Members of the Drake community support a local farm by purchasing a share and, in return, they bring shares of their week’s produce to campus.  This year, Drake is working with The Homestead.

This is a great way to eat healthy and seasonally while supporting sustainable agriculture and the local economy.

Shares will be delivered to Meredith Hall on Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. beginning in late May or early June.  You may order a full share which is delivered weekly for 20 weeks, or a half share, which is delivered every two weeks.  They also offer double shares. View program details and costs.

Amanda Kanehl will be coordinating the produce pick-up.  Amanda is a junior environmental science student at Drake.  She is a horticulturalist and worked at The Homestead for two seasons, so she is familiar with the produce as well as the staff and farm manager.

You may order shares through Amanda at amanda.kanehl@drake.edu.  You may also order online or fill out a brochure and mail it in. Credit cards and checks are accepted.  You may pay the full amount up front or $100 a month until the share is paid.

Please contact Amanda with additional questions.  Questions may also be directed to Amahia Mallea at Amahia.mallea@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Members of the Human Resources team will be available Thursday, May 10, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in Olmsted Center’s Drake Room. This is a convenient opportunity for you to talk with HR Partner Services about any HR topic that’s on your mind. You’re also welcome to schedule a meeting at the HR offices, 3206 University Avenue, if another time works better for you.

— Debra Wiley, Human Resources

The following new work-injury reporting and treatment processes became effective Monday, May 7, 2018.

Reporting a work-related injury or illness:

If you are injured at work, immediately complete the following steps:

Emergency care: In case of a serious injury or illness (or any treatment that occurs after hours and should not wait until clinic hours the next day) seek immediate treatment at the nearest emergency facility or call 911.

Report your work-injury: Immediately report your work-injury to your manager/supervisor.

Phone EMC OnCall Nurse at 844-322-4668 (24 hours/7 days a week): You and your manager, if available, should call EMC OnCall Nurse together. You will discuss the extent of your injury with a registered nurse and be guided to the appropriate level of care. If a language barrier exists, a translation service is quickly brought into the call. Over 200 languages are available.

Follow EMC OnCall Nurse’s instructions: When care is needed, the registered nurse will provide treatment recommendations and/or designated medical facilities for work-injury treatment. Please proceed with treatment as instructed by the EMC OnCall Nurse.

You or your manager/supervisor must also submit the Drake online First Report of Injury.

Authorized treatment centers:
Effective May 7, 2018, Drake will utilize UnityPoint Health, Occupational Medicine Clinics for the treatment of non-emergency work related injuries and illnesses and for post-offer, pre-employment drug screens. Clinics are located at:

Des Moines
515-262-7619
Penn Medical Place
1301 Pennsylvania, Ave. Ste. 416

Ankeny
515-964-6974
White Birch Plaza
1810 SW White Birch Cir., Ste. 111

West Des Moines
515-241-2020
Lakeview Medical Park
6000 University Ave., Ste. 124

Affiliated Emergency Care:

Iowa Methodist Medical Center: 1200 Pleasant St., Des Moines, IA 50309
Iowa Lutheran Hospital: 700 East University Ave., Des Moines, IA 50316
Methodist West Hospital: 1660 60th St., West Des Moines, IA 50266

— Gary Johnson, Human Resources

A proposed policy that supplements existing family leave policies is now posted for comment through May 21, 2018.

The proposed Paid Parental Leave Policy provides paid time away for new parents. For the birth parent, the policy is in addition to paid time off under medical or sick leave policies (usually 6-8 weeks). For non-birth and adoptive parents, the policy provides paid time off to bond with their new child without having to use vacation accruals or elect modified duties.

These policies work together with the Family and Medical Leave Act Policy which provides employees with 12 weeks of job-protected leave upon the birth of a child.

Below are some examples to help illustrate how the new policy provides additional support to new parents and supplements existing time off options:

A staff member with 6 weeks accrued sick leave gives birth, without complications. She takes 6 weeks of paid sick leave for the period of medical recovery pursuant to the sick leave policy. The new proposed Paid Parental Leave policy, allows her to extend that paid time off by 2 additional weeks. She may elect to continue in paid status by using any accrued vacation time, or she may save vacation to use later in the year. The addition of the 2 weeks paid time off offers added paid leave, while also allowing more flexibility in the use of vacation and personal time.

A faculty member with a 9-month appointment, has notified HR that she will be delivering September 1, 2018.  Through the Faculty Short Term Disability policy, she will be compensated at 100% of her pay for the first six (6) weeks of the medical condition, during the terms of her regular teaching appointment. (Six weeks is the typical recovery timeframe for a non-cesarean birth.)  Following the birth, she has the option of selecting either two additional paid workweeks away from the university or Faculty Modified Duties, which is a one semester course release. The proposed New Paid Parental Leave Policy offers the option to receive additional paid time off, rather than elect modified duties. In either case, the faculty member may also elect to toll the tenure clock through the Tenure Clock Extension, found in the Academic Charter, page 4.

A 9-month faculty member is married to a staff member and they are planning to adopt a child. The faculty member may elect either the 2-week paid time off under the new Parental Leave Policy or a course release under the Faculty Modified Duties policy. The staff member can take the 2 weeks paid time off as well as any vacation time available to him/her. The fact that both parents work at Drake does not impact the amount of leave available – both are eligible for the paid parental leave benefits.

Please continue posting your comments to dupolicies@drake.edu . We appreciate your input.

— Debra Wiley, Human Resources

In April, Drake welcomed eleven new, full-time employees to the Bulldog family.

Lynne Cornelius, Violence Prevention Coordinator, Dean of Students
Sandra (Sandy) Hafner, Administrative Assistant, Student Life, Dean of Students
Cortni Rush, Coordinator, Women’s Basketball Operations, Athletics
Larry Blunt, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach, Athletics
Matthew (Matt) Woodley, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach, Athletics
Matthew (Matt) Gatens, Coordinator, Men’s Basketball Operations, Athletics
Dustin German, Assistant Director, Sales & Community Engagement, Athletics
Peter Schmale, Application Administrator 3 – SharePoint, ITS
Erica McGowan, Associate Controller, Accounting
Gabriel (Gabe) McGinnis, Plumber, Facilities Planning and Management
Sarah Wood, Project Associate/Executive Assistant, Harkin Institute

— Laura Schwarz, Human Resources

Drake’s Holiday Schedule for fiscal year 2018-19 has been approved. View the schedule. 

— Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources

Members of the Drake community support a local farm by purchasing a share and, in return, they bring shares of their week’s produce to campus. This year, Drake is working with The Homestead.

This is a great way to eat healthy and seasonally while supporting sustainable agriculture and the local economy.

Shares will be delivered to Meredith Hall on Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. beginning in late May or early June. You may order a full share, which is delivered weekly for 20 weeks, or a half share, which is delivered every two weeks. They also offer double shares. View program details and costs.

Amanda Kanehl will be coordinating the produce pick-up. Amanda is a junior environmental science student at Drake. She is a horticulturalist and worked at The Homestead for two seasons, so she is familiar with the produce as well as the staff and farm manager.

You may order shares through Amanda at amanda.kanehl@drake.edu. You may also order online or fill out a brochure and mail it in. Credit cards and checks are accepted. You may pay the full amount up front or $100 a month until the share is paid.

Please contact Amanda with additional questions. Questions may also be directed to Amahia Mallea at amahia.mallea@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

HealthyU BINGO is a great way to have fun and win prizes, all in the name of better well-being.  The goal is to fill up a blank BINGO card or two and then play a game of HealthyU BINGO for prizes.

Participants will receive a packet, which includes directions, a list of HealthyU BINGO activities and a blank BINGO card. During the month of June, simply complete various activities from the list and record them on the BINGO card. There is a broad range of activities to choose from and you can complete them at home or work.

Then bring your completed BINGO card(s) to the Olmsted Center, Room 310 and 311, on Tuesday, July 3, or Wednesday, July 11, at 12 p.m. and join us for a fun game of HealthyU BINGO for prizes. You are welcome to participate one or both days.

If interested in participating, email Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu. The deadline to register is Thursday, May 31.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Drake recognizes the importance of supporting new parents by providing paid time off for the purpose of bonding with a new child. Through the efforts of a group of concerned faculty and staff, the University Benefits Committee, an ad hoc committee, Dean’s Council, and President’s Council, the paid parental leave policy was created. The new policy on paid parental leave provides the needed flexibility for parents to balance their family and work life responsibilities.

Please take a few moments to review the policy. Consistent with the policy development, approval, and communication policy, this will be posted for comment from May 1­—15, 2018.  Comments should be sent to dupolicies@drake.edu.

— Debra Wiley, Human Resources

The Des Moines Corporate Games is an eight-week company based competition (June 3 – July 31) that promotes teamwork and company pride, and it is a lot of fun!

You may participate in one or more events. Events range from team-based to individual and competitive to recreational. All activities are held in the evening and on weekends, and are free (except for golf cart rental). The games are open to all full-time and regular part-time employees, interns, and retirees. Drake will compete against other local companies for a chance to win individual and team medals as well as the Corporate Games trophy.

We need as many people as possible to be a part of these games and to show our Drake pride. Do you see any sports or events you can participate in to help Drake take home the coveted Corporate Cup?

Contact Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu for more information.

2018 Sport/Event Opportunities

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources