Registration is now open for the Drake University 2018 Learning Symposium, Building Trust: Leading the Conversation. The symposium will be Monday, Aug. 20, at the Olmsted Center. Please review the program to choose your break-out sessions prior to going to Eventbrite to register. For links to the program and Eventbrite, please visit the Learning Symposium web page.
— Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office
After gathering input from campus and posting for the two-week review period, the Approval Authority Policy was presented to and approved by the Board of Trustees during their April meeting. The policy combines and replaces two previously existing policies titled Contract and Legal Service Authority and Executive Purchasing. The new policy will become effective July 1, 2018.
As a reminder, the purpose of the policy is to ensure all contracts and transactions are signed by those with the authority to obligate the University with external parties in accordance with the delegation approved by the Board of Trustees. Individuals authorized to sign contracts and transactions under this policy are expected to have the necessary information and expertise to fully understand the implications of such commitments.
The new policy is available in the University Policy Library. Please take a moment to review the Approval Authority policy.
New Payment Request Form
As we have planned for implementation of the Approval Authority Policy, we have taken the opportunity to revise the forms used to submit payment requests to accounting. A new form titled Payment Request Form will combine and replace the previously existing Direct Pay and Invoice FOAPAL form. The new form is available on the Finance & Administration Forms webpage. The use of the new Payment Request Form will be effective July 1, 2018. Please discontinue use of the Direct Pay and Invoice FOAPAL forms.
— Heather Travis, Controller
The Drake University Social Media Directory displays the URLs for every Drake University affiliated social media page. Take a look around to see what departments have pages, follow them, and invite your friends to follow along. While you’re looking around, let us know if your department page has changed. Maybe you have a department name change, you want a new cover photo, or you don’t see your URL on the directory at all. Either way, let us know how we can help by emailing Niki Smith at niki.smith@drake.edu.
Also, there is a student social media directory for all student organizations. Niki Smith is also the contact for that directory if you see anything to add or update within the URLs linked.
— Niki Smith, University Communications and Marketing
Each year, Drake Dining donates unused flex dollars to help fight hunger both locally and globally. Unused Flex money left over at the end of the year is donated to Sodexo’s Stop Hunger Foundation. The organization uses the money to help provide nutritious meals to children and support food pantry programs, food recovery programs, and community gardens. This year, the Stop Hunger Foundation awarded a grant to help the Sprout Garden construct hoop houses over the raised beds, put up signage, and seed/plant garden beds. In June, more than $32,000 of leftover flex money was donated to the Stop Hunger Foundation.
— Jennifer Bowersox, Drake Dining
Construction on The Ray Promenade is transforming 27th Street east of Collier-Scripps Hall. Fences are starting to come down around the project and plantings have been installed on the north half of the promenade.
In the next couple of weeks, the rest of the concrete walkways will be poured and pavers will be installed in the main area. The contractor will continue to backfill topsoil and clean up the site. Due to the timing and weather, the rest of the plantings and final seeding on the south half will occur mid-August as temperature allows for the best survival of the plants.
Stretching from Forest Avenue to the Painted Street, the promenade will serve as an outdoor classroom, performance venue, meeting location, and picnic destination while adding beauty and greenspace to campus. It is scheduled to be completed in fall 2018.
— Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning and Management
Drake’s new internal campus portal, myDrake, is now live. Visit my.drake.edu to access your new gateway to campus information, resources, and functions. You’ll see links to the tools you need whether you’re student, faculty, staff, parent, or have several different roles.
Once you sign into myDrake, your login credentials will automatically be shared with additional applications, like MyDUSIS. ITS staff is working on connecting as many campus systems as possible through single sign-on (SSO), so the number of systems that require a second login will continue to decrease.
Not sure how to get started with using myDrake? Visit the IT service portal guides. You can also find answers to your questions by viewing a list of FAQs.
blueView isn’t being removed quite yet, but we hope that you’ll start using myDrake right away.
Let us know what you think of the new portal. Feel free to email Carla Herling or project manager Jeff Regan, or fill out a Qualtrics feedback form.
— Carla Herling, ITS
There is still time to register for the 101 Speaker Series: Team Dynamics, which includes a free lunch for registered attendees.
The session is tomorrow, June 13. Doors open at 11:45 a.m. with the program starting at 12 p.m. The speaker series is open to faculty, staff, students, and the general public. Registration is required.
Panel experts include:
— Dianna Gray, College of Business and Public Administration
Pyramid Theatre Company’s play Prowess is showing now through June 17 at Stoner Theater in Des Moines. The show stars Vic O’Bryant, Drake senior and musical theatre major, as Zora. In the action-comedy packed with heart and humor, Zora decides to take on the crime in Chicago after being attacked on a Red Line train in Chicago. The play explores the social implications of taking justice into one’s own hands. Prowess is written by Ike Holter, one of the most exciting playwrights in the country, and directed by two-time Cloris Leachman Award winner Ken-Matt Martin, AS’12, JO’12. Buy tickets and learn more about the play.
As part of Iowa’s Juneteenth Observance, the oldest known celebration to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States, broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien will be on campus Thursday, June 14, from 5 to 6 p.m. in Sussman Theater for a question-and-answer session. Tickets are still available. The event will be moderated by KCCI anchor Rheya Spigner.
After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, owners in many isolated areas kept word from their slaves so that they would not flee. On June 19, 1865, some of the last slaves in America were freed when the news at last reached Confederate Galveston, Texas. Since that day, Juneteenth has been celebrated to honor the African Americans who built this nation. View information on all events.
— Kathleen Richardson, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Inbal Mazar, assistant professor of Spanish, was selected as a 2018-2019 Iowa Campus Compact Engaged Scholar Research Fellow. The fellowship program, in its second year, supports Iowa faculty in the scholarship of community-engaged teaching and learning. This year’s three selected scholars will receive support for completing and publishing their research. This includes sponsored participation in the 2018 Pen to Paper Writing Retreat being held this August in Seattle, Washington.
For Mazar, living in six countries sparked an appreciation for culture, and she strives to share this enthusiasm by promoting culture and building connections between students and local and international communities. As a fellow, she will assess how community engagement affects confidence in language learning and the link between meaningful language interaction outside of the classroom and increased confidence in speaking and interacting in the language.
— Renee Sedlacek, Academic Excellence and Student Success
