As you may be aware, University Communications (UC) underwent a departmental reorganization this spring. With the new fiscal year about to begin, here are answers to a few common questions about working with UC.

Who should you contact?
Please work through and with the directors within UC based on the audience you’re trying to engage:

• Alumni: Beth Wilson
• Donors: Beth Wilson
• Faculty/Staff: Alyssa Young
• General Public: Jarad Bernstein
• Prospective Students: Alyssa Young
• Current Students: Alyssa Young

If your needs don’t fall neatly into one of the audience categories above, or if you have a need that crosses multiple audiences, please contact me, and I will assess and assign as appropriate.

An additional note: Digital communications are led by Jeremy Sievers, and include digital assets such as photography and videography. His team’s responsibilities with the website cross all audiences; they also support content for the intranet, as well as digital marketing and other related efforts.

What services are available?
UC continues to provide strategic planning, writing/editing, graphic design, photography/videography, media relations, web development, and all of the core services you would expect from a communications department.

UC priorities in order, are:

• University-wide initiatives, with an increased emphasis on those that drive student recruitment and student retention
• Academic units and particularly those academic programs that need help growing
• Other departments and units around campus, with an emphasis on those that directly support and improve the student experience
• Affiliated organizations such as Harkin Institute, Ray Center, etc.

What self-serve resources are available?
To help address the issue of limited capacity, UC has created and launched an online toolkit to provide campus with a number of self-serve resources:

drake.edu/toolkit/

Please bookmark this link. You should be able to use these tools to fulfill many of your needs, or to better understand how to partner with UC.

What if I still have questions or concerns?
Please reach out to one of the directors listed above or me.

Thank you for your patience the past few months, while UC reengineered our team to operate in more of an audience-centered, data-driven, and digital-first mindset.

We look forward to an exciting and productive academic year ahead.

—Dave Remund, University Communications

Competitive Edge and Woolverton, Mfg. have confirmed the following fiscal year-end production and billing dates for orders placed via their respective online stores:   

• Orders placed on or by June 15 will be delivered and invoiced by June 30.
• Orders placed after June 15 will be delivered and invoiced after June 30.

 If an exception to these dates becomes evident, such as out-of-stock items, the vendor or University Communications will contact the purchaser as soon as possible.  

—Sara Sommerlot, University Communications

The phishing simulation sent to 500 faculty and staff in April once again had great results: 98 percent of those who received the email either didn’t click the link or enter any information.

On Friday, May 12, a massive ransomware attack hit more than 74 countries, taking advantage of computers that hadn’t applied software updates available several months ago. Investigators are still putting all of the pieces together, however as more information is discovered, two main points remain clear:

1. Ensure your personal computers are kept up to date with the latest security patches.
2. Always use caution when viewing and opening email, the main method for ransomware attacks such as this one.

This week we will be sending out another simulation email to 500 random faculty and staff members. If you receive the email and click the link within, you’ll be sent to an informational page. If you receive an email you suspect is phishing, simulated or not, please forward it as an attachment to informationsecurity@drake.edu.

Participating in training like this is an effective and risk-free way to learn about the dangers of phishing and help protect individual and campus data. If you have questions or concerns, please contact informationsecurity@drake.edu.

—Peter Lundstedt, Information Security Manager

The 5th annual Teaching and Learning Conference will be held on Monday, July 10, and Tuesday, July 11, on the DMACC Ankeny Campus in Ankeny, Iowa.

There will be three nationally known keynote speakers: Mark Serva, professor of management at the University of Delaware; James Blasingame, professor of young adult literature at Arizona State University; and Saundra McGuire, director emerita of the LSU Center for Academic Success at Louisiana State University. The conference will also feature 41 unique sessions offered over eight breakout sessions. A buffet lunch will be available between the morning and afternoon sessions each day.

Each registrant will be asked to select his/her individual choices for the breakout sessions. Descriptions of the breakout sessions being offered can be found on the conference website. Please be aware the keynote speakers will also be offering breakout sessions in order to go deeper into their fields of expertise

After registrations have been submitted, individuals will receive a confirmation email showing sessions chosen.  Please keep this for future reference if needed.

The deadline for registration using the electronic system is Friday, June 1, so register today!

—Sue Mattison, Provost

There are eight exciting camps available this summer. Please go to Bulldogbasketball.com for more information on camp dates. Drake employee discounts are available by emailing sarah.hoffman@drake.edu from your Drake employee email account.

The Drake University Contract Policy governs who has authority to sign contracts. The policy was changed a few years ago to authorize various individuals to sign contracts, based on contract value thresholds. This allows us to streamline the contracting process, create appropriate accountabilities for contracts, and enhance our ability to effectively negotiate favorable contract terms.

Who has authority?

• Board of Trustees—All real estate purchases and sales, security interests and permanent easements over $100,000, all land leases, acceptance of gifts of real estate, construction or capital improvement, all long-term debt transactions, legal settlements in excess of $100,000, retention of audit services, and investment of consultants for endowment
• Director Human Resources—Letters of Appointment
• Provost—Letters of Appointment
• Director-level leaders with responsibility for a standalone budget—Contracts worth $25,000 or less
• President’s Council Level—Contracts worth $250,000 or less
• President/ Chief Financial Officer—Contracts worth $250,001 or above

Only the above have authority to sign for contracts on behalf of Drake as set forth in the Board-approved policy.

Please visit the contracting website for all information relating to the contracting policy, checklist, templates, and contact information.

—Kelly Foster, Finance & Administration

John Erlich, professor emeritus of music (cello) passed away on May 5 at the age of 95. He taught at Drake for 43 years. Read more on Professor Erlich’s remarkable life here.