Once again, we want to say thank you for all the collaboration over the years between Drake University and the University Bookstore. We wouldn’t be here without your support. As a thank you, we are giving you a holiday shopping pass. This pass is valid through the end of the year giving you flexibility with your schedule, and will give you 20% off Drake branded apparel and gifts.
Within the holiday pass, we are hosting a food drive for the Little Free Pantries initiative on Dec. 1. On this day, bring in any non-perishable food or hygiene products, we will increase your discount to 25% off your total. Griff II will also be in-store for any photo-ops from 12–1 p.m. and will sign purchases of his new 2022 calendar.
If you are unable to visit the store to redeem this holiday pass, please reach out to me for an online exclusive pass.
On Oct. 22, All Staff Council and Human Resources teamed up to host the first of its kind virtual town hall. We estimate approximately 200 employees caught some or all of the event. Thank you to everyone who attended. For anyone who missed it, you can access the recording here.
The agenda and speaking points were built around the questions submitted to ASC in the weeks preceding the event. If you submitted one or more questions, thank you! ASC was thrilled to receive dozens of questions addressing a range of subjects. Unsurprisingly, we received the most questions about staff compensation. Consequently, the bulk of the town hall time was spent on this topic. There was also keen interest in paid leave practices; remote work; performance management; employee morale, engagement, and retention; benefits; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. None of these is an easy topic to discuss. We are very appreciative of the thoughtful and respectful questions, ideas, and suggestions offered throughout the event.
We continue discussing how to best follow-up on the insight both HR and ASC walked away with after the town hall. That is arguably a mark of a successful discussion: those facilitating were left with a lot of new ideas, a more informed perspective, and a clearer appreciation of what employees are wanting and needing from them. We thank you for that.
One of the questions we have is whether we should facilitate such an event again? If you attended all or part of the town hall, or watched the recording, please offer event feedback here. This short, three-question survey will only take you a minute to complete, but it will provide us with important information going forward.
Please know that you do not need to wait for an event to engage All Staff Council or Drake Human Resources. If you have an idea or concern you would like to share with ASC, simply use this link to reach us. Drake HR is also here for you. You can reach HR any time at drakehr@drake.edu.
Thank you again for your time, generosity of spirit, and tremendous commitment to our Drake community.
— All Staff Council–Executive Council and Human Resources
Human Resources wants to thank everyone who took time to respond to this year’s Survey of Administrative Services (SAS). We wanted to share some of the feedback received. Generally, your responses inform us as we look at our customer service standards and the list of projects and priorities we are compiling. Your feedback is insightful and helpful in both regards.
Regarding the quantitative aspects of the survey, here are some of the core data responses—with items listed by high to low:
Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements:
Field
Mean (out of 5)
HR staff are professional.
4.91 (most agreed)
HR staff are courteous.
4.90
HR staff are knowledgeable.
4.73
HR staff respond to my inquiries in a timely manner.
4.11 (least agreed)
Please rate your level of satisfaction with the following services provided by Human Resources staff.
Field
Mean (out of 5)
Benefits enrollment and open enrollment
4.46 (most satisfied)
Wellness Programs
4.40
Staff Professional Development Programs
4.19
Hiring process (job creation, posting, offer)
4.13
HR Partner Services
4.08
Manager Professional Development Programs
3.70
Performance Evaluations
3.53 (least satisfied)
We earned respectable marks on living Drake’s Core Values—though there is certainly additional work to be done there. Overall, we received a 4.29 on how satisfied responders were with Human Resources. We think we can do better! Interesting data, but the comments are really where the gold can be found. Over forty people took the time to provide feedback. Here’s a graphic to help illustrate what was top of mind:
Some important take-aways from the written responses:
With Gratitude: Campus has shown us tremendous Generosity of Spirit as we have worked through extended vacancies. We are now fully staffed—though three of us are new and very much still learning. We received many comments where people offered constructive feedback but recognized we have been working with less than a full team. We are tremendously thankful for your patience and understanding.
Up Our Customer Service Game: The longer-term members of the HR team all took on more work when we had vacant positions. We know this sometimes resulted in delayed responses when employees and managers sought HR assistance. Additionally, we have not historically had one person who “owned” the main phone line or HR email address. We do now. Improving response time, establishing customer-service expectations, and creating more efficient and effective processes were already top-of-mind for us. Your responses just further illustrate the need to prioritize these topics. We hear you! In fact, we will be sharing with campus an updated customer service model in late November, once we are on the other side of the Open Enrollment rush.
Space for Better Performance Management/Professional Development: It is clear both managers and employees want better processes and tools relating to performance management and professional development. Performance management was something we already identified as an opportunity and a priority. We want to be sure we are training managers, offering paths to staff for professional growth, and facilitating continuous learning and improvement. We will start working on these in early 2022.
Enhance Recruitment/Onboarding Processes: It appears that HireTouch is perhaps the least popular member of our team. It has some quirks, which makes an already lengthy process even clunkier. We will look to see how we can make improvements and provide additional training and resources to trouble-shoot HireTouch quirks. We will definitely spend concentrated time on the entire talent acquisition process.
In fact, HR applied for a True Blue Micro-Internship to have a student help us benchmark onboarding processes with higher education and private industries, as we know this is an area with opportunities for improvement. As luck would have it, our application was accepted and that project starts in early November! Additionally, with our vacant positions now filled, we are shifting Anthony Leto into a role where he can focus on talent acquisition and we’ll be building up a whole new set of tools, resources, trainings, and templates to help us rethink recruitment at Drake.
There were informative comments on several other topics as well, but we wanted to share some of the pronounced themes. Collectively, the SAS results will help us identify top priorities for the rest of the academic year and beyond. Again, we are very thankful for your honesty, ideas, and suggestions. As we further develop a plan of action for HR, we will share and there will also be times when we invite additional feedback to dive deeper into many of these specific topics. We hope you will continue to be willing to help us help you!
Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.
In collaboration with Drake’s Office of Sponsored Projects and Research, the Deputy Provost’s office is hosting a conversation on Funding Your Research and Creative Activity Friday, Nov. 19, from 1–3 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 210. Please register here. We will use our time together to discuss both intramural and extramural grantspersonship—specifically thinking through how to grow external grant capacity from internal awards, how to position your work as related to institutional and professional priorities, and how to collaborate across the University.
Professor Dian Nostakasari (ENSS) is a terrific example of a scholar doing excellent work at the intersections of several disciplinary areas. She will be presenting in Howard Hall, Room 210, on her project, “Inhabiting Digital Spaces as a Right to the City” on Friday, Nov. 5, from 11:30–12:15. Registration has closed to facilitate ordering lunch for participants—but feel free to email renee.cramer@drake.edu if you plan to show up, but haven’t yet registered—we can add to our order and have food for all who attend.
Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.
There is no doubt that we have changed, as an institution and as a faculty, from our experiences in the past 18 months. While the pandemic is not over, and the “return to normal” is something I am suspicious of, it does seem a good time to begin to reflect on what we’ve learned. Who is “in” for this exploration? I’m seeking nominations for people to form a loose working group—meeting pretty regularly from December to May—to understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on the way we approach our students, our classrooms, our profession. Please email renee.cramer@drake.edu to volunteer yourself and nominate your colleagues. We’ll meet in ways that are generative, not onerous; and we’ll develop an institutionally-useful report on what we learn about how our approaches have grown and changed.
Now accepting proposals for FY23 Global Partnership Grants Drake University has established formal partnerships with multiple institutions abroad. Joint faculty and staff projects with our global partner institutions may be eligible for financial support through the Global Partnership Grants. Contact Hannah Sappenfield for more information or to get connected with a global partner institution.
Eligibility and criteria Full-time faculty and staff are eligible to apply for Global Partnership Grants for activities taking place during FY23. Preference will be given to proposals that:
identify a specific set of activities with distinct outcomes with one (or more) of our partner institutions
demonstrate specific impact on Drake curriculum, students and current global partnerships
advance Drake’s global engagement with existing partners in new ways
support involvement by individuals who have not previously been globally engaged
are financially supported by the school, college, or department of the individual submitting the proposal
align with internationally or globally focused unit objectives and/or the University’s Continuous Improvement Plan
Application process
Discuss the proposed activity with your unit director or dean prior to submission to help determine its strategic value and if it aligns with the unit’s global engagement priorities. The discussion will help determine the unit’s interest and ability to support the proposal with financial resources.
Deans/directors will review all proposals for their unit with the Global Partnerships Coordinator and the Executive Director of Global Engagement for prioritization and to make collaborative funding decisions. Final award decisions are expected to be announced in February 2022.
*Note, Global Engagement grant funds are not typically awarded for stipends for Drake faculty and staff; however, stipend requests may be considered for funding by your unit’s Dean/Director on a case-by-case basis. The College of Arts & Sciences will not fund stipends.
Learn more about Drake’s global partner institutions and other opportunities for funding global projects at drake.edu/global.
The Global Citizen Forum planning committee invites your participation in enhancing our understanding and awareness of changemaking. Simply put, a changemaker is anyone who takes creative action to problem solve societal issues and works toward solutions for the good of all. Practicing changemaking is something that everyone can do.
On the afternoon of March 3, 2022, we will gather to celebrate the Every Bulldog a Changemaker initiative that is highlighted in The Ones campaign launched Oct. 28. This gathering will leverage a fast-paced visual storytelling format known as PechaKucha.
Our goals for this gathering are to:
Create awareness of the changemaking initiatives happening across campus
Demonstrate the interdisciplinarity of changemaking by highlighting initiatives with the private, public, and non-profit sectors (or across sectors)
Provide a forum for networking, community building, and the exchange of innovative ideas
Celebrate the good work of Drake faculty, staff and community partners
Inspire action and connection to the resources to make it happen!
Call for Presenters: We seek proposals from a wide range of contexts that speak to the Global Citizen Forum theme Everyone a Changemaker: Perspectives across disciplines. Presenters may highlight current or past initiatives, feature course projects, personal scholarship, or community partnerships that are yielding changemmaking opportunities for students. Presentations that focus on challenges and opportunities in the private, public and non-profit sectors (or across sectors) are all welcome. Selected presenters will each receive $75 honorarium for participating and the chance at a $250 grand prize!
What is PechaKucha? Pronounced pe-cha ku-cha, with equal stress on each of the four syllables, is a Japanese presentation format that incorporates up to 20 images that are shown for 20 seconds each, totaling a six-minute 40-second presentation. This visual storytelling format keeps presentations concise and the audience engaged. Presenters will receive a power-point template and need to submit their slide deck a week in advance of the gathering.
Abstracts are due December 10, 2021. To submit a proposal, visit drake.edu/globalcitizenforum. Presenters will be selected and notified by January 2022.
The Global Citizen Forum is a series of events focused on themes of global importance that takes place in March each year. The Forum is part of Drake’s overall Engaged Citizen Experience (ECE).
Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.
If you are interested and able to attend this terrific on-line conference sponsored by the Center for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, I’ll happily use restricted/endowed faculty development accounts to pay your registration fee—in exchange for you offering some perspectives on the experience to a small group of faculty and staff later in the academic year.
Jampacked with amazing scholars and creative artists, the conference this year focuses on “how contemplative practices can support and sustain learning communities that resource and enhance resilience, connection, and healthy reemergence back into a more equitable and inclusive society.” The organizers continue, “Acknowledging the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inequities and disparities created by systemic oppression, we are now faced with an even greater urgency to collectively move the societal needle of engaging with one another and the environment from health-compromising to health-enhancing, from unsustainable to sustainable, from unjust to just. This movement will be facilitated by a more compassionate understanding of the loss and grief we have experienced as individuals and communities, illumination of the resilience and wisdom that we have drawn upon, and the application of the diverse learning, healing, and transformative strategies that have emerged.”
I have attended ACHME conferences in the past, and presented scholarship of teaching and learning—other faculty at Drake have also attended; we’ve all found our time in this scholarly and creative community to be incredibly generative. I hope some Drake faculty will consider taking this opportunity to attend. Please email me (renee.cramer@drake.edu) if you are interested.
In other conference news, The Iowa Network of Human Rights Academics’ annual IowaHuman Rights Research Conference will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at Drake University Law School. Please see this call for proposals and this proposal submission form—students and faculty are invited to propose, present, and attend. The deadline for submission is Feb. 21, 2022, which gives faculty time to think through how this might be integrated into your early spring semester planning, and seek support for growing pedagogies that can contribute to the conference.
Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.
This November and December, please join the Office of the Deputy Provost in Howard Hall, Room 210, for some f2f food and fellowship, in conversation with colleagues (yes, I am a dork, but gosh I love alliteration!)
As faculty, chairs, and dean teams engage the process of curriculum revisioning, my office will also be hosting open work sessions in Howard Hall, Room 210, on Thursday, Oct. 28, from 1–2 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 3, from 2–3 p.m. We will also host one virtual session on Tuesday, Nov. 2, from 9–10 a.m. These are times to ask each other questions about your processes, work through the template together, and simply be in community while doing this work. Please email Nicki.Kimm@drake.edu to register and let us know which session you’ll attend (this will allow us to order enough croissants and get you the link if you’ll be remote on the Nov. 2).
On Friday, Nov. 5, join us for a conversation about research. The format here is less formal presentation and more a time for engagement. We’ll use the conversation (from 11:30–12:15 p.m.) to talk about our process in developing research questions and methods, find points of synergy and potential collaboration, and just enjoy relaxing into scholarly conversation. Register by emailing Nicki.Kimm@drake.edu. Please provide any dietary needs and restrictions so we can order enough lunch for everyone.
With the one parenthetical exception, these events will all be in person in Howard Hall. Following University guidelines, these events will be masked, with the ability to remove our masks to eat and drink. If we have more than 5 people sign up, we will move down the hall to a classroom in order to facilitate greater social distancing.
Finally, a teaser and save-the-date (with more information to come, in next week’s OnCampus): in collaboration with our Office of Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Compliance, I’ll be hosting a session on Funding Your Research on Friday, Nov. 19 from 1–3 p.m.
Drake Volleyball will host Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day Friday, Oct. 29, during its game against Northern Iowa at the Knapp Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Each faculty and staff member can receive up to four complimentary tickets and can purchase additional general admission tickets for just $5. Redeem your complimentary tickets.
In addition, Halloween Hoops will be taking place prior to the game so bring the family, wear your Halloween costume, and enjoy free pizza, goodie bags, and interactive games (while supplies last).
