Category Archives: Strategic Updates Archive

Strategic Updates Archive

Tree removal on campus

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Over the next few weeks, you will notice the removal of 38 trees on campus. The trees will be removed from two construction sites: between Olin and Fitch halls for the construction of the Science Connector Building (Infill Building Tree Map), and from the south side of Olin Hall to the area just north of Medbury Hall for the School of Education (Education Building Tree Map). This will include all the trees in this area from 27th Street to the 28th Street Plaza.

Drake University will be required by the City of Des Moines and the Drake University Tree USA Committee to replace trees on the campus. As part of the new construction project, the University will plant 64 trees on campus. The trees will be located around the new building sites and other places across the campus.

As part of this removal, Drake will cut down four to five specially picked large oak trees. These particular oaks are approximately 100 years old. The trunks of these oaks will be milled for use in other projects on the campus in the future. The logs will be cut into 20-foot planks and stored for approximately two years; some potential uses of these special pieces of Drake history include wooden benches, picture frames, and more. If you have any other ideas for the use of this wood around campus, please let me know.

We have previously shared the tree information at the STEM@DRAKE Open House and the Holiday Breakfast. Drake University Grounds Department has established a Recommended Campus Trees list of potentially disease-free species to replant on the campus, which you can view here. If you would like to provide input on which trees the University should plant, please email jolene.schmidt@drake.edu.

—Submitted by Jolene Schmidt, Director of Operations and Support Services

Strategic Updates Archive

Drake Law announces new dean

Jerry Anderson, the Richard M. and Anita Calkins Distinguished Professor of Law, has been named dean of Drake University Law School, effective July 1, 2016. He succeeds Ben Ullem, who is currently serving a two-year term as dean of the Law School.

“I am honored to be selected to lead the Law School during an important time in its history,” said Jerry, who has served on the Drake Law faculty since 1991. “We are in the midst of a transformative period in legal education, and Drake is well-positioned to creatively adapt to the changing needs of students and the profession.” To learn more about Jerry, visit the Drake Newsroom.

Strategic Updates Archive

DTS campus update

As we approach the end of the year and my first semester as CITO, I want to provide you with a status update on some of the DTS accomplishments this fall as well as a sense of our priorities for 2016.

  • We have reallocated funds and returned to a model of direct support for schools and colleges and have hired a new classroom improvement specialist. Searches are also underway for a project manager and a help desk manager.
  • Budget planning has resulted in detailed, itemized information on current and future expenditures and the creation of a high-level infrastructure replacement plan.
  • Technology in seven classrooms and the Legal Clinic have been renewed with plans and funding in place to renew an additional seven to eight classrooms in the Spring semester.
  • We have built a redundant data center environment in Shakopee, Minn., for disaster recovery purposes, which should result in fewer future Internet outages. We have also worked with 24 departments to review their business-continuity plans.
  • In order to improve our Banner system, new, robust hardware has been installed. In collaboration with our campus partners, we have implemented a new campus scheduling system and phases 1 and 2 of an online housing management system.
  • Finally, management of Blackboard was moved off campus to increase reliability and availability.

As we end our calendar year and look towards 2016, we will be focusing on:

  • Building a culture of service excellence
  • Increasing collaboration across campus
  • Improving our accountability
  • Communicating better with campus
  • Ensuring a reliable and robust technology infrastructure
  • Reducing risks related to information technology

Thank you for your warm welcome to campus. I’m dedicated to continuing to improve DTS communication and service. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any member of my staff to let us know how DTS can better serve you and your area.

I wish you a holiday season filled with happiness, and I look forward to working with you in 2016.

Chris Gill
Chief Information Technology Officer

Strategic Updates Archive

Welcoming Drake’s new provost

sueoncampus3With great pleasure I share the appointment of our new provost, Dr. Sue J. Mattison. Her experience, leadership, and values will make her an excellent addition to our Bulldog family. We expect Provost Mattison to begin in summer 2016.

Sue was selected for a number of reasons. Above all was her contagious commitment to the student experience and to the integrity of the University’s academic core. Her passion for strengthening academic programs while promoting intellectual vitality will be important in Drake’s efforts to achieve our aspirations and to ensure we continue to fulfill the promise of our mission statement.

Many of Provost Mattison’s accomplishments and areas of focus during her career, which includes leadership positions at UW-Green Bay and the University of Northern Iowa, align with our mission and strategic priorities.

  • While at UW-Green Bay, Sue led several successful accreditation initiatives, experience that will help guide the University through our upcoming HLC re-accreditation. Her focus on data-driven decision-making aligns well with our efforts to create a more evidence-based culture of continuous improvement.
  • She brings commitment and experience in recruiting and retaining diverse students, faculty, and staff and improving access to higher education.
  • In addition, Sue has proven herself a champion of faculty scholarship and places great value on building trusting and respectful relationships at all levels of the institution.

My heartfelt thanks to the faculty, staff, and students who attended the open forums and provided feedback on each of our excellent candidates. Your engagement was crucial to selecting Provost Mattison and will be important as she begins her time at Drake. I’d also like to thank the search committee for their time-intensive and enthusiastic dedication to executing a successful and transparent search process.

I am excited for our future as Sue begins what I’m sure will be a long and fruitful tenure at Drake. She will visit campus in the spring semester to meet more members of the Drake community; I have been assured we will be made aware of the details of her visit as they are finalized.

Please join me in welcoming Provost Mattison to the Bulldog community.

—Darcie Vandegrift, Chair, Provost Search Committee

Strategic Updates Archive

Climate Assessment update

The members of the Strategic Diversity Action Team are deeply grateful to the more than 300 faculty, staff, and students who took the time to participate in one of 22 next steps forums throughout the fall semester. Your thoughtful participation provided rich insights for our team to review and use to develop a set of recommendations for future action. We will analyze the information in January, and plan to share a set of action steps with the campus community in the early part of spring semester. Thank you for your continued engagement in the work to achieve meaningful diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus and to create a welcoming and inclusive community.

—Submitted by Melissa Sturm-Smith, Renee Cramer, and Michael Couvillon

Strategic Updates Archive

New Occupational Therapy program hits milestone

We are pleased to announce that at its December meeting, the Accreditation Council on Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) voted to grant candidacy status to the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Drake.

As a result of this action, Drake may admit students into the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program according to the approved timeline (May 2016). The board noted the following:

Strengths:

  • There is strong support from Drake University for the occupational therapy doctorate program with support from administration and other faculty members to assist in program development and implementation. This is the first rehabilitation profession program at Drake.
  • The program has hired a very experienced program director and two full-time faculty members, all with doctorate degrees.
  • The program has an adequate number of fieldwork sites that cover the lifespan, variety of populations, and health care settings.
  • The curriculum reflects a thorough and thoughtful course of study with an emphasis on service-learning.

Congratulations to Ann Burkhardt, Kathy Griner, Jayna Fischbach, their staff Carmalee Woods and Cassie Paterson, and the staff in the Experiential and Student Affairs offices, for their work to prepare the report and participate in many discussions related to the 50 standards. They are to be congratulated for their expedient work in submitting a high-quality report that will pave the way for a successful program at Drake!

—Submitted by Renae Chesnut, Interim Dean, CPHS

Strategic Updates Archive

STEM@DRAKE construction update

Significant pre-construction activity is underway relative to the STEM@DRAKE project. At the Holiday Breakfast on Thursday, members of the campus community saw the latest building renderings and floor plans. There is excitement and appreciation for the inclusion of gender-neutral bathrooms and dedicated lactation rooms in both buildings.

Members of Drake’s Grounds Department—Aaron Harpold and Jeff Bosworth —were on hand to discuss how the project will affect trees. Attendees voted on the type of trees they would like to see planted as part of the effort to replace nearly double the number of trees that will be lost during construction. While removing trees is a difficult reality of construction, tremendous effort is being dedicated to a tree plan that will ensure both replacement and reclamation as part of the project. Watch for more details in coming weeks on this and other aspects of the STEM@DRAKE project.

 —Submitted by Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

Campus Announcements Archive, Strategic Updates Archive

Provost open forums this week

To meet President Martin’s goal to have a strong leadership team in place as soon as possible, we are pleased to present three candidates this week for our new Provost.

The Provost search committee invites your participation in the campus forums this week with three highly qualified candidates. Please make time Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to meet the following candidates:

Dr. Darrell Radson
Dean and Professor
Foster College of Business
Bradley University
Peoria, IL
Monday, Nov. 30, 3–4:15 p.m.

Dr. Alzada Tipton
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
Elmhurst College
Elmhurst, IL
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 3-4:15 p. m.

Dr. Sue Mattison
Dean, College of Professional Studies
University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Green Bay, WI
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 3–4:15 p.m.

The CVs for each candidate are located on the homepage of blueView on the right-hand side. A Qualtrics survey will be sent to campus for the committee to learn your impressions of the candidates.

—Darcie Vandegrift, Associate Professor of Sociology

Strategic Updates Archive

Campus community budget discussion

The President’s Council invites you to attend a campus community budget discussion on Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. in the Shivers Hospitality Suite. The event will be recorded and made available on the continuous improvement channel on blueView for those who are unable to attend.

Individuals are strongly encouraged to submit any questions you have about budgeting before the discussion at Drake via the Conversations site “Provide your Feedback” function. Questions/comments can be anonymous. You can also submit questions or comments after the discussion using the same tool.

Following the event, everyone is invited to stay for a Drake Social Club event from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

—Submitted by Andrea McDonough