Nominations are now being accepted for the Ron and Jane Olson Outstanding Global Service-Learning Faculty/Staff Award.  Nominations are due Monday, April 24, at 5 p. m. The selected awardee will receive a $500 award and will be recognized at the All Staff Council Sapphire Awards Event on Thursday, May 4, in Levitt Hall, Old Main.

A letter of nomination should be submitted recommending an individual for the award speaking to the award criteria.

Ron and Jane Olson established the Outstanding Global Service-Learning Award to recognize outstanding work guiding global-service learning initiatives. This award recognizes a Drake faculty or staff member who:

• Develops and coordinates intentional global service-learning opportunities
• Demonstrates an ongoing commitment to community partner relationships internationally and/or locally
• Exhibits values that encourage global service-learning
• Provides leadership to support the sustainability of global service-learning initiatives

The nominee must be a current faculty or staff member at Drake.

Nomination Process

The letter of nomination is due to the Assistant Director of Drake Administered Programs Abroad Maria Rohach at maria.rohach@drake.edu no later than Monday, April 24. A committee of faculty and staff will review all nominations and make recommendations to the executive director of global engagement and international programs.

—Maria Rohach, Drake International

The phishing education scenario in March went to 500 faculty and staff and 81% of the people that received the email avoided opening the attachment. It was designed to mimic a highly effective ransomware campaign, which resulted in the loss of data for thousands globally. The email and attachment are designed to lock files and prevent access to them unless a ransom is paid, and even then, there’s no guarantee.

Late last year, Coastal Carolina University was scammed out of over half a million dollars after thieves used clever phishing emails designed to look like an official vendor. This story and countless other headlines are stark reminders of why phishing training is so important.

This week we will be sending out another simulation email to 500 random faculty and staff members. If you receive the email and submit any information, you’ll be directed to an educational page. 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 about this training or any other IT security issues, please contact informationsecurity@drake.edu.

If you ever receive an email you suspect is phishing, simulated or not, please forward it as an attachment to informationsecurity@drake.edu.

—Peter Lundstedt, Information Security Manager

All faculty or staff members are welcome to participate in a 10-week golf league beginning May 24. Our league is hosted by Grand View golf on Wednesday late afternoons. Registration is due May 5 (Fac/Staff Golf League 2017 Registration Form), and the team fee is $270—divided into teams of 2 or 3. For more information, contact Jordan Grindeland at jordan.grindeland@drake.edu or x3020.

Men’s Basketball: Interested in becoming a season ticket holder for men’s basketball? Fans can now place a $100 deposit per seat to have first priority at season tickets following the renewal period this summer. Don’t miss any of the action at The Knapp Center this year under Head Coach Niko Medved. Call 515-271-3647 or email tickets@drake.edu today!

Women’s Basketball: Existing season ticket holders and interested new fans can take advantage of special ticket pricing starting now until May 12! We have FROZEN season ticket prices at the 2016–2017 rate before they increase for the 2017–2018 season. If you are an existing season ticket holder, be sure to renew your seats before May 12 to lock in your seats at the 2016–2017 rate. If you were not a 2016–2017 season ticket holder, but are interested in season tickets for the 2017–2018 season, you can also lock in tickets at the lower rate before May 12. Simply call 515-271-3647 or email tickets@drake.edu.

Go Bulldogs!

Questions? Please contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647 or tickets@drake.edu.

—Tom Florian, Drake Athletics

Men’s Basketball: Interested in becoming a season ticket holder for Men’s Basketball? Fans can now place a $100 deposit per seat to have first priority at season tickets following the renewal period this summer. Don’t miss any of the action at the Knapp Center this year under Head Coach Niko Medved. Call 515-271-3647 or email tickets@drake.edu today!

Women’s Basketball: Existing season ticket holders and interested new fans can take advantage of special ticket pricing starting now until May 12! We have FROZEN season ticket prices at the 2016–2017 rate before they increase for the 2017–2018 season. If you are an existing season ticket holder, be sure to renew your seats before May 12 to lock in your seats at the 2016-2017 rate. If you were not a 2016–2017 season ticket holder, but are interested in season tickets for the 2017–2018 season, you can also lock in tickets at the lower rate before May 12. Simply call 515-271-3647 or email tickets@drake.edu.

Go Bulldogs!

Questions? Please contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647 or tickets@drake.edu

Purchasing maintains a Preferred Vendor List on the Finance and Administration website. This spreadsheet has been recently updated and includes many vendors and hotels Drake uses on a regular basis with which we have contracts, consortium memberships, or special discounting. It is a good practice to check first when looking for goods or services for your needs. If you have questions on how to connect with any of the vendors, please contact caron.findlay@drake.edu to find out how to be set up as a user for that particular vendor.

The list is a continual work in progress, so if you have vendor relationships you wish to have added to this list, please send me their contact information. The list of preferred and contracted vendors is accessible on the finance & administration website at http://www.drake.edu/busfin/vendorinformation/vendors/

–Caron Findlay, Director, Purchasing & Business Services

On Thursday, April 13, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., the College of Pharmacy and Health invites faculty and staff to an open house and tour of the occupational therapy program facilities at 3003 Forest Ave. (the previous bookstore location).

Some highlights of the space include:

The LifeStyle Redesign Lab is featured on the first floor, which will be used for instruction on adapting a home, as well as assisting students in teaching patients how to use lifestyle adjustments for different abilities and needs in daily living. The space includes a 1-bedroom apartment, an ergonomic office, a model Hy-Vee grocery store, and a streetscape featuring an ‘OT Cruiser’.  The Occupational Therapy Department has a community service goal to make the Lifestyle Lab available to the central Iowa occupational therapists periodically for use with their patients.

The lower level contains flexible learning labs/classrooms, a conference room, and a student commons area. Drake ITS has worked with the faculty on the technology incorporated into the classrooms and labs and will be available to demonstrate the new technology during the open house.

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program began in Summer 2016 with the first cohort of 26 students. The OTD is a three-year program, requiring two years of classroom and laboratory work and one year of fieldwork experiences in practice sites around the nation. The second cohort of students will begin in May of 2017 with an expected enrollment of 28 students.

—Renae Chesnut, Dean, College of Pharmacy and Health Science

Emma Daily, senior strategist, visual design in the Office of University Communications, was surprised in early March with the Called to Be True Blue Award from All Staff Council. Her nominator, colleague Tim Schmitt, praised Emma, in particular, for her work as a designer and project leader in support of the Annual Fund.

“She effectively leverages and combines her experience as an alum with her professional knowledge and experience to communicate Drake’s message in ways that go far beyond her role as a designer,” Schmitt wrote. “Perhaps more important is [her] skill at bringing every person on a project together in a collaborative effort that is natural and effective. She is the model of an effective communicator.”

Make your own nomination!
The Called to be True Blue Award recognizes Drake staff members and teams who epitomize the values of leadership, teamwork, integrity, and commitment to the University. If this sound like someone you know, please nominate them at www.drake.edu/asc/recognition. Recipients are automatically in the running to win a year-end Sapphire Award, the highest staff recognition at Drake.

—All Staff Council Recognition Committee