Category Archives: Archive

News & Achievements Archive

Law School announces 2021 faculty award winners

Drake Law School recognized two outstanding faculty members for their contributions to the Law School’s teaching, scholarship, and research during the 2020–2021 academic year.

Melissa Weresh, Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law and director of legal writing, was recognized as the 2021 Stevens Faculty Scholar of the Year. The Stevens Faculty Scholar of the Year award honors the faculty member who has made the most significant contribution to academic scholarship during the previous year. Weresh’s work included publishing multiple law review articles, a book chapter, and finalizing a textbook on legal writing. Her articles and books ask important questions about instructional methods, and barriers to greater inclusiveness in law school programming and how to overcome them. Andrew Jurs, associate dean for Academic Affairs, noted: “The quality and breadth of Weresh’s writing made it stand out and ensures the lasting impact of her work.”

Anthony Gaughan, Kern Family Chair in Law, received the Student Bar Association’s (SBA) Leland Forrest Outstanding Professor Award. The Outstanding Professor award recognizes a faculty member for their contributions to the quality of legal education both in and out of the classroom. The recipient is chosen by vote of the third-year students and will lead the class in the graduation procession in May. Students selected Gaughan for his commitment to providing and supporting high quality instruction to Drake Law students from the moment they step on campus as first-years. He makes difficult and dense material easy to understand, and employs creative and effective ways to engage students in the classroom. “Not only is Professor Gaughan an outstanding teacher, his kindness and willingness to help any student in any way he can, in or out of the classroom, has remained a constant throughout our tumultuous law school careers due to the pandemic,” said Claire Davison, 2020-2021 SBA president. “He treats every person he meets with the utmost respect, and actively works to listen and understand the unique perspective they bring to the table.”

Award winners were announced during the Drake Law Supreme Court Celebration last week. For a list of previous faculty award winners and this year’s Supreme Court Celebration student award winners, visit the Supreme Court Celebration website.

— Theresa Howard, Law School

For Students Archive

Admission Office is hiring Student Ambassadors and Admission Fellows

Interested in sharing your Drake experience with prospective students and parents and making an impact in the recruitment of future Bulldogs?  The Office of Admission is accepting applications through next Monday, May 3, at 8 a.m. for the Student Ambassador and Admission Fellow positions. Students can find information about both positions, including the application, duties, hourly wage and timeline, on Handshake.

— Deneen Dygert, Undergraduate Admission

Campus Announcements Archive

Timesheet and leave report process is now a little easier

In an effort to streamline the process for submitting timesheets and leave reports, employees will no longer be required to enter their password after they have initially clicked “submit.” Because employees have accessed their timesheet or leave report through myDrake, after they have entered their user ID and password, it became apparent that re-entering the password again was an unnecessary duplication. This update will take effect May 7, 2021.

If you have questions or concerns, please email debra.wiley@drake.edu.

— Debra Wiley, Human Resources

Campus Announcements Archive

You’re invited to Griff I’s birthday party

Griff II is throwing a birthday party for the OG (Griff I)! Students, faculty, and staff are invited to drive through the Olmsted Lot anytime between 9 and 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 8, for a socially distanced celebration of Griff II’s mentor and beloved predecessor as he turns 9 years old. Both dogs will be there, party hats on. We encourage wearing Drake blue, decorating your vehicles for the occasion, and bringing lots of enthusiasm as you wish the OG a HBD from your car. Walk-up student visitors are welcome as well, as long as social distancing measures are maintained. Like last year, the OG is requesting that instead of gifts for him, he would like you to bring non-perishable food and personal care items for the Little Free Pantries in the Drake Neighborhood. Let’s honor the OG by helping our neighbors!

— Erin Bell, University Communications and Marketing

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

April’s digital faculty member is Alisa Drapeaux 

Each month, a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate innovative technology into their classroom. April’s digital faculty member of the month is Alisa Drapeaux, assistant professor in health sciences/director of health sciences internship, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Read an interview with Alisa below: 

What course do you use this technology in? Human Anatomy 

What type of technology do you use? Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BB Collaborate), Panopto, Kahoot, and Anatomage 

In what context do you use this technology? Human Anatomy Lecture 

How does this type of technology align with your teaching pedagogy? Prior to lecture, I am using Panopto to record each lecture. I release the recording on Blackboard 48–72 hours prior to lecture, so students have a broad understanding of the content before coming to class.  

In lecture, I use BB Collaborate to provide both my in-person and remote students a synchronous format. BB Collaborate permits lecture slides, PDF files, and anatomical diagrams to be uploaded to the live session prior to lecture, which promotes instructor organization and preparation. Furthermore, BB Collaborate includes the digital whiteboard, which I use to draw flow charts, anatomical features, or create interactive study guides for both the remote and in-person students to view. All of these strategies help align with my teaching pedagogy to promote student interaction, engagement, and a flipped classroom. 

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change? The change to BB Collaborate was prompted by the pandemic, in order to provide a synchronous component for our 10-15% remote students in Human Anatomy. In addition, I partnered with Anatomage to provide interactive, cadaver 3D images to allow the students to improve visualization of the organ systems for the students.  

How long did it take for you to implement this technology? BB Collaborate was easy to navigate and configure for Human Anatomy. The tool bar, uploading of files, sharing screen, and creating the weekly sessions for lecture took minimal time. In addition, ITS provided several guides to assist with set up.  

Since transitioning to remote teaching, how has your use of this technology changed, if at all? Technology, Panopto and BB Collaborate, have improved my teaching pedagogy by improving student engagement and interaction in lecture. With pre-recording the lectures through Panopto for student viewing prior to lecture, the students are able to have a base understanding of the specific content prior to coming to lecture. Therefore, I am able to create a more ‘flipped classroom’ by using BB Collaborate in lecture with using the whiteboard features.  

Since transitioning to remote teaching, have you started using any new technology in your teaching? BB Collaborate, Panopto, and Anatomage are all tools that I have started to use to enhance pre-class preparedness and also engagement in class. With transitioning to full, in-person lectures, I plan to maintain the same format and utilize each of these technology tools as I believe it aligns with my teaching pedagogy to improve student engagement and learning.   

Overall, what lessons (if any) do you think you have learned while transitioning to remote teaching?  Although remote teaching is a challenge, there are several technology tools that exist that create an active, engaged lecture. Instead of being a “sage on the stage,” the above technology tools promote a “guide on the side” if you utilize the interactive features (e.g., smartboard, breakout groups).   

Both before and during this transition, did Drake ITS assist you in implementing any of these technologies? If so, how? Drake ITS is “always there” to assist with any technology issues in the classroom, responding to a submitted IT ticket quickly, and also providing several guides on the ITS website.  

Are you interested in trying out new technology in your classroom? Want help from ITS staff? Schedule a technology adoption consultation. 

Want to learn more about using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra or Panopto in your course? Explore these resources from the ITS Knowledge Base: 

—Jon Hurdelbrink, CPHS, and Carla Herling, ITS 

 

Strategic Updates Archive

Campus closure notification: Planned power outage May 16–19

Campus will be closed due to a planned power outage Sunday, May 16, at 7 a.m., until Wednesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. The outage is part of a necessary maintenance project to replace aging electrical equipment.

As Venessa Macro, chief administration officer, mentioned in an email to campus April 19, faculty and staff will receive a calendar invite to serve as a reminder for the scheduled outage and campus closure.

Important to note: ITS systems such as Outlook, Banner, and Blackboard will remain available during the outage allowing faculty and staff to work from a location off campus.

Power down your electronic devices!
Please turn off your computer, monitor(s), printers, and other personal electronic devices in your office by 3 p.m. on Friday, May 14. ITS staff will check that all printers and classroom devices are shut down beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 14. They will not check individual computers and monitors—so make sure you’ve completely powered down. All devices should remain off until power is restored.

The ITS Support Center will be closed during the outage for in-person assistance, but you may still visit the service portal at service.drake.edu/its or call 515-271-3001 with issues.

FPM will clean-out and unplug all breakroom refrigerators. If there is a dorm size refrigerator in your office, please unplug the unit and leave the door open placing a towel to catch any water defrosted from the freezer section. If the refrigerator is an old, inefficient model, consider contacting FPM to recycle it or upgrade to an energy star model.

About the project:
Facilities Planning and Management is working with Waldinger Corporation to replace the main campus switchgear and electric distribution switches at the Forest Avenue power plant. At the same time, MidAmerican Energy will be replacing the electrical service lines to the power plant. This electrical service and switchgear provide electricity to the 39 buildings and four parking lots on campus. (insert link to pdf outage map) With no power at these buildings—and in consideration of the safety of faculty, staff, students, and visitors—the campus will be closed from Sunday, May 16, at 7 a.m., until Wednesday, May 19, at 7 p.m.

Recent maintenance of the switchgear revealed that the equipment was not able to be exercised as necessary. If the switchgear were to fail, it could cause substantial power loss across campus. Due to the severity of the potential impact, replacement of the 1980s era switchgear and electric distribution switches became a deferred maintenance priority.

Questions or concerns?
FPM realizes the potential disruption this work causes. We appreciate everyone’s understanding in this matter. If you have any concerns, please submit them through this Qualtrics form. Your feedback will help us address broad concerns, as well as gather more specific issues that we can work through with individual departments.

— Kevin Moran, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Live mascot event hosted by All Staff Council

Join All Staff Council for a fun virtual event featuring Griff II (George), the new live mascot, and Erin Bell, director of the Live Mascot Program. Erin will talk about how Griff II is settling into the role, what Griff I is doing in retirement, and how the Live Mascot Program serves campus and the Des Moines community. 

Please join us on Microsoft Teams at noon on Wednesday, April 21. You can bookmark the event and find the streaming link on the University Calendar. We look forward to seeing you there!

— All Staff Council Events and Community Service Committee

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Support for Virtual Global Learning at Drake

Alanah Mitchell, associate professor and chair of information management and business analytics in the College of Business and Public Administration, is serving as Drake’s inaugural Global Virtual Learning Faculty Fellow. This new fellowship program is sponsored by the Principal Center for Global Citizenship.

The Global Virtual Learning Fellowship is designed to facilitate and support the development of global virtual learning experiences within the Drake community. Specifically, the fellowship position is designed to:

  • Expand Drake faculty and staff capacity for global virtual learning
  • Support the development of global virtual learning opportunities

Professor Mitchell’s primary research area relates to the use of technology for virtual collaboration as she has taught and studied global, virtual learning projects for almost 15 years. Specifically, she has developed and led global virtual student projects with partners from South Africa, Belgium, China, India, Poland, Taiwan, New Zealand, and others. Additionally, Professor Mitchell participated in Drake’s Fall 2020 “Facilitating Intercultural Learning” training program sponsored by the Nelson Institute.

Interested in adding Global Virtual Learning to your course? For faculty considering or already planning to offer a global virtual collaboration project in their course, or looking to brainstorm or ask questions about virtual learning activities (including partner identification, assignment design, technology choice, reflection activities, or assessment), Professor Mitchell will be holding virtual office hours from 12–3 p.m. on May 7. Please contact alanah.mitchell@drake.edu for the Zoom link.

New to the idea of adding Global Virtual Learning to your course? Look for more details in a future OnCampus regarding an upcoming summer workshop.

— Annique Kiel, Global Engagement and International Programs

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake Relays parking and traffic changes

Attention: Please be aware of the following traffic and parking changes as a result of the Drake Relays.

Lot 17 (Facilities): Closed April 14–26 for warm-up track

Lot 18 N & S (Stadium): Closed April 21–24

Lot 4 (Tennis Center): Closed April 22–24

Lot 1 (FAC): Will serve as a permits and paid lot on April 22 and April 23. Note: Drake permits will be valid without pay from 6 a.m.–6 p.m.

Road closures for the Elite Mile Road Race
In addition, there will be short (5-10 minute) road closures between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, at the intersection of 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue, 25th Street and Forest Avenue, and along Forest Avenue between 25th Street and 29th Street for the Elite Mile Road Race. 

Please note that only premium permits are valid in Lot 13 (Ray Promenade) and Lot 16 (Olmsted) on both Thursday, April 22, and Friday, April 23.

— Scott Law, Executive Director Public Safety & University Operations

For Faculty Archive

Course materials: The importance of timely adoptions

Faculty, please submit your textbook selections using the Follett Discover tool. Here are three reasons why it is important to submit your adoptions in a timely manner:

  1. Timely adoptions mean a greater buying power and savings for students. The earlier adoptions are submitting, the sooner we are able to secure used copies from fellow bookstores across the U.S and our used book distributors.
  2. Early adoptions mean we can buy back books from students. We buy books based on need from open enrollment and future adoptions. If you don’t submit an adoption, we can’t use our buyback leverage.
  3. HEOA compliance. HEOA laws indicate the availability to view all costs involved in a class including textbook pricing. Timely adoptions help facilitate this compliance with pricing available through our website.

Please follow the steps below to submit your information. To Access Follett Discover:

  1. Log into myDrake
  2. Click on the Blackboard icon under Commonly used Apps
  3. Log into Blackboard using your Drake ID and myDrake password
  4. Find the Tools channel, scroll down and click the Follett Discover link OR find the FD channel and click the Launch Discover link
  5. Start Discovering

— Kyle McVay, University Bookstore