There is a group of Young African Leaders (www.drake.edu/yali) on campus for a six-week Leadership experience through Drake International and the Zimpleman College of Business. These Fellows have been busy touring area businesses, doing community service, learning about leadership, and working with mentors as they’ve spent their time here in Iowa. It’s been an amazing five weeks so far!
As the final week of the Fellowship approaches, we invite you to our Farewell Celebration on Wednesday, July 24, at 4 p.m. at the Turner Jazz Center. This will be an excellent event for final connections and to send off the Fellows before they travel to Washington D.C. We hope to see you there.
Please join us for the 2024 Learning Symposium on Tuesday, Aug. 20. At this year’s Learning Symposium, we will explore the array of possibilities laid out by recent innovations in generative AI.
A variety of breakout sessions will investigate potential uses for AI both in and out of the classroom, and give attendees the skills needed to start on the path toward building their own custom GPTs for personal or professional use. When registering for the event, please indicate which two breakout sessions you will attend.
Lunch will be provided by two food trucks; Hotsy Totsy and the Big Red Food Truck A voucher for an entrée and beverage will be provided to all Symposium attendees.
We are excited to offer this year’s Learning Symposium as a wonderful opportunity for building new skills and creating community. As with all campus events and activities, we ask managers to actively encourage their employees to consider attending!
As excitement builds for the Paris 2024 Olympics, so does the risk of consumer scams targeting eager spectators. Here are some common scams to watch out for:
Fake Ticket Websites: Sophisticated websites mimic the official Olympic ticketing site and often use keywords like “Paris,” “Olympics,” or “2024” to appear legitimate. Victims pay for tickets that don’t exist, losing both money and the chance to attend events.
Phishing Scams: Emails appear to come from official Olympic sources and redirect recipients to fake websites designed to steal personal information, such as passwords and credit card details.
Fake Streaming Websites: Fraudulent websites claiming to stream the Olympic games may trick people into sharing their personal data. These websites use suspicious domain names and ask users to input their credit card information, claiming it won’t be charged. The scammers use this information to make fraudulent online purchases and potentially distribute or sell it on the dark web.
Unauthorized Streaming Services: NBCUniversal has announced all 2024 Olympics events will be officially streamed live on Peacock. Scammers may create unauthorized streaming services to mimic Peacock and offer unbelievable deals or claim to provide exclusive content to lure in victims.
To protect yourself from these scams, only use trusted sources to stream or make purchases related to the Olympics. Be wary of any service asking for personal information or credit card details, and always check the legitimacy of a website before making purchases.
Remain vigilant and use trusted sources to protect against scams. Stay tuned, stay safe, and enjoy the games!
If you have questions, contact us by submitting a ticket though the ITS service portal (service.drake.edu/its) or by calling the Support Center at 515-271-3001.
ITS staff are happy to share that the updated SPSS 29.0.2 licensing for 2024 is now available. To request the download and license to update your software, submit a Software Request ticket through the ITS service portal. ITS staff will respond with the license code and assist you in updating your software.
If you have any additional questions, contact us by submitting a ticket though the ITS service portal at service.drake.edu/its, visiting us in lower level Carnegie Hall, or by calling the Support Center at 515-271-3001.
You’re invited to celebrate Griff II’s sixth birthday on Saturday, July 13, from 1–3 p.m. at Black Cat Ice Cream!
Join your Dog for some birthday cake ice cream and photos. Black Cat Ice Cream is located at 2511 Cottage Grove Avenue in Des Moines.
Instead of gifts, consider bringing non-perishable food and/or hygiene products to help Griff II restock the Little Free Pantries in the Drake Neighborhood. Griff II can’t wait to see you there!
— Erin Bell, University Communications and Marketing
Despite several legal challenges, the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) new Final Rule took effect July 1. It remains a question as to whether the January salary threshold will hold—as the legal challenges remain on-going.
For purposes of the increased July 1 salary threshold, around 23 filled and three vacant positions were impacted. Some of those impacted were converted to hourly employees. A few were given the modest salary increases needed to maintain exempt status.
If the January 1 salary increase survives the legal challenges, that list of impacted staff will be much longer. A reassessment of that list and the anticipated decisions will be completed in the fall when there is more certainty about the implementation.
We will maintain the FLSA Update page as we move toward January 1.
Staff Leave Policies
Thank you to those of you who made time to review the revised Staff Sick Leave and Vacation Policies that were posted on the Policy Development page in June. As shared, those revisions were prompted by anticipated changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act, resulting in more hourly (non-exempt) staff at Drake.
Our goal was to equalize vacation time, especially for those staff who may be reclassified from salaried (exempt) to hourly (non-exempt). We appreciate both the praise and the constructive criticism we received on this change. Ultimately, we believe this is the right change to make at this time—even if rushed a bit due to the anticipated changes to federal regulations.
Effective July 1, this is the new vacation allotment chart for vacation-eligible employees:
Employees Years of Service
Annual Vacation Allotment
0-14 Years
160 hours
15+ Years
200 hours
We also made some updates to the sick leave policy to clarify appropriate use of this leave for routine visits and check-ups—a change that seemed to be welcomed by everyone. We did not have any proposed edits to the Personal Time Policy, so it remains in effect and unchanged. The updated Sick Leave and Vacation policies are posted in the HR section of the Policy Library.
If you are unsure about how or when to request time off, please speak with your manager, as Departments may appropriately adopt (or update) procedures for requesting time off.
Leave allotments for Fiscal Year 2025 will appear in your Employee Dashboard by July 31.
— Maureen De Armond & Debra Wiley, Human Resources
We are excited to continue the planning and work to welcome our 2024 incoming first-year students. Move-in day is an exciting and energy filled day on our campus.
We invite you to join us on Wednesday, Aug. 21, between 8 a.m.–4 p.m. to sign up as a member of our Move-In Crew.
Shifts are available in two-hour increments. You may sign up for as many as you wish. Move-In Crew shirts will be available on the 21st, but we also welcome you to wear your Drake gear or something that promotes the club/organization you are involved in.
We will have prizes for the department and club/organization with the most members signed up and in attendance.
Parking passes for the 2024–2025 academic year are now available for purchase. You can purchase a pass on the Public Safety website (www.drake.edu/publicsafety/parking).
Please note that a successful registration will result in a confirmation email immediately after your purchase from the Drake Workflow account. Please double check that you received a confirmation email.
You’ll receive a second email once the parking pass is ready to pick up at Student Services in Olmsted from studentservices@drake.edu.
Please email studentservices@drake.edu if you’d like us to confirm your parking purchase, or if you have any additional parking questions.
The Drake community is invited to tune in June 26 at 12 p.m. for an exclusive Everclass session featuring Brendan Daly, AS’97, a seasoned NFL coach with six Super Bowl rings and nearly two decades of experience. As a Drake University alum and current linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Daly has been a key figure behind the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2023 and 2024.
The session will be moderated by Michael Admire, the ‘Voice of the Bulldogs’ and Drake’s Director of Broadcasting. Register and attend via Zoom.
— Bruce Heintz, University Communications and Marketing
Drake University Law School is pleased to announce the new Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic, Colleen Cullen. Professor Cullen will bring a strong background of both teaching and criminal law practice to Drake Law School.
Professor Cullen previously served as a fellow in the Criminal Defense Clinic at the University of Denver and has experience both as a student in Georgetown’s Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic and as an Assistant State Public Defender at the Wisconsin State Public Defender where she handled a wide range of criminal matters.
“We are very excited to welcome Colleen Cullen to Drake as the next director of the Criminal Defense Clinic,” said Professor Suzan Pritchett, Director of Clinical and Experiential Education. “Professor Cullen brings to Drake a wealth of experience in criminal defense practice as well as a strong pedagogical approach to clinical teaching. She is producing cutting edge scholarship and will continue to build on Drake’s strong tradition of helping students develop core lawyering skills through the direct representation of clients in Iowa’s criminal legal system.”
While at the University of Denver’s Criminal Defense Clinic, Professor Cullen directly supervised eight student attorneys per semester who represent indigent individuals in criminal cases in state and municipal courts in Colorado.
Professor Cullen’s appointment underscores Drake Law School’s commitment to providing its students with exceptional educational opportunities and maintaining its leadership in clinical legal education. Drake Law looks forward to the continued growth and success of the Criminal Defense Clinic under her guidance.
