It’s a month into 2020 and winter term — so now that you’re back in the swing of things, make sure you take note of upcoming events and construction updates.

Here’s what was heard around campus this month:

Coming Soon: RecycleMania!

Beginning next week, Drexel will participate in the nationwide RecycleMania competition among colleges and universities. For eight weeks, we will track the amount of paper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, plastic, cell phones and computer equipment recycled on our campuses so we can benchmark Drexel’s performance against other institutions. How can you get involved?

• Brush up on best practices. Drexel boasts a robust, single-stream recycling program that makes it easy and convenient to recycle most plastic, glass, aluminum, paper and cardboard waste in University-operated properties. Find out what and how we recycle at drexel.edu/recycling. Then check out this “Recycling 101” blog post from the Academy of Natural Sciences for even more tips to help you recycle better and smarter.
• Turn the DAC green. This year's RecycleMania Game Day Challenge will take place at the Drexel men's basketball game on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. We will be tracking all the materials recycled as the Drexel Dragons take on the Hofstra Pride. Fans can purchase tickets by logging on to drexeltickets.com or by calling 1.866.4.DREXEL.

Drexel Real Estate and Facilities will also host RecycleMania Collection Events on all three campuses during the competition. Stay tuned for details, and if you have questions about recycling at Drexel, please email recycle@drexel.edu. 

Drexel Ranked No. 5 in Campus Safety

Security Magazine ranked Drexel University No. 5 in the nation for campus safety among colleges, universities and technical institutions in its 2019 Security 500 rankings. The magazine also profiled Drexel’s Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police Eileen Behr in an article published in November. In the article, Behr discusses Drexel’s public safety resources and community-based approach to keeping our campus community safe. You can read the profile at this link.

Catch up on the President’s Report and Drexel Quarterly

Earlier this month, President John Fry released the annual President’s Report summarizing Drexel achievements and news from 2019. The winter term Drexel Quarterly e-newsletter informing faculty and staff of professional development news also went out earlier this week.

Administrative Professionals Networking Event: March 12

The next networking event for the Drexel Administrative Professionals Learning Community will be held on March 12 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Ida Chen Room of the James E. Marks Intercultural Center (3225 Arch Street). The theme is Diversity and Inclusion, and registration is limited. Visit Career Pathway to register via the Event Calendar.

Drexel Police Monthly Meet & Greet

Held the third Wednesday of every month, Drexel Police encourages everyone to stop by the Police Substation in Gerri C. LeBow Hall (first floor, near the A.J. Drexel statue entrance) to ask questions, voice concerns, find resources or just say hello.  The next Meet & Greet is Feb. 19 from 1–3 p.m.

R.A.D. and Self-protection Classes

The R.A.D. System provides self-defense courses on the basics of hands-on defense training taught by certified R.A.D. instructors. R.A.D. manuals are provided to course participants, outlining the entire physical defense program. Sign up for Spring Term RAD classes now on the Public Safety website.

If you’d like to start off with a shorter less physical self-defense class, Public Safety has created a two-hour class providing basic techniques for protecting yourself.  Please contact Linda Moran at lmm467@drexel.edu to schedule your group for this new class.

Fiscal Year 2021 Proposed Fringe Benefit Rates for Sponsored Projects

Drexel University has submitted the fringe benefit proposal to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to establish the fiscal year 2021 fringe benefit rates for sponsored projects. These rates are not final until we receive the official rate letter from DHHS, however, we do not expect any significant changes when they are finalized. The University does not expect to receive the final rate letter for at least three to six months, so you should begin to use these proposed rates on any proposal submissions that will have salary and wages after July 1, 2020, to ensure you have budgeted adequate funding. Coeus and Banner have both been updated to reflect the new rates effective July 1, 2020. The rates are posted on the Office of the Comptroller website.

Please note, for fiscal year 2021, the Academy of Natural Sciences will continue to use the non-sponsored fringe benefit rates; however, the fiscal year 2021 rates are not yet determined and will be announced when final. In the meantime, proposal submissions for the Academy should use the fiscal year 2020 non-sponsored fringe benefit rates for any salary and wages after July 1, 2020. 

Construction Update: New CAT Labs Completed

In case you missed it, check out the “Briefly Noted” section of Drexel Quarterly for a write-up and photos of the recently completed laboratories in the Center for Automation Technology — the final project in the University’s Research Laboratory Plan. For a complete update on major campus projects, visit drexel.edu/facilities/design/currentProjects/.