Category Archives: Archive

Campus Announcements Archive

New location for Mail Services

Drake University Mail Operations will be moving Mail Services from its current location in the old post office building on 24th Street to the lower level of Olmsted during the week of Dec. 19 and be open to the public the week of Jan. 2. This move will require a new location for any drop off of mail that had previously been done in the old post office building. We realize that this may be inconvenient for some of you, so we would like to discuss how we might be able to assist departments as we make this transition.

As part of the changes in Mail Services, a new manager will be coming on board within the next 30–60 days. Once the new manager is hired, we hope to offer additional services to the campus community in the coming months. If you have any questions about Mail Operations in the short term, please do not hesitate to reach out to Scott Law at scott.law@drake.edu or Tricia McKinney at tricia.mckinney@drake.edu. It is our goal to continue to work toward continuous improvement in all areas of mail services and to provides courteous, high-quality service to the University community.

—Scott Law, Public Safety

Campus Announcements Archive

Book Store hours for break & J-Term

The Drake Book Store hours will be adjusted during holiday break and J-Term:

Dec. 19–23                      9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Dec. 25–26                      Closed
Dec. 27–30                      10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Dec. 31–Jan. 2               Closed

Jan. 3–20
Monday–Friday               9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Saturday                              10 a.m.–5 p.m.

News & Achievements Archive

Ray Center Packs the Knapp

Nearly 3,000 elementary and middle school students attended the Drake women’s basketball game on Dec. 8 to Pack the Knapp for CHARACTER COUNTS! Griff made a special appearance and debuted a new video showing how he demonstrates the Six Pillars of Character. The Ray Center provided every student with an activity booklet for the game plus educational materials so that teachers could continue lessons on sportsmanship and character back at school.

—Amy Smit, Robert D. and Billie Ray Center

Campus Announcements Archive

Winter break building hours update

Door schedules will change for the holiday break. We will adopt “administrative hours” for most of the buildings following graduation on Saturday, Dec. 17. Buildings will be open on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Dec. 22. Doors will then be locked for the holiday break from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. Faculty and staff will still be able to utilize their authorized access plans (for example, 24/7 access to their office buildings), but student plans will be shut off during this time. Regular building hours will resume at the start of January Term, Jan. 3.

Please contact Public Safety (515-271-2222) if you have a door access emergency during this time, or contact the Student Services Center (515-271-2000 or studentservices@drake.edu) if you have a general card access question or concern.

Happy Holidays!

 —Sara Heijerman, Campus Card Office

For Students Archive

Drake University Social Science Journal accepting submissions

The student editorial board of the Drake University Social Science Journal (DUSSJ) is now accepting submissions for its 17th edition, to be published in the spring. Submissions may be short(er) analytical essays or long(er) research papers, but the board particularly welcomes submissions that display strong analytical and writing skills and offer interesting, original analysis of the author’s chosen topic/field. Any paper that gestures to ideas, claims, and questions of interest and importance to the social sciences (very inclusively understood!) are welcome. Contributions will be blind peer reviewed by a six-member student editorial board.

Submissions are due Feb. 15, 2017, and should be submitted electronically in Word format to advisor.dussj@gmail.com. All questions should be directed to this address, as well. When submitting a paper, please indicate if it is a research paper or short analytic essay. Also, please indicate the primary discipline and any secondary discipline(s). Only one submission per person will be accepted.

Past editions of DUSJJ are available for viewing at http://www.drake.edu/dussj/

—Denise Ganpat, Drake International

News & Achievements Archive

SJMC partners with global Google News Lab

Google has announced an initiative that partners the tech giant with journalism programs around the world, and Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) is part of the initial cohort of 48 institutions. The Google News Lab University network aims to “provide journalism educators with the same level of training and support that we’ve provided to journalists in newsrooms for years.” The partnership will provide SJMC students and faculty with on-campus and online training “on topics ranging from Google tool fundamentals, trust and verification, immersive storytelling, data journalism, advanced search and Google Trends, data visualization, mapping, and more,” according to the news release. The first on-campus training session is scheduled for early February.

—Kathleen Richardson, Dean, SJMC

News & Achievements Archive

Tell Des Moines your thoughts on public transit

Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) recently released the DART Forward 2035 draft plan after receiving considerable public input. Drake employees and students are encouraged to visit dsm2.dartforward2035.com to complete DART’s online survey and weigh in on what you would like to see Des Moines’ public transportation system look like. Your feedback is critical to helping shape the future of public transportation offerings in the region. Feedback is due by Dec. 20.

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Bulldog Applause: ITS

In November, Drake’s All Staff Council Recognition Committee celebrated Drake’s Information Technology Services (ITS) staff with a surprise cookie delivery. We continue the celebration here by spotlighting the department and providing a few fast facts about how they make life at Drake better.

Purpose Statement: “Drake ITS exists to empower Drake University to thrive in a digital world.”

Where they live: The department is spread among several buildings on campus: administration, network infrastructure, and professional services teams are in the Dial Center; campus relations and support center teams are in Carnegie; and the academic technology team is in Meredith Hall. The classroom build team is currently in the old ROTC building, plus each college/school has dedicated techs.

Staff members: 47

Student employees: 26

Longest-serving employee: Senior Solutions Engineer Joe Scavo (since 1983)

Newest team member: Jonathan Walker, Application Developer 2 (Joined in June 2016)

What has ITS been busy with lately? Plenty:

  • Managed Printing—Implemented the new Follow Me printing system
  • Campus wireless upgrade—Replaced obsolete equipment from the campus wireless network with more reliable, higher capacity equipment
  • Technology upgrades in classrooms/Sheslow Auditorium—In August 2015 launched the first phase of a multi-year initiative to upgrade audio/visual technology across campus.
  • Computer life cycle refresh plan—Responsible for slightly over 2,300 computers on campus; just completed the first phase of replacing faculty computers, and gearing up for staff computer replacements.

Kudos to ITS staff for leading the charge to provide and support innovative use of technology, and for helping enhance the Drake experience for students, faculty, and staff.

—All Staff Council Recognition Committee