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!)

Books for Breakfast returns on Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 from 8:30–9:30 a.m., reading Burnout:  The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, and on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, reading The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy.  Please email Nicki.Kimm@drake.edu to register—that way we’ll know how many books to order and how much breakfast to provide.

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.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

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).

For more information on all of our fall Faculty and Staff Appreciation Days visit DrakeTix.com/facultyandstaffdays.

— Aimee Lane, Athletics

To celebrate National Authors Day on Nov. 1, Cowles Library has updated the display of books authored by Drake University faculty and staff (display case located in the south stairwell near the Reading Room).  Did you know that Cowles collects books published by faculty and staff for the circulating collection as well as University Archives and Special Collections? Have you published a book recently and aren’t sure if the library has a copy? Let us know at archives@drake.edu.

— Hope Bibens, Director, University Archives and Special Collections

As the annual Survey on Administrative Services wraps up, we will turn our attention back to the focus areas derived from Drake’s second important annual survey: Great Colleges to Work For (GCTWF). You may recall from past OnCampus articles on Sept. 14, Sept. 21, and Oct. 5, that three focus areas were identified for this year:

1. Ensure consistent and robust cascade of communication;
2. Facilitate re-connection and attend to our culture; and
3. Leverage internal professional development opportunities for leaders.

In September and the first part of October, we concentrated on the first focus area. We conducted a pulse survey, facilitated two brain-storming sessions, presented responses to the President’s Council, communicated with managers about best practices, and did our best to keep campus informed of our steps and findings. In addition to communicating within their chain of supervision, we encourage faculty to regularly connect with the Faculty Senate. Similarly, we encourage staff to stay or get involved with All Staff Council.

Human Resources and All Staff Council collaborated on a town hall last week. Later today, there will be a town hall addressing the budget. Opportunities like these are great for employees to directly hear from and ask questions of leaders and departments. Our hope is that these collective efforts enhance the flow of communication. Next year’s GCTWF survey results will show us whether these efforts made an impact. We certainly hope so.

Now, on to the second focus area that speaks to re-connecting and attending to our culture.

The global pandemic has been disruptive, to say the least. There were times when we pulled together and other times when many of us were very isolated. How do we now move forward? How do we reconnect with our Core Values and Mission? How do teams claw back cohesion and collaborative practices if those have been not attended to? How do we maintain our focus on our students, while many of us still feel distracted by what we’ve just been through? These are tough questions and there are not simple, clear answers. So, where do we go from here?

Luckily, the both of us served on the task force focusing on remote work and flexible schedules for staff. That group spent some time discussing culture and collaboration. We will pull together some of those ideas and thoughts in our next OnCampus piece. Additionally, instead of another pulse survey or more brainstorming sessions, we would like to spend some time with focus groups. We want people with ideas, suggestions, and solutions to participate. People who know the institution and who want Drake’s culture to be strong, positive, welcoming, and supportive. If you have time, interest, and ideas, please consider attending one of these two focus group sessions:

• Wednesday, Nov. 3, from 9–10 a..m. Join here.
• Friday, Nov. 5, from 1–2 p.m. Join here.

If you have ideas or suggestions but no time or interest in participating in a focus group, that’s okay. We still want to hear from you. Please email drakehr@drake.edu and just use the subject line: “Our Culture,” and tell us what’s on your mind. We will provide campus an update on next steps, once we are on the other side of the focus groups and a review of any related emails. Please be watching for more follow-up new on the GCTWF survey results in the coming weeks!

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

Reminder: J-Term and Spring semester textbook adoptions are due Nov. 1.

January and Spring terms are hovering around 15% complete, while the Law School is at 40% compared to last year.

Savings for students: Timely book adoptions means we can source used book from our distribution centers and leverage our network of 1,200 campus across the U.S. and Canada. Used books save students up to 80% compared to brand new books.

Student Success: Studies have shown that students who have all required material on the first day of class have better academic outcomes than those who do not. Timely book adoptions give us time to order material and have it on the shelf before the first day of class.

Production and Shipping Delays: Our business like many others are still facing struggles as a result of the pandemic. Our vendors are still facing staff shortages, production delays, and shipping backlogs. With our early request date, we are purchasing books earlier to allow more time for our partners to get us these vital supplies for students.

You can submit adoptions by using the Follett Discover tool in myDrake or send me a message directly by email or phone. Even if you are not using University Bookstore supplied materials, please let us know. We need to notate that information to be transparent to the students when they are registering for classes and shopping our store.

— Kyle McVay, University Bookstore

All faculty and staff are highly encouraged to attend a budget town hall presentation with President Martin and myself for an update on FY21, FY22, and beyond. The meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday, Oct. 26, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

You must be logged into the Drake network (either remotely or on campus) to attend. Due to the large group size, Q&A will be handled via the Q&A feature in Teams.

Thank you for your participation in advance.

— Adam Voigts, Chief Financial Officer

Faculty, the textbook adoption deadline is fast approaching and we need your orders. Our collection campaign ends Nov. 1 as we are moving up our ordering dates to allow more time for fulfillment and shipping.
Please utilize the Follett Discover link within myDrake or reach out to us directly at the bookstore.

— Kyle McVay, University Bookstore

Old Main will be open for Trick or Treat fun on Monday, Nov. 1, from 3–4:30 p.m. Faculty and staff are invited to bring their children or grandchildren to visit office to office, and get one-more use out of that Halloween costume.

In accordance with Drake’s COVID-19 policy, please make sure the children are wearing masks over their mouths and noses.

— Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office

ITS has been working to streamline and consolidate our service options in the IT Service Portal over the last year to make it easier for faculty, staff and students to know which service to use. The most recent changes have taken place in the Blackboard Learn Ultra category.

Where there were previously a number of services available to choose from, there are now only two options: Blackboard Learn Ultra Issue and Blackboard Learn Ultra Request.

The Blackboard Learn Ultra Issue will continue to be used in the same way as in the past. If you have an issue, are seeing errors, or need assistance with troubleshooting a problem, submit a Blackboard Learn Ultra Issue.

The new Blackboard Learn Ultra Request option combines multiple previous ticket types into one. Use the Blackboard Learn Ultra request for any of the actions below:

• Add/change/remove user access
• Consultation on how to best use Learn Ultra features
• Training
• Create custom course/site
• Merge courses
• Restore archived course
• Share/copy course content

When you submit your request, the form will guide you through a series of questions to determine the nature of your request and ensure you provide the necessary information for ITS staff to assist you.

The IT Service Portal is the preferred method of requesting assistance from ITS staff and allows for the best experience.

— Karly Good, ITS