Category Archives: Archive

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Working with University Communications

As you may be aware, University Communications (UC) underwent a departmental reorganization this spring. With the new fiscal year about to begin, here are answers to a few common questions about working with UC.

Who should you contact?
Please work through and with the directors within UC based on the audience you’re trying to engage:

  • Alumni: Beth Wilson
  • Donors: Beth Wilson
  • Faculty/Staff: Alyssa Young
  • General Public: Jarad Bernstein
  • Prospective Students: Alyssa Young
  • Current Students: Alyssa Young

If your needs don’t fall neatly into one of the audience categories above, or if you have a need that crosses multiple audiences, please contact me, and I will assess and assign as appropriate.

An additional note: Digital communications are led by Jeremy Sievers, and include digital assets such as photography and videography. His team’s responsibilities with the website cross all audiences; they also support content for the intranet, as well as digital marketing and other related efforts.

What services are available?
UC continues to provide strategic planning, writing/editing, graphic design, photography/videography, media relations, web development, and all of the core services you would expect from a communications department.

UC priorities in order, are:

  • University-wide initiatives, with an increased emphasis on those that drive student recruitment and student retention
  • Academic units and particularly those academic programs that need help growing
  • Other departments and units around campus, with an emphasis on those that directly support and improve the student experience
  • Affiliated organizations such as Harkin Institute, Ray Center, etc.

What self-serve resources are available?
To help address the issue of limited capacity, UC has created and launched an online toolkit to provide campus with a number of self-serve resources:

drake.edu/toolkit/

Please bookmark this link. You should be able to use these tools to fulfill many of your needs, or to better understand how to partner with UC.

What if I still have questions or concerns?
Please reach out to one of the directors listed above or me.

Thank you for your patience the past few months, while UC reengineered our team to operate in more of an audience-centered, data-driven, and digital-first mindset.

We look forward to an exciting and productive academic year ahead.

—Dave Remund, University Communications

Campus Announcements Archive

Drone policy and procedures

As a reminder, the University does have an UAS (drone) policy.

Drake is within five miles of the Des Moines International Airport. This proximity to the airport creates a no-fly zone unless several approvals are obtained to meet FAA regulations. Those requirements can be found online, and the B4U Fly Map App is online at www.faa.gov/uas/where_to_fly/b4ufly/ 

There is also a formal Drake UAS approval process to fly on campus that must also meet FAA regulations and requirements. The approval process can be found here.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

—Donna Blunck, Director, Risk and Insurance

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake Card planned outage July 8–9

ITS needs to make an important upgrade to the system that controls Drake Cards. As a result, access to the following services will be unavailable on July 8 and 9:

  •  Student printing
  • Laundry services
  • Bulldog Bucks usage and management
  • Dining and vending services using Bulldog Bucks
  • Using Bulldog Bucks to pay for Uber rides

There is also the possibility that door access may be slower than usual.

We appreciate your patience while we perform this necessary work. If you continue to have any issues after the planned maintenance window, please contact the Support Center at 515-271-3001 or visit service.drake.edu/its to report your issue.

—Carla Herling, ITS

Campus Announcements Archive

Moving logistics for new STEM@DRAKE buildings

It won’t be long before the two new STEM@DRAKE buildings will be complete. This is an exciting time, but also means there is work to do to relocate the faculty and staff who will move into the Science Connector Building and Collier-Scripps Hall. In an effort to keep track of all the moving parts, a process for keeping new building occupants up to date and informed began this spring. Several transition logistics, from key access to telephone transfer, have been carefully planned as we move toward move-in day. If you are impacted by a move, please watch for information from your dean, who is receiving monthly updates on moving logistics and planning.

In addition, in the coming weeks, communications directed at building occupants will be sent via email. OnCampus will continue to be the source of information for the general campus on the project.

As move-in day approaches, various individuals stand ready to help and support those impacted by the move. Questions can be directed to Kelly Foster at kelly.foster@drake.edu or Jolene Schmidt at jolene.schmidt@drake.edu.

—Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Collateral order deadline for fiscal year-end

Competitive Edge and Woolverton, Mfg. have confirmed the following fiscal year-end production and billing dates for orders placed via their respective online stores:   

  • Orders placed on or by June 15 will be delivered and invoiced by June 30.
  • Orders placed after June 15 will be delivered and invoiced after June 30.

 If an exception to these dates becomes evident, such as out-of-stock items, the vendor or University Communications will contact the purchaser as soon as possible.  

—Sara Sommerlot, University Communications

Campus Announcements Archive

Drake social media audit

The Drake University Social Media Directory displays the URLs for every Drake-affiliated social media page. Take a look around to see which 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 account’s URL on the directory at all. Either way, let University Communications know by emailing Niki Smith at niki.smith@drake.edu.

If you want to learn more about creating an official presence on social media for your department or unit, reach out to Niki Smith.

Also, there is a student social media directory for all student organizations. Niki is also the contact for that directory if you see anything to add or update.

—Niki Smith, University Communications

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, baseball, and Bulldogs

Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, baseball, and Bulldogs: It’s all at Drake Me Out to the Ballgame! How could this event get any better? With you! Drake faculty and staff are invited to join Des Moines-area alumni at Principal Park on Friday, July 21, at 6 p.m. to tailgate and watch the Iowa Cubs take on the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Purchase tickets here and receive your tickets at a discounted rate of $8. Visit alumni.drake.edu/events/drake-me-out-ia to learn more. Questions? Contact Mark Reiter, assistant director of alumni relations, at mark.reiter@drake.edu or 271-1947.

—Meredith Ponder, University Advancement

For Students Archive

Free body composition analyses

Drake Wellness is conducting Body Compositions free for students this summer. A body composition analysis breaks down the percentage of body weight by estimating both adipose weight and lean weight. This information is useful in determining certain health risk factors. Testing will be performed using the new InBody 270 analyzer. You will leave knowing your basal metabolic rate and body fat percentage and the national standards for these measurements. To schedule an appointment, email wellness@drake.edu.

— Drake Wellness

News & Achievements Archive

Faculty accomplishments: June 13

Edward Kelley, a 3D design instructor and studio assistant in Drake’s Department of Art and Design, has been selected for an exhibition at Art League Houston in Houston, TX. Kelley’s installation, titled “Speak of the Devil,” features an interactive installation of more than 250 surveillance cameras placed throughout the gallery, “playfully addressing the invasive qualities of CCTV surveillance, as well as its acceptance in our everyday lives.” Read more in the Drake Newsroom.