The Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture with Jon Meacham planned for Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Knapp Center has been postponed to Spring 2022. A specific date and time during the spring semester are being determined. This decision is due to the rising cases of COVID-19 around the region, state, and nation, and part of Drake University’s response to help minimize the spread COVID-19.

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We are happy to share the results of the 2021 Great Colleges to Work For survey. We are thankful to the 553 employees who participated in the survey last spring. As a reminder, this is Drake’s primary annual employee survey. The more employees who participate, the better informed and more reflective of our community the results will be.

Please take the time to review the University-wide results linked above. We believe sharing this information is important—and consistent with our Core Values which embrace transparency, communication, and accountability. The results also serve as a powerful resource as we reflect on what is working well and what needs improvement. Based on the survey results, we have identified three primary areas of focus for this year:

1. Facilitate re-connection and attend to our culture;
2. Ensure consistent and robust cascade of communication; and
3. Leverage internal, professional development opportunities for leaders.

You may ask, how do we proceed from here? At this point, we want to narrow the focus of feedback to determine how we make improvements in these three targeted areas. We will facilitate virtual brain-storming sessions and will follow up with short pulse surveys for each of the three areas. It may be that all three areas interest you or perhaps only one or two. You can pick and choose whether and how you provide feedback. Your feedback will help determine specific goals, programs, and other defined steps needed to make improvements in these three areas.

You may already be aware that campus leaders are provided with detailed survey results for their respective areas. In addition to university-wide focus areas, campus leaders are expected to adopt goals to address the more focused results from their areas. In this way, the Great Colleges to Work For survey is particularly helpful—it provides big picture feedback for institutional efforts, while also drilling down into the unique challenges that individual units may face.

We acknowledge that many employees offered thoughts on compensation. Please know that this topic is not being ignored or overlooked by senior leaders. However, that topic is one that heavily relies on a budgetary solution. For purposes of collaborative improvement, the three focus areas identified here are intended to be topics where we can collectively pursue cultural and operational improvements. We are already working diligently, across a number of areas, to address the budgetary solutions needed to improve compensation. President Martin addressed this in the June town hall and will again be providing an update on our budget later this semester.

As we identify ways to continuously improve and innovate, we also want to take time to celebrate the amazing efforts of the Drake community and its individual members, particularly over the past year. This has been a trying chapter and it has revealed areas for improvement. It has also highlighted tremendous strengths—including a caring and compassionate sense of community, flexible and dedicated employees, innovative leaders, and an unflappable resolve to pursue our institutional mission, despite the challenges of the times. Thank you for your efforts and hard work. Thank you for your dedication to our students. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ideas, and concerns through this survey. Please help us continue to make Drake an ever-better institution.

In the coming weeks, please watch for opportunities to help Drake address the three focus areas identified above. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions now, please reach out directly to Maureen De Armond or Nate Reagen.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources, and Nate Reagan, Office of the President

Drake University’s lifelong learning organization known as the RaySociety received a $100,000 grant from The Bernard Osher Foundation to strengthen and expand its programming. As a result, the RaySociety was renamed the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Drake University. The name change signifies its inclusion as one of 125 lifelong learning institutes on university and college campuses across the country supported by the Osher Foundation.

“The RaySociety has been a recognized leader in the field of lifelong learning for nearly two decades,” said Tracy Beck, manager of OLLI at Drake University. “This grant along with our new national affiliation as an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will allow us to enhance our programming and serve more people in the community. We will continue to be the same great organization, just bigger, better, and with a nationally recognized name.”   

Beck said one of the benefits of joining the Osher Foundation is having access to a national network of resources, ideas, and colleagues to help strengthen its academic and social offerings. She said the grant funding will allow OLLI at Drake to increase its membership by providing scholarships for those who need help covering membership costs. In addition, funding will provide necessary technology upgrades to be able to deliver courses in both virtual and in-person formats.   

The RaySociety was established at Drake in 2004 and named after Governor Robert D. Ray, who served as Iowa’s 38th governor and later in his career as the 11th president of Drake University, and his wife Billie Ray, former teacher and first lady of Iowa. The organization has evolved into a respected lifelong learning program offering more than 60 non-credit courses and 10 lectures each year taught by Drake faculty and community leaders.

“This is an exciting growth opportunity for lifelong learning at Drake,” said Drake University President Marty Martin. “As we transition from the RaySociety to an Osher Institute, we will always honor Governor and Mrs. Ray for their instrumental support and involvement. With Mrs. Ray’s enthusiastic support, we will continue to build upon their legacy as we expand course opportunities, grow membership, and better serve our community.”

There will be no changes to membership costs and class structure during the transition period. Membership to OLLI at Drake is $50. The membership year runs from July 1 through June 30. Course registration for the Fall 2021 semester will open Aug. 9. Important to note: OLLI is now located at the Alumni House. For more information about OLLI at Drake, visit drake.edu/olli.

The Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series is returning to Drake University in-person this fall with presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham. The lecture will take place Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Knapp Center, 2525 Forest Ave. The event is free and open to the public. Details regarding health and safety protocols for the event will be released at a later date.

“We are thrilled for the return of Drake University’s most celebrated lecture series,” said Neil Hamilton, former director of the Drake University Agricultural Law Center and chair of the Bucksbaum Lecture selection committee. “The Bucksbaum Lecture series is known for bringing renowned and influential scholars to Des Moines. Jon Meacham is one of the country’s most respected voices on presidential history and politics, and we are honored to welcome him to Drake.”

Meacham is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. A contributor to TIME and The New York Times Book Review, Meacham is a highly sought-after commentator, regularly appearing on CNN and MSNBC.

His latest #1 New York Times Best Seller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, examines the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear. Meacham is a co-author of the recently released book, Impeachment: An American History, which reveals the complicated motives behind the first three impeachments in U.S. history.

Meacham’s presidential biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list. The Times said, “Destiny and Power reflects the qualities of both subject and biographer: judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it.” Meacham delivered eulogies for both President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush.

Meacham’s #1 New York Times Best Seller, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, was hailed as “masterful and intimate” by Fortune magazine. His other national bestsellers include Franklin and Winston, American Gospel, and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

“Jon Meacham is a valued voice with a deep knowledge of politics, religion, and current affairs,” said Drake Professor of Politics Rachel Paine Caufield. “His work is particularly relevant today, as we seek to contextualize and bring perspective to our contemporary political environment, using historical knowledge to understand the present. His Pulitzer Prize-winning work explores multiple facets of our collective shared history, and I look forward to a vibrant conversation and insightful commentary.”

Named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, Meacham is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Society of American Historians, and chairs the National Advisory Board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor of history at The University of the South and a visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt. He is currently at work on a biography of James and Dolley Madison. 

About the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series
The Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by a gift from the late Melva and Martin Bucksbaum. The Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lectureship Committee includes: Neil Hamilton (chair), Julian Archer, James Autry, Pamela Bass-Bookey, Michael Gartner, Janis Ruan, Mary Bucksbaum Scanlon, Marcia Wanamaker, and Eleanor Zeff.

All faculty and staff are highly encouraged to attend a campus town hall presentation with President Martin for an update on the campus, our budget, and what’s next. The virtual meeting will be held June 8 from 1–2 p.m. To attend, click here. 

You must be logged into the Drake network (either remotely or on campus) to attend. Due to the large group size, Q&A will be handled via the Q&A feature in Teams. Thank you for your participation in advance.

— Nate Reagen, President’s Office