Please join us Tuesday, April 18, in the Cowles Library Reading Room for the Provost’s Social. This month’s Social will follow All Staff Council’s Sapphire Awards, where the Sapphire awards and the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service award will be presented.

The Sapphire Awards will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Cowles Library Reading Room and will be immediately followed by the regular social at 4 p.m. Please join us to enjoy some refreshments and celebrate our colleagues.

Refreshments will include light snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, and cake. This is a family-friendly event, so please feel free to bring your children or partner!

— Madison Bemus, Provost’s Office

Recruitment is currently underway for the Director of Environmental Health & Safety.  To ensure coverage during this interim period, a coverage plan has been developed as outlined below.

First, all non-emergency questions can be e-mailed to ehs@drake.edu; we will continuously monitor this email. Please be sure to include your name, title, department and phone number so we can refer you to the appropriate individual.

For lab related questions or questions about chemical or hazardous waste pick up, you may also reach out to Nick Crumpton at nick.crumpton@drake.edu. Nick is a Chemistry Lab Assistant and is well equipped to answer lab safety questions, facilitate chemical pick up or connect you to other resources, as needed.

For general health and safety questions, reach out Public Safety at 271–2222. For COVID-19 related questions, please contact Scott Law at Scott.Law@drake.edu

Workers Compensation and occupational health related questions can be referred to ehs.@drake.edu. If you need to report a workplace injury, please complete a first report of injury form here.

Thank you for your patience during this time of transition.

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

Join fellow Drake colleagues on Tuesday, April 18, at 3:30 p.m. for this year’s Sapphire Awards, hosted by All Staff Council.  The award ceremony will be held just prior to the Provost’s Drake Social in the Cowles Library Reading Room. 

All Called to be True Blue recipients from this past academic year will be recognized, with one individual and one team receiving the coveted Sapphire award. The winner of this year’s Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service award will also be announced.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

All Staff Council is holding a Bulldogs Connect networking lunch on Wednesday, April 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The  Recognition Committee is hosting this month. Enjoy learning what staff on this committee focus on throughout the year. Anyone is welcome to come for a $5 lunch at Hubbell. Look for the table with the Drake swag and a special Bulldogs Connect table tent in Hubbell.

Also a reminder that All Staff Council invites you to share any suggestions, concerns, or other feedback you’d like us to look into using this form. (If you’d like us to respond to your feedback directly, please include your name and contact information, otherwise let us know your thoughts anonymously.)

— Megan Franklin, On behalf of All Staff Council

Thank you to everyone who has already completed the Great Colleges To Work For survey. We have not yet reached our participation goal, but we’re getting closer! Currently, 63% of faculty and staff have participated. We are striving to have 67% respond. The good news is, there is still time to complete the survey. The survey period ends today, so if you have not completed the survey, please consider taking this opportunity to make your voice heard.  

If you have not received an invitation to complete the survey, please check your junk or spam folder.  If it is not there, please let Nate Reagen or Maureen De Armond know right away.   

We will follow-up before the fall semester with the overall university results of the survey. All unit-leaders (with greater than five employees) will have the results to share by then as well.   

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources; Nate Reagen, Office of the President

• Ryan Stoldt received $9,809 from the US Department of Defense in support of his research titled Algorithmic Personalization and Online Radicalization:  A Mixed Methods Approach.
• Amanda Martin received $250 from the Sodexo Foundation to support her Sprout Garden Global Youth Service Day

• Danielle Shelton received $17,000 from the Nellie Ball Trust Research Fund in support her research titled Legal Accommodations for Individuals with Mental Disabilities.

• Richelle Williams received $1,000 from the Midwest Association of Athletic Trainers of America in support of her research titled Exploring Police Officers’ Perceptions of a Health/injury Risk Management Program Involving Athletic Training Educators

— Mary P Wohlford, Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Compliance

Do you enjoy spending time with students?  Looking for a new opportunity to interact? If you would enjoy being a key part of welcoming new students and supporting their transition to the Drake community, please consider joining the Blueprint for Success team and teaching a section of Drake’s first-year student success course. Jenny Jones, Director of Graduate Programs in the Zimpleman College of Business, shared the following about her experience: “I’ve taught several sections Blueprint for Success/Bulldog Foundations over the past few years and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to connect with the incoming students. As an instructor, you get to help the student acclimate not just to Drake University but to college life as a whole. You can create an environment where the students help each other adjust and learn from each other’s experiences. Each section I’ve led has had a different personality, but each section has been rewarding.”

Blueprint for Success helps students consider concepts and develop skills that are crucial for the development of meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishments, and responsible global citizenship. Students will explore the elements of an equitable and inclusive community, consider life skills necessary for success, and refine academic strategies. This course helps students transition into the Drake community with ease.

The course meets for 11 sessions, 50 minutes each session.  The sessions will be spread out through the fall semester. Instructors will be given all curriculum, materials, and facilitator guides for the course, and will not need to develop any curriculum on their own. In addition, instructors will partner with a peer mentor, and upper-class student leader who can help facilitate class sessions, support discussion, and be a valuable resource to your students.

In addition to assigned class time, chosen instructors will need to attend an all-day training the week of Aug. 1, a check-in meeting the week of October 15 and a wrap-up meeting during the week of Fall 2023 finals. Instructors will be paid a $1000 stipend for teaching Blueprint for Success unless this course serves as a part of your full-time teaching load.  Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent, and teaching experience is preferred but not required. Have questions?  Sign up for a short consultation session. 

To apply, fill out the google form. The application is due Friday, April 7.

— Blueprint for Success Planning Team

All Staff Council is holding a Bulldog Connect networking lunch on Wednesday, April 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The  Recognition Committee is hosting this month. Enjoy learning what staff on this committee focus on throughout the year. Anyone is welcome to come for a $5 lunch at Hubbell. Look for the table with the Drake swag and a special Bulldogs Connect table tent in Hubbell.

Also a reminder that All Staff Council invites you to share any suggestions, concerns, or other feedback you’d like us to look into using this form. (If you’d like us to respond to your feedback directly, please include your name and contact information, otherwise let us know your thoughts anonymously.)

— Megan Franklin, On behalf of All Staff Council