The University is currently experiencing a rise in reported cases of COVID-19 among our student population. As of this morning, we are aware of 76 confirmed student cases, 29 of whom are isolating in Ross Hall.

Here are eight reminders and resources to keep in mind to help prevent further spread:

• Follow CDC Guidelines. We encourage all students, faculty, and staff to follow CDC guidelines, including staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination.
• Free Test Kits. Rapid, self-administered COVID-19 tests are available for free to all students, faculty, and staff in the Student Services Center in Olmsted.
• Exposure. If you were exposed to someone who has tested positive, you should wear a mask while around others and monitor for symptoms.
• COVID-19 Positive. If you tested positive or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, you should refrain from attending classes or other activities in person and wear a mask while around others.
• Student Reporting. Students should report positive COVID-19 test results through the notification form found on this page. Completing the form will provide more information about our COVID-19 protocols.
• Employee Reporting. Faculty and staff should report positive test results by emailing ehs@drake.edu.
• Finals Week. Students who test positive and isolate are still responsible for completing final assignments and exams and should work with their professors to coordinate the best method to do so. 
• Isolation. Residential students who test positive are welcome to isolate at home or in Ross Hall. Students isolating in Ross Hall may be assigned a roommate with a shared bathroom. Additional details are included in the form.

Thank you for your continued vigilance in keeping our community a safe and healthy place to live, learn, and work as we close out the academic year.

— Jerry Parker, Chief Student Affairs Officer

The Great Colleges to Work For (GCTWF) survey is back! Today (March 21), all full-time faculty and staff should have received an email invitation to participate from Great Colleges with the subject line “2023 Drake University Great Colleges to Work For Survey.”

What is the Great Colleges to Work For survey? 

The Great Colleges to Work For survey is the primary employee survey used by the University to gather feedback on our workplace culture. The survey is administered by ModernThink, a management-consulting firm focusing on workplace quality in higher education.  More information about the Great Colleges to Work For survey is available at greatcollegesprogram.com. 

Why should I participate? 

Your voice matters and your responses help the University identify opportunities to improve workplace satisfaction and engagement. Your responses provide valuable insight into employee opinions and needs. Overall responses are reviewed to identify actionable areas for improvement over the next year. Last year, 65% percent of all full-time faculty and staff responded to the survey. This year, we are aiming for a 67% response rate. The higher the response rate, the more accurate and complete the results.  

Is participation mandatory? 

Participation is voluntary, although we do hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to share your feedback and make sure your voice is heard. A high response rate will help ensure an accurate representation of employee perspectives. 

Are my responses confidential? 

By having a third-party provider facilitate the survey process, your participation and the feedback you provide will be completely anonymous. No one at Drake will be able to trace results back to individuals. Drake will receive reports summarizing the results, but will not have access to any individual response data. Furthermore, ModernThink does not report back results for areas that have less than five respondents. Learn more by reading the  Statement of Confidentiality. 

When and how do I participate? 

The 2023 survey period begins Tuesday, March 21, and ends Tuesday, April 4. The survey is administered online by ModernThink. Full-time faculty and staff will receive an email invitation to participate in the survey from ModernThink on March 21. 

How long will it take to complete the survey? 

It typically takes about 10-15 minutes to complete the survey depending on the amount of feedback you provide. 

How is the data used and will the results be shared? 

Consistent with past practice, a summary of the university survey results will be shared with employees and will be used to identify our strengths and opportunities for improvement. All of our units on campus, with greater than five employees, will also have results shared with that unit-leader. Several key measures and targets in the University’s continuous improvement plan (CIP), and in many unit-level CIP’s, are tied directly to feedback from the survey. ModernThink also provides valuable benchmark data that we can use to compare our results against other similar institutions. This information helps senior leaders and individual units can make informed, strategic decisions about improving our culture. 

Can I complete the survey during work hours? 

Yes. Faculty and staff are encouraged to complete the survey during working hours. Completing the survey is an important contribution that you can make to strengthen our campus community. 

For further questions, contact Nate Reagen or Maureen De Armond.   

Thanks for your support in advance! 

— Nate Reagen, Office of the President; Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

The All In 24-Hour Giving Challenge is our opportunity to support, share, and celebrate everything that makes this University and our students exceptional. For the past nine years, the Drake community has come together in inspirational ways to go All In for this University. This year, as we mark our 10^th All In, we are excited to announce an overall matching challenge: if we reach our goal of 1,250 gifts, we will unlock $110,000 for Drake!   

In addition to the overall match, there are also tens of thousands of incentives available with specific challenges for each college and school, athletics, fine arts, students, first-time donors, and more. A gift of any amount, to any area, will be doubled or even tripled through these generous matching opportunities. When you support Drake during All In, you are embracing and empowering the innovations, connections, achievements, and opportunities that happen here each day. 

New this year for Drake faculty and staff:

• In celebration of your support to All In, Griff II wants to honor faculty and staff. Departments with a participation rate of 75% or higher will be entered into a drawing for one of two prizes:
  
  1. Professional headshots with Griff II
  2. Treats delivered by Griff II to your department

• Any Drake faculty or staff member that makes a gift during All In will be entered into a drawing for a free parking pass for Commuter Tier II Parking Lots (valued at $125).

• When you make a gift to the area that means the most to you, Vice President for University Advancement, John Smith, AS’92, GR’00 and, Mary Kay Smith, AS’91, GR’07, will match your gifts up to $4,500. John and Mary Kay are also proud Drake parents of a 2021 graduate. 

Join your fellow faculty and staff and go All In for our Bulldog community March 2–3. Learn more at drake.edu/allin and follow all the fun and excitement on the Drake University and Drake Alumni social media channels.

Reach out with questions to Laura Roling, director of annual giving, at laura.roling@drake.edu.

— Laura Roling, University Advancement

In addition to the welcome message from Provost Mattison below, we wanted to share a few fun facts and personal preferences about new Interim Dean of Admission Tim Albers that you won’t find on his LinkedIn page.

1. Hometown? I was born in Pekin, Ill., but moved to Colorado when I was four years old and grew up in Salida, Colo.
2. Coffee, tea, or juice?  COFFEE!!!
3. Summer or winter?  Fall
4. PC or Mac? Android or Apple?  PC and Android! (I have an iPhone because my family members are iPhone folks)
5. Favorite food? Mexican food of any kind and Japanese hibachi
6. Favorite vacation/place you’ve visited?  I loved Hawaii (north shore Oahu) but hated the flight there and back!
7. Dog or cat person (keep in mind Griff II is reading this)? Bulldog, of course
8. Favorite thing about Drake or Des Moines so far? The people! I am impressed by the staff and faculty I’ve met, and I had a chance to watch alums at the Drake Diner after the basketball game on Saturday. I really enjoyed “eavesdropping” on some nearby conversations. The love folks have for Drake is impressive.
9. Early riser or night owl? Night Owl
10. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? I enjoy working on my cars. I also like snowshoeing and going to sporting events
11. Most admired person? Abraham Lincoln. Read the book “Lincoln on Leadership”
12. Best concert or favorite band? Best concert was Willie Nelson; Favorite Band is Boston (am I allowed to admit that?)
13. You have a degree in mining engineering. Why this major? I grew up in the mountains in Colorado and fell in love with the mega-sized equipment that mines use, and the complicated processes to process ores. 

A few words from Tim:

“I am thrilled to join Drake University! As the Interim Dean of Admission, I’m honored and excited to work with the great admissions, financial aid, and marketing teams already in place at Drake. I will work to make sure that the strategies and efforts already in place will continue successfully. I am also thrilled to be part of a university with a strong reputation and with so much to offer to its students, alumni, staff and faculty.”

A welcome message from Provost Mattison

I am writing to formally welcome Tim Albers as Interim Dean of Admission. Tim is filling the role of Annie Kremer who has decided to leave Drake after 6.5 years of dedicated and exemplary service. Tim officially began his duties yesterday and will serve in his role until a permanent Dean of Admission is in place.

Tim has more than 20 years of experience in undergraduate admissions and has a passion for developing and implementing strategic plans that increase enrollment and improve retention. Tim comes to Drake from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota—one of our peer institutions—where he served as Vice Provost for Enrollment Management. In this role, he supervised undergraduate and graduate admissions, financial aid, registrar, student central services, and enrollment operations.

He is no stranger to the enrollment challenges facing traditional campuses across the country. While at Saint Mary’s, Tim chaired the Presidential Enrollment Council to address current enrollment issues and spearheaded several new initiatives around transfer credit programming and retention.

Throughout his career, Tim has demonstrated his commitment to diversity, equity, and access for all. Prior to Saint Mary’s, Tim served at Missouri University of Science and Technology for six years as the Director of Recruitment Marketing and Enrollment Development and then later as the Dean for Enrollment Management. It was here that he focused on improving recruitment programs for diverse student populations. He also chaired the Access2Success Committee, a national organization devoted to increasing equity for underrepresented students.

During his time at Missouri S&T, the University achieved record enrollment institution-wide as well as within the College of Arts Sciences and Business. This included record enrollment of underrepresented student groups. S&T also yielded its largest first-year class in history under Tim’s leadership.

Tim holds a Master of Science in Education with a specialization in Enrollment Management from Capella University and a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

The search for Drake’s next Dean of Admission is underway. We are in the process of convening a search committee of deans, faculty members, senior administrators, staff, and students to partner with us on this critically important search. I will keep you updated as the search progresses.

In the meantime, I am grateful for Tim’s exceptional leadership abilities. He brings a wealth of expertise and experience to Drake and has jumped into the role with enthusiasm and energy. I’m very much looking forward to working with him.

— Sue Mattison, Provost

All faculty and staff are invited to attend a budget town hall presentation with President Martin and Adam Voigts, chief financial officer.  The presentation will review FY22 results, the budget for FY23, and a financial look to FY24 and beyond.  The presentation will be in Parents Hall of the Olmsted Center on Tuesday, Dec. 6, from 1–2 p.m.

— Adam Voigts, chief financial officer

With President Martin’s message and the United Way email to full-time and regular part-time employees, yesterday we launched the 2022 United Way campaign. Our collective response is inspiring!

As of this morning, we have raised $16,811 for local nonprofits. Thus far 88 full-time employees have participated, along with one retiree and one part-time employee. Currently, we show a full-time employee participation rate of 9%. Our 2022 United Way campaign goal is $40,000 with a 40% participation rate.

To those who have contributed, thank you. If you have not yet donated, please consider the impact of your potential investment. If you contribute $5 per month via payroll deduction, your $60 donation could represent 192 meals for neighbors experiencing homelessness. Every dollar makes a difference. So, we invite you to donate today.

How to Donate
Check your inbox for an email from Mary Sellers, president of the United Way of Central Iowa. The email was sent Nov. 8 and contains instructions for how to participate in this year’s campaign.

— Ryan Arnold, Director, Community Engagement 

The University is pleased to formally announce that the Center for Public Democracy, one of the priorities Drake is advancing through The Ones: Drake’s Campaign for the Brave & Bold, will be co-directed by Rachel Paine Caufield, department co-chair and professor of political science; Renée Cramer, deputy provost for academic affairs and law, politics, and society professor; and Scott Raecker, executive director of The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center. Caufield, Cramer, and Raecker will lead the Center in addition to their current responsibilities at Drake.

The three co-executive directors are the champions of the Center for Public Democracy Big Idea that brought the concept to realization. They are working to achieve a shared vision: to build upon Drake’s already strong tradition of civic engagement to create a hub for democratic discourse, dialogue, and action focused on supporting a healthy democracy.

Caufield said she sees Drake being a place where policy is created, where practitioners gather, and where students are involved in it all. “It positions Drake as a convener,” she said.

“I’m not sure there has ever been a greater appetite in contemporary society for solutions to help our democracy function,” said Raecker. “Drake is already owning this space. The Center for Public Democracy will formalize it, help it grow, and engage more Drake students in our efforts.”

“Drake is a place where people can come to learn to have the difficult and crucial conversations that democracy requires,” said Cramer. “We are located in the center of the political universe and can be an example of behavior in a healthy democracy.”

The Center for Public Democracy seeks to generate and disseminate knowledge about American democracy through sponsored events, initiatives, research, and hands-on opportunities for students to engage in the political process. One of its initiatives is The Public Democracy Scholars program—making Drake the school of choice for politically minded high school students. The four-year program will prepare students to be civic leaders through dedicated coursework and immersive engagement.

The Center for Public Democracy will host the first annual National Civility Summit for Local Government on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. The online summit is organized in partnership with the National League of Cities and the Iowa League of Cities. Registration for the event is open.

Also in the works is a summer institute with the theme, “Talking Politics, Practicing Democracy.” The event will bring together civic leaders, policy makers, journalists, scientists, activists, scholars, and citizens. Additionally, it will include leadership training for high school students who will actively engage in the institute with summit participants.

Visit drake.edu/center-for-public-democracy/ to learn more about the Center for Public Democracy. Also follow theones.drake.edu for progress updates on the comprehensive fundraising campaign. 

Ambassador Terry Branstad provides office hours as part of his role as Ambassador in Residence here at Drake University on Fridays from 10–11:30 a.m. in Room 283 in the Law Library.  Ambassador Branstad is also available to meet with faculty and students and speak to classes and student organizations. This is an exceptional academic opportunity to hear the perspective, reasoning, and experiences of someone who helped shape Iowa and U.S. history.

If you would like to meet with him personally to ask questions about the experiences he has had throughout his career, please use this Calendly link to schedule an appointment: https://calendly.com/ambassador-branstad.

— Luke Clausen, Senior