Category Archives: Archive

HR Information Archive

Explore the new HR internal website

A few weeks ago, Drake HR made the big move to Sharepoint with our new internal website. And we did not just move what we had on the old site to the new site, we re-envisioned this employee resource from the ground up.

You can access the new page through the updated my.drake.edu page or jump to it at this link: https://drakeedu.sharepoint.com/sites/HumanResources.

There are a few pages you may enjoy taking a look at. We are fond of our Employee Perks page, which is under the Benefits tab. You can check out a great line up of BUILD classes for this fall through the Learning and Development tab. We know a lot of employees enjoy our well-being programs. We now have a new DU Well page dedicated to well-being related activities and information.

We tried to organize the site in a way that would be intuitive. We have also added many new pages for dedicated topics that simply did not exist before, including a New Employee Welcome Center, What to Expect When Expecting, and a whole site dedicated to Student Employment.

We believe having a robust and easy-to-navigate HR website illustrates our commitment to communication and transparency. While we love the new site, there is certainly room for improvement. We would love to hear what you think: What do you like? What isn’t your favorite? What should we add? How can we make additional improvements to assure this page supports and informs you on human resource topics? Please send any feedback to drakehr@drake.edu. You can also use our feedback survey link and share your thoughts in the Comments and Suggestions section.

— Maureen R. De Armond, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Committees comprised of faculty and staff support employee benefits

As a reminder to existing Drake employees and a “good to know” to new employees, Drake has two standing committees that help support Drake employee benefits:

The Drake University Investment Review Committee focuses on retirement benefits. It kicked off the academic year on Aug. 23. The committee includes faculty and staff and long-term outside consultants, Well and Good (who recently merged with PlanPilot). One of the hot topics discussed is a new federal law, called the Secure Act 2.0. While some specific aspects of the law, and its implementation timeline, remain in the air, it will likely offer high income earners additional avenues to save for retirement (such as shifting to a Roth IRA for catch-up contributions for those over the age of 50 who earn more than $145,000). As soon as there is more certainty to the “what” and “when” of the Secure Act 2.0 changes, TIAA will partner with Drake University on communications. To learn more about the likely changes this law will make, visit TIAA’s Secure Act 2.0: What You Need to Know page.

The second standing committee is the Drake University Benefits Committee, which is also comprised of faculty and staff and long-time consultants: Mark Becker & Associates (who recently merged with Gallagher). This committee focuses on our self-funded health insurance plan, dental plan, vision plan, flexible spending accounts, life insurance policies, long-term disability insurance, and other related benefits and perks. During this time of year, Drake HR is meeting with our vendors and consultants to anticipate what changes, if any, may be appropriate or needed for the following plan year. Due to our Open Enrollment schedule, by November 1, when Open Enrollment starts, we have to have all decisions for January 1 set in stone. More information to come about the work of the Benefits Committee in the coming months.

If you would like to learn more about Drake’s employee benefits and perks, please visit Drake HR’s new internal website and checkout the pages linked below the Employee Benefits tab! As always, you can reach out to Drake HR with any questions or suggestions that you have. You can best reach us at drakehr@drake.edu.

— Maureen R. De Armond and Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources

For Students Archive

IFC Recruitment Week is Sept. 5–9

The Interfraternity Council (IFC) formal recruitment week will begin Tuesday, Sept. 5, and will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 9. Our recruitment process is free and non-committal, with food and drinks being provided by chapters throughout the week. If you are interested in the recruitment process, signup. For more information about IFC and recruitment, follow us on Instagram @drakeuniversityifc or check out our website drakefsl.com/ifc.

— Cody Butenhoff, Junior

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Sprout Garden Spruce Up event Sept. 6

Join All Staff Council on Wednesday, Sept. 6, from 2–4 p.m. to spruce up the Sprout Garden and Food Forest. Help with weeding, harvesting, and other important tasks.

No experience is necessary. Gloves and tools will be provided and you can come and go as your time allows. Please dress for the weather and wear something you don’t mind getting a little dirty. Close-toed shoes are recommended. Bring sunscreen and a hat if you prefer.

To sign up, visit https://givepul.se/a64btj.

Refreshments will be provided by the All Staff Council Events & Community Service committee. The Sprout Garden is located at 1270 30th Street in Des Moines.

— Elissa Johnson

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

In memoriam: Professor Emeritus Daniel L. Power

The Drake community mourns the passing of Professor Emeritus Daniel L. Power. Dan served as director of the Drake Legal Clinic from 1971 to 1994. He was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice when he joined the Drake Law faculty as the founding Executive Director of Clinical Programs. An early proponent of clinical education, Dan was purposefully looking for a law school that would allow him to start a legal clinic.

Dan’s vision and dedication helped grow the clinic program from handling clients’ simple criminal and civil matters in an old house in the Drake neighborhood into the nationally recognized program it is today. His partnership with the late Congressman Neal Smith and his wife Bea led to the building of the state-of-the-art Neal and Bea Smith Law Center that now houses the clinic programs. Last fall, the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center courtroom was named the Daniel L. Power Courtroom in his honor.

Faculty, staff, and alumni will remember Dan’s generosity of spirit. His commitment to every student who came through the Legal Clinic helped launch many successful careers. And his annual St. Patrick’s Day green carnation deliveries to the Law School and Clinic will be long remembered.

“We celebrate Dan’s pioneering vision for clinical legal education but even more so his passion for helping students be better prepared for the practice of Law,” said Drake Law Dean Jerry Anderson.

The family has planned a visitation at Iles Dunn’s Funeral Home, 2121 Grand Avenue in Des Moines on Sunday, Aug. 20, from 4–7 p.m. A funeral mass will be held on Monday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m. at Saint Augustin Church. Dan’s full obituary can be found here.

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

FPM welcomes Heather Winslow to the Capital Projects team

Facilities Planning and Management is excited to welcome Heather Winslow to the Capital Projects team.  Heather will be joining the team as a project administrator assisting Michelle Huggins and Rob Ebel in the management of building construction projects large and small, furniture procurement, signage, and office moves. Heather joins the team from Finance where she has been an integral part of their team for the last three years. 

You will see her out-and-about on campus, as well as included on meeting invites as we complete projects for the start of classes, and gear-up for the next phase of new projects. We have created a new email for our Projects team capitalprojects@drake.edu. Please feel free to contact our team using this email, and Heather will help to get your project idea captured and answer questions on your existing projects.

Please join me in welcoming Heather to this new role!

— Michelle Huggins, Facilities Planning & Management

Campus Announcements Archive

New on-campus employment website is live

We are excited to announce a website dedicated to on-campus employment. It was designed to support students looking for on-campus employment, those who already have on-campus positions, and the supervisors who oversee student workers.

The section headings include: Everything Students, How to Get Started, All about Timesheets, and a Supervisor’s Toolkit. Within the site, you will find information and resources, including frequently asked questions for students and supervisors, information specific to international students, and more.

We invite you to spend some time on the website: https://drakeedu.sharepoint.com/sites/OnCampusStudentEmployment.

Our hope is that this new page will provide students and supervisors with the information they need to support all facets of student employment. While we think the new page is great, there is surely room for additional improvement. Please provide us with feedback and suggestions by emailing student.employment@drake.edu. Your ideas and suggestions are both welcomed and greatly appreciated.

— Marli Jefferson, Human Resources

Strategic Updates Archive

Meredith Hall renovations wrap up in time for fall semester

Meredith Hall, home to Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC), Bright College, and many College of Arts and Sciences programs, is wrapping up renovation work and will be ready to serve students for the fall semester. Faculty and staff with offices in the building started moving back into their spaces last week.

The renovation work began in December 2022 with the intent to preserve the building’s historically significant architecture, while making the facility more environmentally friendly and better suited to the teaching and learning styles of today.

Throughout the planning and renovation process, Drake Facilities Planning and Management worked in close coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to ensure the building remains eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The completed project includes improvements to the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, new LED light fixtures, a solar array installed on the roof, new ceiling systems, new bottle-filler drinking fountains, and technology upgrades throughout the building. Areas within the building were also reimagined to include a new student collaboration space and zip spaces. A new film viewing room was created in the lower level that includes salvaged seating from Varsity Theater.

Another notable aspect of the renovation included returning the signature metal exterior to its original shade of black, as it was when it was first constructed in 1965 and received international attention for its Mid-Century Modern architectural appeal.

Picture of Meredith Hall when it opened in 1965.

Meredith Hall was designed by world-renowned architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and part of the renovation project includes restoring the building’s courtyard, which is distinct among Mies’ designs.

Improvements to the courtyard include new landscaping and furniture to match Mies’ original intent of furnishings from the Knoll 1965 collection.

The Drake Facilities Planning and Management team also worked closely with SHPO to add padded cushioning to the original wooden seats in both of Meredith Hall’s auditoriums. To maintain the original design and aesthetics of the seats, Drake worked with the original manufacturer, Carroll Seating Company, on the renovations in which the original seat backs and bases will be used. In fact, the same person who designed the seats in 1965 worked to help renovate those same seats now.

Read about all the infrastructure updates, new sustainable features, and enriched teaching and learning opportunities on the Meredith Hall Revitalization web page.

“Our ultimate goal of updating this historic facility was to create learning spaces that meet the needs of today’s students while retaining the building’s key historic features,” said Michelle Huggins, planning and design manager, Facilities Planning and Management. “We want to ensure that people another 50 or 100 years from now will walk into this space and be just as impressed as they were in 1965 when the building first opened.”

— Heather Winslow, Facilities Planning and Management

For Students Archive

SPSS Statistics 29 now available for install

SPSS Statistics 29 is now available for install on Drake-owned computers.

To install this software on a Windows computer, navigate to the Company Portal. Search for the software, and follow the install instructions. For more information and detailed steps on using the Company Portal, please see Using Company Portal (How-to).

To install this software on a Mac computer, navigate to the Self Service application. Search for the software, and follow the install instructions. For more information and detailed steps on using Mac Self Service, please see Adding Software to your Drake-owned Mac Computer (How-to).

If you have issues installing SPSS 29 or would like assistance, please submit a Software Request ticket, call 515–271–3001, or visit the lower level of Carnegie Hall.

— Greg Christie, ITS