Provost Mattison sent the following message to campus Tuesday, Dec. 20.

Due to anticipated blizzard conditions, and dangerously cold air temperatures combined with high winds, Drake University offices will be closed after 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, reopening at the conclusion of the winter break on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Only essential staff should report to work. This designation includes employees who are in operations such as public safety, food service, security, power plant, animal care, critical maintenance, and snow and ice removal. Supervisors should communicate with their employees regarding individual schedules. 

Dress appropriately if you need to go outside during this time of bitter cold. It is best to wear layers and properly cover all extremities, including hands and face, as frostbite can occur on exposed skin in as little as 15 minutes. 

Thank you to those who work so diligently to keep our campus safe and ensure continued operations. 

— Sue Mattison, Provost

Are you curious about the historical trends of Drake’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional enrollment? Do you have questions about the demographic profile of our student body or faculty? The Drake Databook answers these questions and more. Find those answers at Databooks.

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment publishes this information each year. As we wrap up the year and our work in the Databook, many of your questions can be answered now.

Any questions or issues, please contact Christine Marchand christine.marchand@drake.edu.

— Christine Marchand, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment

The Nelson Institute is seeking proposals for a two-year grant that will fund interdisciplinary faculty-student research addressing a global issue of broad public importance. Deadline: Jan. 27, 2023.

Background

The purpose of this initiative is to enhance Drake’s direct involvement in addressing pressing global issues, thus helping position Drake as a “global knowledge hub” in service to local, national, and international communities.

Over the last several years, the Nelson Institute has funded the following projects. Visit our website here to learn more about these projects:

• Cross-cultural Community-based Strategies for Sustainable Urban Streams: Lessons from Des Moines and Jakarta.
• Exploring complementary approaches to combat global non-communicable diseases in India.
• Religions of Beijing book project with Minzu University of China in Beijing.
• Assessing, Collaborating, and Empowering to Improve Water Quality in Rural Uganda.
• Transnational Des Moines: Reframing Des Moines Immigrant and Refugee Narratives through Collaborative Research with Youth.
• Drake University’s Presence in the Toledo District of Southern Belize: Maximizing Our Impact While Minimizing Our Footprint.

Call for Proposals

One project will be funded for the period from February 1, 2023 – January 31, 2025. The Nelson Institute will provide $20,000-$30,000 in support of the selected project, depending upon demonstrated need. Project leaders are encouraged, if necessary, to seek additional funding from on- and off-campus sources.

How to Submit a Proposal

Send your proposal to the Nelson Institute Faculty Director, Professor Jimmy Senteza, by January 27, 2023.

The review committee typically consists of the Director of the Nelson Institute, the Executive Director of Global Engagement, two additional faculty representatives from the Global Engagement Advisory Committee (GEAC), and a staff member from the Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Compliance office. Award notification will occur by January 31, 2023.

Teams are encouraged to consult with the Director of the Nelson Institute as they prepare their proposals. The successful grant team will be expected to submit a formal progress report by January 31, 2024, and a final grant report by January 31, 2025.

Successful proposals will feature the following elements/criteria:

Explication of Research Topic

• A clear identification of the pressing global issue to be addressed and an explanation of its public significance.
• An exposition of the research objectives and methods related to the project.
• An explanation of how the project takes advantage of particular strengths Drake and the community bring to addressing the issue.

Identification of Interdisciplinary Research Team

• Commitments from an interdisciplinary faculty research team consisting of three or more faculty members (at least two of whom must be Drake affiliated). One or more Principal Investigators must be identified.
• Evidence that the team members possess the requisite qualifications to successfully carry out the project (please attach CVs).
• The project must involve two or more paid student research assistants with appropriate qualifications.
• The research may be joint or parallel (i.e., a single joint project or several individual projects that each address related aspects of a common theme).

Activities and Outcomes

• The project timeline will allow for completion of the primary research products within a two-year period.
• The project participants will engage in at least two team activities (e.g., summer campus workshop, international travel as a team, cooperative field work, etc.) during the grant period.
• Team members will collaborate with other campus entities (e.g., Principal Center for Global Citizenship, Humanities Center, DUSCI, the Harkin Institute, Engaged Citizen, etc.) to schedule co-curricular events (e.g., speakers, films, panel discussions, etc.) related to the theme during the two-year grant period.
• The project will plausibly lead to externalization in the form of publication, presentation(s) at a professional conference, submission as a report to relevant public or non-governmental bodies involved with policy-making, or other outputs of similar import.
• The student members of the grant team are expected to participate in the annual Nelson Conference held on campus each Spring. Additionally, we encourage organizing an on-campus conference related to the theme to be held during (or soon following) year two of the grant involving Drake faculty and students and relevant off-campus experts from academia, government or the professions.

Preferences

• Preference will be given to projects that draw upon connections with partners at the local, national, or international level (e.g., overseas university partner).
• Preference will be given to new projects that have not been funded in prior years by the Nelson Institute.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

To thank faculty and staff for all they do, the Athletics Department is hosting faculty and staff appreciation days during the Drake basketball games on Jan. 24 and March 2. Faculty and staff can claim four complimentary tickets to attend the games listed below.

Tickets must be claimed online and are not available at the ticket windows on the day of the event.

• Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. – Men’s Basketball vs Indiana State
• March 2 at 6 p.m. – Women’s Basketball vs Missouri State

How to Redeem:

1. Press on Claim Tickets below or go to draketix.com/facultystaffdays.
2. Enter your Drake email as the password to claim your tickets.
3. Tickets will be sent to your AXS MobileID. For help with the AXS App please go to draketix.com/axsmobileid

Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day Men’s Basketball: Claim Tickets
Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day Women’s Basketball: Claim Tickets

For questions, email tickets@drake.edu.

— Logan Krause, Athletics

Drake Honorary Degree and Drake Medal nominations and now being accepted through March 31, 2023. There is a new form for nominations. Completed nominations can be sent to Carrie Koenigsfeld, committee chair, at carrie.koenigsfeld@drake.edu.

— Madison Bemus, Office of the Provost

The Offices of Finance and Student Financial Planning would like to thank everyone for taking the time to complete the Survey of Administrative Services earlier this fall.  We have gained valuable feedback to help us maintain and improve the services we provide to students, faculty, and staff.

Ratings for every question were very consistent with prior year ratings.  Each of the departments individually scored between 4.5 and 5.0 on the 5-point scale.  The overall satisfaction with the services provided by the Offices of Finance and Student Financial Planning score was 4.57 compared to 4.59 in 2021.  While there is always room for improvement, the unit’s staff are clearly doing their best to meet our service-oriented objectives to:

• Ensure our constituents are engaged and informed,
• Ensure integrity and transparency,
• Process university resources timely and accurately, and
• Improve service excellence.

The comments included in the survey were very helpful.  We appreciate the many positive comments that recognized outstanding service provided by staff.  The following are items noted that we hope to improve over the coming year.

• Dissatisfaction with travel management vendor – I am pleased to share that Finance staff are in the initial stage of conducting a thorough review and request for proposal process to consider other vendors and models of providing travel services. A working group including faculty, budget/office managers, athletics, and administrative offices with higher volumes of travel will provide valuable input to the process and vendor selection.
• Confusion on who does what in Finance and who is on campus or working from home under a flexible work arrangement – We plan to update information on MyDrake and share communications with applicable constituents to more clearly articulate roles within Finance and working location. We also plan to update office signage regarding the availability of staff and backup support options.

Thank you again for participating in the Survey of Administrative Services and please know that your input is reviewed and analyzed by the entire staff of the Offices of Finance and Student Financial Planning.

— Adam Voigts, Chief Financial Officer

All Staff Council and Human Resources invite faculty and staff to attend this year’s Holiday Cheer gathering this Thursday, Dec. 15, near the Pomerantz stage in the Olmsted Center. Faculty and staff are welcome to come and go as they please from 9 to 11 a.m.

Guests can enjoy a hot chocolate bar and cookie decorating station. Griff II will also be in attendance and ready for photos.

If you bring at least one non-perishable food or other goods for Drake’s Free Little Food Pantries, you will be entered into a drawing for prizes.

This event is a chance to give back to others in the Drake community, while mingling with coworkers.  Please take a moment to stop by, grab some cheer, and drop off a donation.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Facilities Planning and Management is taking steps to minimize the University’s utility usage over winter break.

Students in residence halls are tasked with closing and securing windows, unplugging all electronic items including refrigerators, keeping the doors open, and lowering thermostats as recommended. These simple steps not only reduce utility usage, but lower our carbon footprint by not consuming energy on buildings that are unused while students are away.  Many of these rooms are unoccupied until the start of the spring semester.

For buildings on campus that house instruments, libraries, or labs, FPM sets temperatures to 70 degrees to ensure that those items are unaffected by cold temperatures. Other office buildings and administration buildings, temperatures are reduced overnight and weekends when the facilities are unoccupied. Reducing thermostats 7–10 degrees for 8 hours can equate to 10% savings in heating costs. For some locations where there are local thermostats that can be adjusted by occupants, FPM request that when you leave your office or building for the day, please readjust the thermostat.

With the hybrid model of coming into the office and working from home being more of the normal schedule, FPM asks that faculty and staff also consider the items in their offices that may continue to use energy while they are away.  Many items, while not in use, have a plug load, meaning they continue to use electricity. Just a little savings can go a long way when everyone participates in assisting in electricity reduction.

For those who would like more information on plug load, Stanford University compiled this report and findings.

— Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning and Management

Be sure to drop by the retirement reception to honor Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost, on Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 1–2:30 p.m. in Old Main, Levitt Hall.

— Ann Guddall, Office of the Provost