For help in marketing academic programs to prospective students or in engaging former students who are now alumni, contact Betsy McKibbin, Director of Marketing, who joins Drake on Monday, May 21. Her phone number will be x4501, and her email address will be betsy.mckibbin@drake.edu.

Brand Integration: For questions pertaining to creative execution of the Drake brand, including the University website and all forms of printed, digital and other tools, contact Jeremy Sievers, Director of Brand Integration, x2795 or jeremy.sievers@drake.edu. (Note: A smaller in-house staff that’s more focused on digital and social media means that graphic design for printed materials will largely be outsourced. Whenever possible, digital solutions will be presented and provided first.)

Other staff may be assigned to work with you directly (view organizational chart); however, to help the UC&M team manage workload and workflow, please contact one of the three directors listed above first. Also, new requests must have been pre-approved and prioritized by a President’s Council or Deans Council member. This will help ensure the UC&M team remains focused on the highest-priority needs of the University.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this time of transition.

— Dave Remund, Executive Director

ITS is in the process of updating Sophos Antivirus software across campus over the next few weeks and moving it to a new server. Please check Sophos to ensure your computer is up-to-date. If you are not sure how to verify this, please contact the Support Center at 515-271-3001 or visit service.drake.edu/its to report your issue. In order to fully install your update, you will need to restart your computer.

— Carla Herling, ITS

Drop in for one of the final three offerings of OneDrive transition sessions led by ITS. We will discuss how adopting OneDrive can positively impact our campus collaboration, security, and anytime/anywhere access to individual files. We will also cover the installation for users who have not started the process (please bring your computer if you need assistance with the installation process).

All three sessions are held in the Science Connector Building, Room 301:

• Tuesday, May 22, 1–4 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 29, 8 a.m.–12 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 30, 8 a.m.–12 p.m.

— Carla Herling, ITS

Last week, you may have received an email with the subject “Receipt for Your Payment to Home Chef.” This message was a phishing simulation sent out by ITS.

Many individuals reported that PayPal-related phishing scams are some of the most commonly seen in their mailboxes, and with good reason. Scammers know that financial-related emails are likely to generate a recipient response at a higher rate than other methods. To help you to distinguish this type of phishing email in the future, here are the red flags that indicated that the message was not legitimate:

Sender email address: Carefully inspect how the sender’s name and email address are displayed, then compare it to one of your trusted contacts. In this case, the sender’s name is receipt@paypal.com, and the return email address is paypal-receipt@notification.accountsupport.finance.me.com. The email address reveals the true source. You may need to hit reply to see additional information, as the reply-to address can be different from the sender address.

Recipient address (you): Is this an email you would normally receive at work, even as a PayPal customer?

Salutation: This clue can be a bit ambiguous, but PayPal explicitly states on their website that every email they send out will address you by name. If you’re a PayPal customer and you receive an email that doesn’t address you by name, that’s a red flag. If you aren’t a PayPal customer, the fact that you’re receiving any email from them is a red flag.

Link destination: Hover over the links in the email. Instead of taking you to PayPal, the link starts with 2fa.com-token-auth.com/. At Drake, these links are sometimes masked by urldefense.proofpoint.com, our email filtering system, which can add confusion. If you don’t see urldefense.proofpoint.com or the name of the organization in the link, that’s a red flag. If you’re a PayPal customer, an easy way around this is to open a web browser and go to the PayPal website that you know to be legitimate, which can be found via a web search or emails you’ve previously received from PayPal.

There is no shame in falling for a phishing email. Scammers are becoming experts at making their emails seem real, and most of us will fall for one at some point. What matters is the action you take after the fact. If you think you may have clicked on malicious link or attachment, or entered information into a fraudulent website, contact ITS quickly at informationsecurity@drake.edu. We can help you take steps to prevent fraud or a data breach from occurring.

— Peter Lundstedt, ITS