Category Archives: Archive

Featured Events Archive

The Black Panthers and Liberation

Please join the Coalition of Black Students for the culminating event of Black History Month on Friday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Sussman Theater. Human rights activist and attorney Kathleen Neal Cleaver will deliver a lecture for the Drake and Des Moines community on the topic of the Black Panthers and Liberation, followed by a question-and-answer session. All are welcome at this event, which is free and open to the public.

Kathleen Neal Cleaver, who currently holds an appointment as a senior lecturer and research fellow at Emory University School of Law, has spent her life participating in the human rights struggle. She started alongside her parents in the 1950s civil rights protests in Alabama. By 1966, Kathleen Neal dropped out of Barnard College in New York to join the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) where she served in its Campus Program based in Atlanta. She then moved to the San Francisco Bay area, and from 1967 to 1971, she was the first communications secretary of the Black Panther Party.

The annual Black on Black Banquet, sponsored by the Coalition of Black Students to celebrate its achievements and honor this year’s guest speaker, will follow the lecture and will begin at 7 p.m. in Parents Hall. This event is free but ticketed due to seating capacity. For information on banquet tickets, please contact cbs@drake.edu.

—Melissa Klimaszewski, English Department

HR Information Archive

BUILD opportunity: Building a Safe Space

Please join us in a highly interactive and fun session focused on three key components of creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQ individuals:

Common Terminology and Phrases: Ever wonder: “What does LGBTQ stand for?” or “Can I use the word ‘queer?’” or “What pronouns should I use for a transgender person?”

Skill Development and Practice: Engage in real-life office and work-day scenarios, and discuss best practices for engaging productively.

Bystander Intervention: Leave equipped with skills to diffuse negative situations and to foster/facilitate dialogue. Example: a student says “I don’t understand how people can be transgender,” or a colleague says they don’t feel comfortable engaging LGBTQ students, what can you do?

Join Tony Tyler, director, student engagement, equity, and inclusion (team lead) on March 8 in Olmsted Center, Rooms 310/311, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to talk, listen, and ask questions! Registration is not required, but is helpful.  To do so, please email: debra.wiley@drake.edu.

—Debra Wiley, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Profile Weight Loss Plan presentation

Whether you are just beginning your weight loss journey or have been struggling for years, Profile may be able to help you meet your goals. A weight loss coach will help you develop a plan to not only lose weight, but also incorporate positive nutrition, activity, and lifestyle behaviors, enabling you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In addition, you will be given a scale that electronically transmits your weight to your Profile coach from the privacy of your home.

If you are interested in more information about this program, including costs, join us Tuesday, March 7, at 10 a.m. in the Olmsted Center, Rooms 310/311. To attend this event, please RSVP to Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

—Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Looking for photography resources?

The Office of University Communications offers a variety of photography resources, including a new online photo-sharing platform. The new platform includes general Drake photography, Des Moines imagery, and Drake-issued headshots. Visit www.drake.edu/communications/resources/photo/ to learn more about and access the platform. Each department or college has an appointed photography contact to access specific archived photography and current photo requests. This resource is for faculty and staff use only.

Faculty and staff can also request photography services at this website.

Please contact Digital Content Specialist Justice Simpson ( justice.simpson@drake.edu ) for any questions or for more information.

—Justice Simpson, University Communications

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Faculty Senate elections

During the next couple of weeks, eligible voters (full-time faculty of instruction holding the rank of adjunct, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor not primarily engaged in administration) will be nominating and selecting six 2017–2019 At-Large Senators.

Please contact Nancy Geiger (ext. 3095) if you have questions.

—Nancy Geiger

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

All faculty and staff meeting

Prior to the Feb. 23 Drake social there will be an all-campus meeting from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., with Sandy Hatfield Clubb, director of athletics, sharing insights and the impact of athletics at Drake. This is open to all faculty and staff.

The Drake social will follow immediately, 4:30–6 p.m. Both events are in Shivers Hospitality Suite, adjacent to The Knapp Center. Attendees will receive one complimentary ticket for beer or wine. Water, soda, etc. are also on the house. Nearby parking is available.

There will also be an all-campus meeting prior to the March 23 social, with Chris Gill, chief information technology officer, at 3:30 p.m.

—Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

Spanish language conversation hours

Would you like to begin learning a few words in Spanish for an upcoming study abroad semester or travel seminar? Do you want or need to keep up your foreign language fluency? Drake’s Department of World Languages and Cultures wants to help.

Spanish Conversation Hours are scheduled for Mondays 4–5 p.m. in Meredith Hall, Room 204, and Wednesdays 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. in Meredith Hall, Room 228. All levels of Spanish speakers are welcome. The group supports all participants with an opportunity to practice Spanish and no long-term commitment is required to attend. A native speaker facilitates the conversation in Spanish in an informal setting.

Additionally, this semester we are offering an hour conversation about Mexico. Hora sobre México is scheduled every Friday, 2–3 p.m. in Meredith Hall, Room 204. The purpose of this themed conversation hour is to speak about, learn, and ask questions about Mexico, en español.

For further information, contact Assistant Professor Inbal Mazar at inbal.mazar@drake.edu.

—Dorothy Pisarski, Drake International communications liaison

Campus Announcements Archive

Deferred maintenance update

Facilities Planning and Management is in the process of removing a chiller and cooling tower located at the north end of Harmon Fine Arts Building. Both are more than 30 years old, and the energy efficiency of chillers has improved significantly during the past 10 years. This project started in January and the completion date is early April. The new chiller and cooling tower will be delivered to the Fine Arts building on Feb. 27–28. The equipment will serve the following buildings: Fine Arts Center, Opperman Library, Cartwright Hall, Howard Hall, Old Main, Cole Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Cowles Library.

—Jolene Schmidt, Director, Operations and Support Services

Campus Announcements Archive

Reporting environmental health and safety concerns

Drake believes that all faculty, staff, and students share responsibility in maintaining an environment that is safe for learning and work.

Providing an open line of communication to report concerns is a vital component in fostering that environment. Reporting environmental health and safety concerns to the proper individuals is the first step in the process. Follow the reporting steps described to begin the resolution of environmental health and safety concerns that you have observed at the University.

Step 1: Observe an Environmental Health and Safety Concern
When an environmental health and safety concern is observed, determine whether you are capable of resolving it by either correcting the issue yourself or by notifying the correct party (e.g., submitting a work request to Facilities Services). If you are not able to resolve the concern, seek departmental help (proceed to Step 2).

Examples of environmental health and safety concerns include:

  • Workplace conditions or actions that could cause harm to employees or the environment;
  • Lack of or poor condition of equipment, tools, or personal protective equipment required to perform work safely; or
  • Violations of University policies or governmental regulations applicable to occupational health and safety or environmental health.

Please note: Emergencies must be reported directly to Drake Public Safety at 515-271-2222.

Step 2: Seek Department Help
Report the environmental health and safety concern to your supervisor or administrator in your department, and he/she shall initiate the resolution process within the department. Contact Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) if your department cannot resolve the concern (proceed to Step 3).

Step 3: Contact Environmental Health and Safety
You and/or your supervisor can contact EHS for further assistance if the concern cannot be resolved at the department level. You may fill out the REPORT A SAFETY CONCERN form. This form is located on the EHS website; select “Report a concern” on the left-hand side of the page. EHS can also be contacted at ehs@drake.edu or 515-271-3804.

Please note: While the University encourages following the lines of communication described here to cultivate and sustain open dialogue between employees or students and their supervisors, you are always entitled to contact EHS directly at any time. Upon your request, Environmental Health and Safety will hold your identity confidential.

If further action is required, EHS will escalate the resolution of the concern as follows:

  • Stage One: EHS will initiate contact with the manager or head of the department.
  • Stage Two: EHS will initiate contact with the Dean.
  • Stage Three: EHS will initiate contact with the appropriate senior administrator for the area or department.

—Chris Nickell, EHS