Over the summer, Drake entered into a partnership with Broadlawns Medical Center to oversee our services for student health and counseling while utilizing existing funds within the Division of Student Affairs.
We are excited about this new arrangement as it will allow us to build additional capacity to meet students’ needs, especially within the critical area of mental health. These services will remain located on the west side of campus in the American Republic Student Health building adjacent to Ross Hall with day-to-day oversight provided by the Dean of Students Office. There is no office charge for students to be seen by student health and counseling.
In regards to our student health team, we are fortunate to have retained our dynamic colleagues led by nurse practitioner Janet Fink. Sandy Corrigan and Mary Beth Olander will continue their services as our registered nurses. Jackie Robinson will remain office manager for both the Student Health and Counseling Centers. I am very proud that this team will continue to serve our students at Drake!
For our counseling center team, Danielle Green was appointed director of counseling services. Working alongside Danielle will be two additional full-time counselors, Karla Mracek and Amber Wilkins. In addition, Drake has given approval to Broadlawns to hire an additional nine-month, part-time counselor with the hopes of an Oct. 1 start date. We are excited to have Danielle, Karla, and Amber on board all while building capacity to meet the growing needs of our students. Learn more about our new staff!
The Continuous Improvement Plan site now features a listing of University initiatives. These initiatives reflect some of the major work underway to fulfill our objectives. Would you like to learn more about what’s going on around campus? Please take a look!
While you are there, you are encouraged to click on the “+” signs around the site to learn how our plan is translated to action.
On Friday, Aug. 30, the Gregory and Suzie Glazer Burt Boys and Girls Club will hold its inaugural Burt Bash, and the Drake campus is invited to clap, cheer, and celebrate the start of the fall semester.
The Burt Boys and Girls Club opens with the start of Des Moines Public School, and for the first week the Burt Club staff will be welcoming new members. The Burt Bash will be the first Club party, and your presence will help kick-off the festivities. Simply show up on the 25th Street sidewalk adjacent to the Burt Club front doors, join the human tunnel, and warm up your welcoming voice. Kids will arrive by bus from their schools in two waves, roughly at 2:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. You are invited to join one or both waves.
The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University and The Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics announced that the Institute has conveyed to Drake University exclusive global rights and responsibilities to maintain and expand the Institute’s CHARACTER COUNTS! character development and Pursuing Victory With Honor build character through sports programs, both domestically and internationally.
The agreement, effective July 1, 2019, was the next step forward of a 22-year collaboration with Drake University which resulted in the highly successful implementation of the CHARACTER COUNTS! and Pursuing Victory With Honor programs in schools and communities across Iowa.
The CHARACTER COUNTS! initiative focuses on the Six Pillars of Character (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship) and was created by the Josephson Institute founder Michael Josephson in 1992. It is currently the country’s largest character development initiative used in thousands of schools, youth organizations and communities, reaching millions of students and their families in the United States and several other countries. CHARACTER COUNTS! has grown to impact schools, families, and entire communities worldwide.
The program was brought to Iowa by the state’s late former Governor Robert D. Ray in 1997. For more than a decade, U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has been the lead author of a bi-partisan resolution that has passed every year since 1993 declaring the third week in October as National CHARACTER COUNTS! week. The CHARACTER COUNTS! initiative has also received bi-partisan support from every Iowa governor since 1997.
In executing the agreement, Michael Josephson, 76, founder and president of the Institute (named for his parents) expressed his warmth towards the partnership CHARACTER COUNTS! and Drake University have formed over the years and continues to form for the future.
“As I approach retirement it was vital for the continued growth and viability of CHARACTER COUNTS! and Pursuing Victory With Honor that we identified an organization with the integrity, passion, experience and resources to be steward of our most prominent and impactful programs,” said Josephson. “Our long experience with Drake University and very positive relations with University President Marty Martin, and The Ray Center executive director, Scott Raecker, made Drake the natural choice and I am proud and enthused that our important work will continue through Drake University and our preeminent partner, The Ray Center.”
Martin echoed Mr. Josephson’s enthusiasm: “As a University we are inspired to transform lives and strengthen communities, in part by promising our students that they will leave Drake as responsible global citizens. Bringing the global license for CHARACTER COUNTS! to The Ray Center and Drake will help advance our core commitment to civil discourse and ethical leadership, while modeling these values to the world.”
“Governor Ray’s initial vision for our work was to enhance civility through character development and he saw CHARACTER COUNTS! as a pathway to positively impact the lives of Iowans,” said Scott Raecker, executive director of The Ray Center at Drake. “We are now privileged to have the opportunity to build upon our success in Iowa as we honor the legacy of Michael Josephson and the Josephson Institute with enhanced worldwide impact.”
As the new global headquarters for CHARACTER COUNTS!, The Ray Center will manage all services, training, licensing, merchandising, and communication for both programs.
The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University is dedicated to promoting civility through character development and ethical leadership. Built on the cornerstone of the Six Pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS!, The Ray Center helps create strong, vibrant communities that value positive, healthy relationships and respectful behavior.
The campus parking rules and regulations are changing for the 2019–2020 school year.
Faculty and staff members can go to the Student Services Center in the lower level of Hubbell Dining to purchase parking passes for the 2019–2020 school year. Passes will be on sale Monday–Friday from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. in the month of July, with the exception of July 4 and 5, when the office will be closed. Staff members who prefer to pay using the payroll deduction method may do so at the office with the attached form. Starting on August 1, online and student sales will open up.
A few things to remember as you look to make your decision on where to park; the changes are designed to accomplish four key goals:
o to provide a more predictable parking experience
o to ensure adequate parking, evenly distributed across campus
o to advance the pedestrian friendly nature of campus
o to enhance the visitor parking experience.
The primary change is that when purchasing a parking tag, you will have the option to select a designated zone. A commuter hang tag will be issued for each zone. When parking, you are restricted to your designated zone.
§ Zone 4 – Orange – Commuter Lots East of 27th St.
§ Zone 5 – Purple – Commuter Lots West of 27th St.
It is important to remember that the Tier 1 Commuter Zones will be strictly enforced Monday–Friday from 6 a.m.–4:30 p.m. After 4:30 p.m. the Tier 1 zones will open up to anyone with a University Commuter Permit. Any cars parked in Tier I lots without the appropriate permit may be towed. It is also important to remember that unless specified, a parking permit is always required to park in a Drake owned lot, regardless of time of day.
Finally, please note the following dates when the Olmsted Parking lot will be closed for University events in the fall semester. On the dates listed Olmsted parking permits will be honored in all commuter lots with the exception of Lot 13 (Red) and Lots 18N&S (Green).
Construction on a new, fully-licensed Starbucks in Olmsted will take place this summer with plans for a grand opening at the beginning of the fall 2019 semester.
The new Starbucks is expected to offer a full range of Starbucks items, including Starbucks-branded food, drinks, and merchandise. This means an expanded drink and food menu from the current Olmsted Coffee Shop offerings. In addition, the new Starbucks will honor Starbucks gift cards, and customers can earn Starbucks Rewards on purchases. Another benefit is that it will be open on the weekends.
Starbucks will take the place of the Olmsted Coffee Shop, which currently sells Starbucks brand coffee and is licensed to make some official Starbucks drinks. The new coffee shop will no longer offer Oasis smoothies, and the current selection of bakery items will change to Starbucks menu items. The new Starbucks is part of an ongoing plan by Drake Dining (operated by Sodexo) to enhance the on-campus retail dining options. The decision to offer a fully-licensed Starbucks was informed by student surveys and in-person focus groups. More details on the project will be shared over the coming months.
As we reach the end of another successful academic year, I want to share with you some reflections on the past year from an ITS perspective.
The end of this spring semester coincides with the successful completion of one of the most complex and extensive IT infrastructure projects undertaken during my tenure as Chief Information Technology Officer. The infrastructure team successfully moved Drake’s Internet service from a single provider to two separate Internet connections provided by two different companies. Additionally, they moved the disaster recovery data center from its previous location in Shakopee, Minnesota to Kansas City, Kansas. By doing so, the University has increased reliability, doubled Internet bandwidth, and reduced annual costs by 40%. Unless you were paying close attention to OnCampus, you were likely unaware of any changes because it happened with zero interruptions to service. It was carefully planned and well executed, and I hope if you see members of this team, you will take a few minutes to congratulate them on a job well done.
We have completed a number of other successful projects over the past year, both large and small. These include the transition from Banner 8 to Banner 9, integration between HireTouch and Banner, the launch of the myDrake portal, improvements to student address collection, the deployment of the Starfish student success platform, the launch of online benefits management, and the ongoing rollout of Microsoft Teams to departments across campus. The success of these initiatives demonstrates the impact that effective project management and collaborative teamwork across campus can have on empowering Drake University to deliver on its mission. Our project teams, made up of ITS staff and campus partners, ensured that these projects met their budgets and schedules, and delivered on their promised outcomes.
It has also been a year of challenges and opportunities around information security. 2018 began with multiple successful phishing attacks on the University that reminded us of the sophistication of information thieves and the necessity of working together to protect our community’s confidential information. I’m pleased to report that, through our collective action, our data is dramatically better protected today than it was a year ago. Two-factor authentication is now being used by all faculty and staff across campus—a major accomplishment for all of us.
We continue to look for ways to improve protection of critical data. This year we are conducting disaster recovery tests on Banner and other critical systems as part of our routine maintenance. By regularly assessing our recovery processes we become better prepared to move quickly to restore critical services in the event of a major event affecting our main data center.
Finally, I want to return to the results of last fall’s Survey of Administrative Services. The results from the past three years show steadily increasing overall satisfaction with ITS services. I’m grateful that you recognize the hard work the ITS team is putting in toward improving service and I commit that we will not slow down. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we are dedicated to identifying areas of weakness and working to improve them. I welcome your ongoing input and constructive feedback on how we might more effectively serve the University, our students, and you.
In order to improve the campus parking experience for faculty, staff, students, and visitors, Drake will implement a new parking structure and rates beginning in the fall 2019 semester.
Effective Aug. 1, 2019, parking lots on campus will be divided into seven, color-coded zones. Commuter lots will include Lot 16: Olmsted (yellow), Lot 13: Wifet Plaza (red), Lots 18 and 18N (green), lots east of 27th Street (orange), and lots west of 27th Street (grape). View map.
Commuter lots will also be divided into two payment tiers. Parking permits for the 2019-20 academic year will cost $250 for high-demand zones (yellow, red, and green). While low-demand, peripheral-campus zones (orange and grape) will cost $125. Campus members will have the option of purchasing a parking permit within the zone of their choice, and based on their desired price point.
Pricing for 2019-20 parking permits was carefully determined following a third-party, comprehensive study, which measured parking trends, usage, and future demand. The study revealed that even after the removal of three parking lots due to construction, there remains adequate campus parking (more spots than permit holders). The new zone system is designed to provide a more predictable parking experience for the Drake community and evenly distribute parking across campus.
Those who register for a parking permit next fall will receive a hang-tag that corresponds with their designated parking zone. On Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., commuters will be required to park in their assigned zone. Those who park in lots other than their designated zone may be ticketed.
Residential parkers, as in the past, will be assigned to a residential lot (blue). View Map. Residential students are strongly encouraged not to bring a car to campus and instead walk, bike, take a DART bus, or rent a car through the Enterprise car-sharing program, WeCar. WeCar vehicles are parked at dedicated spots near campus, and members can rent a vehicle anytime and then return it to where they picked it up.
The University hopes the new parking regulations will advance Drake’s sustainability efforts by increasing the use of alternative modes of transportation. In addition to WeCar, alternative transportation options include free DART bus rides (with Drake ID) all over Des Moines and a discounted rate to ride BCycle bicycles. There are four BCycle stations close to campus; bikes are $3 per trip or $20 per year with unlimited 60-minute rides.
For questions regarding the new parking rates and structure, view an FAQ or visit the Public Safety web page. Questions may also be directed to Scott Law, executive director campus public safety and operational services, at scott.law@drake.edu.
— Scott Law, Executive Director Campus Public Safety & Operational Services
Thank you to the many members of the Drake community who either submitted or assisted in the creation of a Big Idea.
More than 50 submissions were received and reviewed by the Big Ideas Steering Committee. Next month the proposals will proceed to the Board of Trustees for additional review and discussion. Following the April Board meeting, select Big Ideas will be further developed and tested for external funding feasibility, as the University gears up for its next comprehensive fundraising campaign.
As the process progresses, the Big Ideas Steering Committee and University Advancement will keep the campus informed on what ideas are selected to move forward.
I sincerely want to thank the members of the Steering Committee for their time and diligence in scoring the ideas, and for their strategic leadership throughout this process.
Together, as a campus, these forward-thinking, interdisciplinary ideas will strengthen the University and positively impact the world.
John Smith, Vice President, University Advancement
Thank you to everyone who completed the Great Colleges To Work For survey. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. The survey closed yesterday, and I am pleased to announce that we had 62% participation. A summary of the results will be shared with the campus in early summer.
