Category Archives: Archive

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Update from University Communications and Marketing

Late last week, University Communications became University Communications and Marketing. This involved some difficult decisions and staffing changes in order to streamline operations. A smaller in-house staff and this new name are part of a comprehensive effort to improve efficiency and more effectively promote the Drake University brand. There will be an intentionally strong focus on marketing going forward, to help the University remain viable and vibrant in these challenging times.

The UC&M team strives to be audience-focused, data-driven, and also digital-first whenever possible. (Note: The amount of printed materials has been reduced by more than 35 percent in the past 18 months.) Priority audiences are faculty/staff, prospective students, alumni, and other stakeholders in the public realm.

Turn to UC&M for guidance and support. More tools are in place now to empower campus partners to fulfill their own needs; see the department website and click on the Toolkit tab. When you have more complex needs that require strategic planning and/or full-service support, the UC&M team will step in directly.

Need help from UC&M? Your three primary points of contact will be:

Communications: For help communicating with faculty and staff, or sharing significant stories with the public via news media, contact Jarad Bernstein, Director of Communications, x3119 or jarad.bernstein@drake.edu.

Marketing: For help in marketing academic programs to prospective students or in engaging former students who are now alumni, contact Betsy McKibbin, Director of Marketing, who joins Drake on Monday, May 21. Her phone number will be x4501, and her email address will be betsy.mckibbin@drake.edu.

Brand Integration: For questions pertaining to creative execution of the Drake brand, including the University website and all forms of printed, digital and other tools, contact Jeremy Sievers, Director of Brand Integration, x2795 or jeremy.sievers@drake.edu. (Note: A smaller in-house staff that’s more focused on digital and social media means that graphic design for printed materials will largely be outsourced. Whenever possible, digital solutions will be presented and provided first.)

Other staff may be assigned to work with you directly (view organizational chart); however, to help the UC&M team manage workload and workflow, please contact one of the three directors listed above first. Also, new requests must have been pre-approved and prioritized by a President’s Council or Deans Council member. This will help ensure the UC&M team remains focused on the highest-priority needs of the University.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this time of transition.

— Dave Remund, Executive Director

Campus Announcements Archive

OnCampus summer distribution schedule

OnCampus will move to a biweekly distribution schedule through the summer months. The newsletter will be delivered to faculty, staff, and student inboxes every other Tuesday starting May 15. It will resume to a  weekly distribution schedule Aug. 21.

Summer distribution dates:
Tuesday, May 15
Wednesday, May 30 (Publication moved to Wednesday due to holiday)
Tuesday, June 12
Tuesday, June 26
Tuesday, July 10
Tuesday, July 24
Tuesday, Aug. 7
Tuesday, Aug. 21

Ashton Hockman, University Communications

News & Achievements Archive

Drake softball follows MVC tournament win with commencement

The Drake softball team won its fourth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title Saturday at Buel Field with a 4-1 victory over Southern Illinois. The win grants the team an automatic berth to the 2018 NCAA Tournament scheduled to begin with regional play this weekend.

Knowing that meant the team’s three seniors, Kailee Smith, Kelsey Wright, and Ashlie Chambers, would miss Sunday’s commencement, President Martin held a special ceremony on Buel Field following Saturday’s game. Congratulations, graduates!

Watch a video on Facebook.

For Students Archive

Desk assistant job openings

The Office of Residence Life is currently seeking to hire a team of students to serve as desk assistants in each of our eight residence halls for the 2018-2019 academic year, as well as desk staff prior to the start of the academic year, beginning Aug. 1.

Desk assistants will be employed starting as early as Aug. 1 for preseason employment (August 1-26), with the regular academic year desk assistant employment beginning Monday, Aug. 27, the first day of class, and lasting through the end of the year, May 19. Desk assistants will be able to work up to 20 hours total (including any other campus employment) while classes are in sessions, and up to 30 hours when classes are not in session during preseason.

Required orientation for the preseason desk assistant position is Wednesday, Aug. 1, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For the academic year, there will be a required orientation from 8 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26.

In making hiring decisions for the academic year, we may have to give preference to those who are available for the preseason session, as we have staffing needs for the beginning of August. We encourage you to consider coming back to campus early to work for the preseason session.

For those employed during preseason, campus housing may be available if needed. Please discuss this with the hiring staff. Those preseason staff members who will be living off campus for the 2018-2019 academic year will be required to relocate to their off campus housing by Aug. 12.

Applications are due by June 24 at 11:59 p.m. The job description can be found in a link on the application form.

— Betsy Collins, Office of Residence Life

For Students Archive

J-Term 2019: Apply for a travel seminar

Do you want to travel this J-Term? The following programs are still accepting applications.

California: War, Memory, and Political Activism
England: Theatre History in London
Florida: Zoo Biology
India: International Health Topics
South Africa/Zimbabwe: Religions of Africa
Washington DC: Exploring Bipartisan Solutions

Learn more about the travel seminars. Use your Drake ID and password to login and apply. Additionally, you can learn about the application and registration process by visiting the Registrar’s webpage.

— Maria Rohach, Center for International Programs and Services

Featured Events Archive

Retirement reception for Marilea Chase

The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences will host a retirement reception for Office Manager Marilea Chase on Wednesday, May 30, at 3 p.m. in the Cline Atrium. Marilea is retiring at the end of May after 19 years at Drake. Please join us to celebrate and to extend well wishes to Marilea.

— Diana Newman, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

News & Achievements Archive

Jenny Tran-Johnson accepts registrar position

The Office of the Provost is happy to announce that Jenny Tran-Johnson has accepted the position of Drake University Registrar. She has been serving as interim registrar and will assume her permanent role July 1.

Jenny has a bachelor’s in biology from Drake, a master’s in leadership in student affairs from the University of St. Thomas, and she recently finished her doctorate in education from Drake. Jenny started at Drake in May 2008 as the director of student programs in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. In 2013, she accepted the role of assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. Jenny also teaches in the leadership education and development (LEAD) concentration.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

News & Achievements Archive

Nickell recognized for work to improve stormwater practices

Last month, Chris Nickell, director of environmental health and safety, was named the 2017 Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) shareholder of the year for work done on the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) Stormwater BMP Performance Verification team. He received the award April 17 at the ITRC annual meeting in Anaheim, California.

Rainfall, if not managed properly, can cause a variety of unwanted challenges, such as flooding, or collecting impurities such as chemicals and debris that can potentially pollute and contaminate waterbodies. As part of the Stormwater BMP Performance Verification team, Nickell works to better manage stormwater by examining the effectiveness of best practices and technologies. He also works to verify that practices comply with regulations administered by the Clean Water Act.

Nickell has been a part of the ITRC for over a year. He serves as the lead for the operations and maintenance team, a sub division of the Stormwater BMP Performance Verification team.

HR Information Archive

Conversation hours with Human Resources

Members of the Human Resources team will be available Thursday from 11:30 a.m. 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. Even though this is the last scheduled HR Conversation Hours for the academic year, you are always welcome to schedule a meeting at the HR offices, 3206 University Avenue.

— Debra Wiley, Human Resources