Category Archives: Archive

For Faculty Archive

Faculty notes from the Associate Provost (Jan. 25)

2017 on-campus J-Term scheduling will begin soon:
Schools and colleges will begin creating the 2017 on-campus J-Term schedule early in the spring semester. If you do schedule a J-Term class, please also send that information to me at arthur.sanders@drake.edu so that we can post the information on the J-Term website. Also, if you have questions about J-Term classes, please feel free to contact me.

First Year Seminar requests are due Feb. 5:
If you would like to offer an FYS in the fall of 2016, please fill out the FYS request form on the FYS Resource website. The course submission form is at the bottom of the page, which also includes other resources you might find useful, including syllabi from previous FYS classes. Please fill this out even if you are a full-time faculty member who is teaching FYS as part of your regular teaching load. Note that if you have taught the particular FYS you are proposing since 2012, you will not need to provide any information except for your time preferences.

Drake Research Grants and Undergraduate Assistantship Program applications due in dean’s offices by Feb. 5:
Applications for 2016–2017 Drake Research Grants (DRG) and 2016–2017 Undergraduate Assistantship Program (UGA) are due in the office of your dean by Friday, Feb. 5. Deans will provide their comments and ranking to my office by Monday, Feb. 15. For information about the DRG and UGA programs, go to the Faculty Development Grant website. You will find information about the DRG and UGA programs, an FAQ about all of the grant programs run through the Provost’s Office, and the forms you need to submit the grant applications. If you have questions, please contact me.

—Art Sanders, Associate Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

Levitt Mentor of the Year Award

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

To Drake faculty, staff, and students:

In 1994, the Madelyn Levitt Mentor Award was created in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake and her ongoing interest in faculty and staff achievement and academic excellence. Each year this award recognizes commitment to student success on the Drake campus by honoring a member of the Drake University faculty or staff for excellence in advising and mentoring of students.

You are invited this year to nominate a faculty or staff member for this prestigious award.

Process:

  1. A letter of nomination should be submitted recommending an individual for the award and explaining the context and manner in which the nominator has come to know the faculty or staff member. This letter should speak to the following qualifications:
    • An outstanding commitment to student success in and out of the classroom in support of the Drake mission
    • Integrity in personal relationships
    • Typifying the ideal student mentor by providing for students the support they need to graduate and move forward to live productive, fulfilling lives.

    The nominee must be a faculty or staff member in at least her/his fourth year of service at the University. The nominee cannot have won this award within the past five years.

    The letter is due to Associate Provost Art Sanders, no later than Feb. 15. The letter should be sent as an attachment to arthur.sanders@drake.edu.

  2. The nominated individual is notified by the Provost’s Office of her/his nomination and asked of her/his willingness to be considered.
  3.  At the nominee’s acceptance, the nominator is asked to collect the following supporting material and submit it to the Provost’s Office by March 11: a curriculum vitae or resume, a minimum of one other letter supporting the nomination, and a description by the nominee of activities which illustrate her/his mentoring/advising involvement. At least one of the letters must be from a current student and there may be no more than five letters supporting the nomination. Electronic submission of materials is required. Send all documents to cherie.moen@drake.edu.
  4. A screening committee, appointed by the provost, will review all nominations and make appropriate recommendations to the provost.

Any individual who was initially nominated for the award in 2014 or 2015 may be re-nominated if the nominator resubmits a letter offering the individual for consideration this year. Files of previous nominees are maintained for two years. In the case of re-nomination, the nominator will be invited to review the file to ensure that the nomination is as current as possible. The limit of five letters of support, including one from a current student, also applies to re-nominations.

The 2016 recipient of the Madelyn Levitt Mentor Award will be announced at one of the spring 2016 commencements.

Additional information is available here.

—Art Sanders, Associate Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

Levitt Teacher of the Year Award

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:

Drake faculty, staff, and students:

In 1994, the Madelyn Levitt Teacher of the Year Award was created in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake and her ongoing interest in faculty achievement and academic excellence. Each year a member of the Drake University faculty is honored with this award for his or her teaching excellence.

You are invited at this time to nominate a faculty member for this prestigious award.

Process:

  1. A letter of nomination should be submitted recommending an individual faculty member for the award and explaining the context and manner in which the nominator has come to know the faculty member. This letter should speak to the following qualifications:• An informed mind in inspirational dialogue with students
    • Integrity in personal relationships
    • Rigor in intellectual endeavors
    • Contagious enthusiasm for her/his subject matterA nominee must be a faculty member holding the rank of instructor or above and in at least her/his fourth academic year of service and cannot have won this award within the past five years.

    The letter should be sent as an attachment to Associate Provost Arthur Sanders at arthur.sanders@drake.edu no later than Feb. 15.

  2. The nominated individual is notified by the Provost’s Office of her/his nomination and asked of her/his willingness to be considered.
  3. At the nominee’s acceptance, the nominator is asked to collect the following supporting material and submit them electronically to the Provost’s Office by March 11: a curriculum vitae; a short statement, by the nominee, of educational philosophy or about methods of teaching; and teaching evaluations for the nominee for the previous two semesters. In addition to these items, a minimum of one additional letter supporting the nomination must be submitted. At least one letter of support must be from a current student and at least one letter of support must come from a faculty member, and there may be no more than five letters including the nomination letter and letters supporting the nomination. Electronic submission of materials is required. Send all documents to cherie.moen@drake.edu.
  4. A screening committee, appointed by the provost, will review all nominations and make appropriate recommendations to the provost. The committee will include previous recipients of the award.

Any individual who was nominated for the award in 2014 or 2015 may be re-nominated if the nominator resubmits a letter offering the individual for consideration this year. Files of previous nominees are maintained for two years. If a faculty member is re-nominated, the nominator will be invited to review the file from the previous year to ensure that the nomination is as current as possible. The limit of five letters of support, including one from a current student, also applies to re-nominations.

The 2016 recipient of the Madelyn Levitt Teacher of the Year Award will be announced at one of the spring 2016 commencements.

Additional information is available here.

—Art Sanders, Associate Provost

Campus Announcements Archive

CNN Town Hall today

Today, Jan. 25, Drake will host the CNN Democratic Presidential Candidate Town Hall in Sheslow Auditorium, which will be broadcast live. This event provides an excellent opportunity for Drake to once again be featured as a leading center of political discourse and deliberation.

As a campus community, we will be in the national spotlight, offering us a chance to demonstrate our collective commitment to respectful and civil discussion of current events and public policy issues. In addition to CNN, we will have hundreds of national and international media outlets on campus. Please be aware that your words and actions reflect on the Drake community as a whole.

The Town Hall will affect a number of spaces on campus, as detailed below.

Parking
Today, Lot 16 (Olmsted parking lot) will be reserved for those attending the forum. In addition, a few parking spaces in Lot 13 (just south of Forest Avenue by Wifvat Plaza) will be reserved for satellite trucks.

Street Closures
From 2 p.m. today until midnight, the following streets will be closed to traffic:

  • 25th Street, between University Avenue and Carpenter Avenue (including the west sidewalk, which will be closed to pedestrians)
  • Carpenter Avenue between 25th and 27th

Building Access
Beginning at 2 p.m. today a number of buildings will be accessible only to those with approved credentials:

  • Old Main will require credentials beginning at 2 p.m. All personnel will be required to leave the building by this time.
  • Sheslow Auditorium will require credentials all day on Monday.
  • Howard Hall will be closed at 2 p.m. on Monday.

We apologize for any inconvenience and urge you to plan accordingly.

—Joe Lenz, Interim Provost

Strategic Updates Archive

Coffee and construction

Plan to attend the second STEM@DRAKE Construction Open House on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 8:15 a.m., in Olmsted Center, Pomerantz Stage area. Come learn more about plans for construction of the School of Education and Math and Computer Science facility and the new Science Connector building. Site plans, what to expect during the construction process, tree removal, fencing, and plans for 27th Street will all be discussed. Construction team members as well as members of the University Steering Team will be on hand to answer questions. A brief project overview will be presented at 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. Light refreshments will be served.

—Submitted by Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

News & Achievements Archive

Nelson Institute Global Pressing Issues Grants awarded

The Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs at Drake announces its financial support for two interdisciplinary faculty-student research projects to enhance Drake’s involvement in addressing pressing global issues.

  • “Assessing, Collaborating, and Empowering to Improve Water Quality in Rural Uganda,” seeks to address water quality, as well as education and behavior impacting water quality.
  • “Transnational Des Moines: Reframing Des Moines Immigrant and Refugee Narratives through Collaborative Research with Youth,” seeks to better understand the transnational immigrant and refugee experience in Des Moines. Both projects will be funded over a two-year period (2016–2018).

Assessing, Collaborating, and Empowering to Improve Water Quality in Rural Uganda
Water quality is a pressing global issue that affects many aspects of daily life including health, education, and finances. The purpose of this project is to conduct a needs assessment and implement appropriate interventions to improve the utilization of clean water in rural Uganda. The project focuses on Kikandwa, a rural community of approximately 100,000 people located in central Uganda. Its primary water source is a borehole, with local springs and catchment tanks to collect rainwater as secondary sources. The project also will educate and engage the Drake community in addressing water quality issues and will serve as a template for research projects outside of Uganda.

The interdisciplinary research team is comprised of the following faculty and students in Health Sciences, Environmental Science, Finance, and History:

  • Cassity Gutierrez, Associate Professor of Health Sciences and Director of Pre-Professional Programs
  • Jimmy Senteza, Associate Professor of Finance and Chair of the Department of Economics and Finance
  • David Courard-Hauri, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Policy (ENSP) and Chair of ENSP
  • Amahia Mallea, environmental historian and Associate Professor of History
  • Peter Levi, fresh water ecologist and Assistant Professor in Environmental Science and Policy
  • Karli Kisch, Psychology major and Biology minor with a concentration in Global and Comparative Public Health
  • Hayley LeBlanc, Neuroscience and Psychology double major
  • Megan Lindmark, Environmental Science major with a concentration in Global and Comparative Public Health
  • Augusta Weide, International Business and Finance joint major with a concentration in Management.


Transnational Des Moines: Reframing Des Moines Immigrant and Refugee Narratives through Collaborative Research with Youth
This qualitative research project will offer knowledge-production, collaboration, and change pertaining to the transnational immigrant and refugee experience in Des Moines. This project will seek to document and theorize knowledge from the perspective of immigrant and refugee actors themselves. It will use an asset-based community development approach that recognizes the capacity of transnational peoples and their associations to contribute to the city’s wellbeing. It will assert a new discourse that creates alternatives to age-hierarchical ways of understanding migrant and refugee communities (and indeed, most collectives) through centering youth and elders as key stakeholders, knowledge holders, and social change agents in building the future of Des Moines.

In addition to students who will be invited to join the project, the interdisciplinary research team includes the following professors:

  • Lourdes Guitérrez Nájera, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
  • Kevin Lam, Assistant Professor of Urban and Diversity Education
  • Darcie Vandegrift, Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair in the Department for the Study of Culture and Society

The Rolland and Mary Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs at Drake provides in-depth international knowledge and experiences for select students who wish to pursue careers in international public affairs. The Nelson Institute was established in 2012 with a gift from Rolland and Mary Nelson, founders of Kemin Industries.

—Submitted by Denise Ganpat, Administrative Assistant 2

HR Information Archive

January service anniversaries

Congratulations to the following full-time faculty and staff celebrating service anniversaries this month!

Mawuenya Amegan, Head Start
Linda Anderzhon, Alumni and Development
Heidi Ball, Head Start
Danny Beaty, Facility Services
Amy Beller, Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement
Donna Blunck, Finance and Administration
Kelsey Bolton, Psychology
Doris Brunnette, Vocational Rehabilitation
Rosa Castro, Facility Services
Stephen Flynn, Athletics
Ricky Fox, Athletics
Alice Fynaardt, Biology
Bruce Gilbert, Library Systems
Mark Harrington, Facility Services
Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center
LaRhee Henderson, Chemistry
Carla Herling, DTS
Laura Juarez, Head Start
Marcia Keyser, Public Service
Kerry King, Student Life
Teresa Koch, Cowles Library
Kimberly Lammers, Dean of Students
Tonia Land, School of Education
Pramod Mahajan, Pharmaceutical, Biomedical, and Administrative Sciences
JoBeth Malone-Schoneberg, Chemistry
Carlyn Marron, International Programs
Davee Matlock, International Programs
Ismeta Mehanovic, Facility Services
Claudia Murphy, Head Start
Kristine Plagman, Controller’s Office
John Pole, Athletics
Lucia Ramirez, Facility Services
Jennifer Rhoads, Head Start
Beth Schoening-Hudson, Dean’s Office, Pharmacy
Kathryn Schott, Experiential Programs
Rachelle Setsodi, Undergraduate Admission
Amy Smit, Ray Center
Robert Stensrud, Vocational Rehabilitation
Denise Stowman, Student Financial Planning
Austin Strawhacker, Athletics
Deborah Sulzbach, Law Library
Terrence Thames, Athletics
Bradley Toussaint, DTS
Nicholas Valdez, Public Safety
Thomas Westbrook, Arts and Sciences
Alyssa Young, University Communications

—Submitted by Laura Schwarz, Human Resources

Campus Announcements Archive

Purchasing printer paper

Paper for printing and copying is included in the per impression charges for the multi-functional devices (MFD) and printers on Drake’s campus. So when you order paper from OfficeMax/Depot for these machines, please use FOAPAL 100000-4820-70000-206, rather than your individual department number. We have included common white paper sizes as well as popular 20# colored paper on the Sustainable Print Program Shopping List for Drake, found on the OfficeMax site (see instructions below). If you require special paper that is not on this list, please use your department budget FOAPAL number.

To order paper from the approved list, go to www.officemaxsolutions.com and click on:

  1. “Create New Office Product Order”
  2. “Continue”
  3. “Shopping Lists” (should just pop up but if not, click on “Shopping Lists”)
  4.  “Sustainable Print Program Paper”
  5.  Triangle on the “FOAPAL 21 Digits for this Order” drop down
  6. Choose FOAPAL 100000-4820-70000-206, or type it in

Please review these processes with others in your area who order paper. Thank you.

—Submitted by Caron Findlay, Director, Purchasing and Business Services