Category Archives: For Students Archive

Meal conversion dates this fall

For those students with meal plans that allow for meal conversions, you can convert meals on the following dates this fall:

  • Sept. 19–30
  • Oct. 24–28

Students on the 335- and 195-block plans can convert up to 100 meals each semester to flex dollars. To convert meals, you can stop at the Student Services Center and fill out a form to indicate how many meals you would like to convert. You can also visit www.drake.edu/studentservices/mealplans to find the form at the bottom of the page titled “Meal Plan Conversions.”

—Jerry Parker, Interim Dean of Students

Confidential advocates available on campus

Through the help of our community partners, professional advocates are holding regular office hours on campus this academic year. The advocates are available in Cowles Library, Room 109 on Tuesdays from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

An advocate is a confidential resource who can provide support, talk through options, and address concerns related to sexual misconduct or dating/domestic violence or stalking. These confidential advocates are not Drake employees and are not required to report any details to the University or to law enforcement.

In addition, confidential student advocates through VIP (Violence Intervention Partner) are always available 24/7 by phone or text at 515-512-2972.

Confidential advocates are also available through Polk County Crisis and Advocacy Services at 515-286-3600—they can meet you on or off campus at your convenience.

Please send any questions to prevention@drake.edu or titleix@drake.edu, or contact the Title IX coordinator directly at 515-271-2982.

—Katie Overberg, Title IX Coordinator

From the President

Welcome to a new school year! Last week was a flurry of activity on campus as first-year and transfer students started their Drake experience with Welcome Weekend. Many on campus did some heavy lifting during Move-in Day—thanks to those who volunteered their time—and we formally welcomed our new students at Convocation on Friday.

While campus is typically “quiet” during the summer with all the students gone, it is always a busy time for the University as we prepare for the next school year. In July, we welcomed Sue Mattison as our new Provost. Sue has already proven herself to be a great fit with Drake and someone who will provide valuable leadership and expertise into how we continue to improve our exceptional education experience.

At the beginning of the summer, we officially adopted the Drake University Statement on Diversity and Inclusion, which you can find online. This is an important step in our efforts to creating a welcoming campus environment and was born out of the Campus Climate Assessment, which many of you participated in during the last academic year. More than 300 faculty, staff, and students helped craft this statement, making it one that truly represents the aspirations and values of our campus community.

You have probably noticed by now that we made significant progress on both the Science Connector Building and Collier-Scripps Hall over the summer. The steel structure for the Science Connector Building is complete, giving us a real picture of that facility’s footprint and scale. You will see the steel structure start to take shape at Collier-Scripps over the next several weeks. And while the walls and floors are not yet up, we’re already thinking about the furniture that will go into both buildings. The STEM@DRAKE steering team will be working with faculty, staff, and students to ensure broad input into the configuration of classrooms, collaborative spaces, and offices.

We have a very exciting year to anticipate. In September alone you’ll find countless ways to enjoy our campus community. This weekend, you can cheer on the football team at their first home game of the year on Saturday at 6 p.m. Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will speak on “The Child Labor Epidemic: A Pattern of Poverty & Illiteracy” on Sept. 19 as part of the Sussman Lecture series. On Sept. 21, Dan Alexander, professor of mathematics, will give the Stalnaker Lecture on “Tree Bites Man: What I Wish I Knew about the History of Mathematics.” And, we can look forward to a performance by our two jazz ensembles on Sept. 24, part of the Parents and Family Weekend festivities.

Good luck during your first week of classes!

—Marty Martin

SAB Welcome Weekend activities

It’s time to welcome a new crop of Bulldogs to Drake University once again! SAB will be hosting three different events during Welcome Weekend.

On Thursday, Aug. 25, The Well Reds will be performing in the Olmsted Center pit at 9 p.m.

To kick the start of the weekend off, Free Movie Friday begins again on the 26.Kevin Hart and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Central Intelligence will be playing at Drake stadium starting at 9 p.m.

Finally on Saturday, Aug. 27, student favorite hypnotist Christ Jones will be back for another year with a show in Parents Hall (Olmsted Center) starting at 9:30 p.m. You do not want to miss that! SAB cannot wait to start the year right with all of you.

—Hannah Olson

Welcome students!

Stop by the northwest side of the Cowles Library lawn on Monday, Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to cool off with a popsicle and meet library faculty and staff!

—Leslie Noble, Assistant to the Dean and Manager, Library Support Operations

Golf: For Business and Life Program

Who:  Students (priority for upperclassmen)
What:  Learn to play golf from a professional and how to use it as a business tool from local business professionals

The non-credit course is two parts. The first part is 7–10 group golf lessons at Glen Oaks Country Club and then a small best ball golf outing. You will choose which golf time works for you, Wednesday or Thursday evenings.

The second part is  four classroom sessions with speakers who will discuss the importance of golf in the business world. These sessions will be on various Tuesday evenings 5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m., throughout the semester.

You must be available for both parts of the class.

When:  First classroom session will be Tuesday, Sept. 6.  Lessons will begin after Labor Day.

Why:  To gain the knowledge and skills to utilize golf as a vital business skill
Cost: $75
Application Deadline: Aug. 19; applications are online at www.drake.edu/recservices

For more information, please contact Lisa Murphy at lisa.murphy@drake.edu or 271-4710.

—Lisa Murphy, Director of Recreational Services

On-campus parking for 2016–2017

Parking permits for the 2016–2017 academic year will be available for purchase in the Student Services Center during the month of August.

Current parking forms are available in the Student Services Center or online. You may also register for your pass online in the blueView portal. (Click the My Drake Account tab—you can choose if you want it mailed or if you will pick it up.)

Please note that there is also an option for short-term parking this year, which could be helpful if you have guests or if you have a car here for a short time. These passes are able to be purchased online and printed when needed.

Prices for this year are listed below. Feel free to contact the Student Services Center (studentservices@drake.edu or 515-271-2000) if you have any questions about your parking registration.

Annual Residential: $250
Semester Residential: $165
Annual Commuter: $160
Semester Commuter: $100
Annual Evening/Weekend Commuter: $85
Semester Evening/Weekend Commuter: $50
*Evening/Weekend passes are valid from 4:30pm-2am in commuter lots during the week, all day on the weekends*

—Sara Heijerman, Manager, Campus Card Office

Olmsted Center undergoing changes

We are pleased to announce some exciting changes and initiatives taking place at Olmsted Center.

First, the University Book Store will move operations to Olmsted Center over the summer. The bookstore will be located on the western end of the first floor (west of the Pomerantz stage area). This move presents a great opportunity to bring Drake-branded items, as well as textbooks, closer to students, faculty, and staff.

We are also undertaking a focused effort to enhance student study and gathering spaces. Student feedback will be used to reconfigure various furniture settings within Olmsted Center. The emphasis will be on creating spaces consistent with student needs and preferences. Because the book store move to Olmsted required the space formerly occupied by the D- Lounge and a portion of the Bulldog Lounge to be repurposed, the focus on creating alternative spaces for students throughout Olmsted Center is especially important. Some of the ways we plan to enhance study and gathering spaces include:

  • New seating options—Students will be asked to give input into seating options and configurations. You can start today: Please complete this special survey designed for this purpose. Additional opportunities to provide feedback will be available as students return in August.
  • TMR room availability for studying—The lower level TMR rooms will remain open during designated times when they are not in use. This will allow students to utilize these rooms for collaborative or private study spaces.
  • Pomerantz Stage Area—The Pomerantz Stage Area, when not in use for an event, will be set up for student use. The type of furniture—soft seating or tables—will be assessed based on student feedback.

A frequently asked questions document provides more information on the reasons behind the bookstore move and steps taken thus far to plan for future changes.

We hope you are having a wonderful summer and are excited to unveil and undertake these improvements once you return to campus.

—Sentwali Bakari, Dean of Students

Chill out with the LEAD Relaxation Room

From May 2–6, the LEAD capstone will host events to promote the relaxation room they have initiated in their efforts to enable students to achieve their optimal performance while managing stress. The Relaxation Room is located in the Mezzanine in Upper Olmsted. You will find food, prizes, tea, coloring books, silly putty, Legos, deep breathing exercises, and more.

—Samantha Olea

Thank you for feedback on printing at Drake

Thanks to the 150 students who completed the ITS printing survey. We appreciate your feedback and are making the following changes to improve the overall printing process on campus:

  • Over the summer, all managed printers and copiers (Xerox) will be replaced.
  • The list of printers in PaperCut will be combined into two print queues, one color and one black and white, which will reduce the number of print jobs that are accidentally run in the wrong format.
  • All devices will have Follow Me printing so your document won’t be printed until you release it a printer. This will allow you to print at any device on campus and minimize the number of documents that get stuck in queue and hold up subsequent print jobs.

Watch for regular updates into the fall semester on the progress of this project, and on ITS’ other major projects at its.drake.edu/major-projects and in OnCampus and other media.

—Carla Herling, IT Communications Manager