The return to campus is in less than a month — September 2021! In the meantime, there’s a lot that faculty and professional staff can do to prepare for the transition, from relieving return-to-work anxiety through wellness opportunities to RSVPing for an outdoors Employee Appreciation Lunch to setting up on-campus office clean-up.
Here’s what was Heard Around Campus this month:
RSVP for the Employee Appreciation Lunch!
All Drexel University faculty and professional staff members are invited to join the Employee Appreciation Lunch on Sept. 9 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in recognition of and appreciation for the hard work, dedication and support you provide Drexel. The event will take place in the Perelman Plaza and Korman Quadrangle on the University City Campus (between 32nd and 33rd streets and Market and Chestnut streets). Reconnect with colleagues and enjoy food, music, giveaways and raffle prizes. Please remember to bring your DragonCard for lunch. Event is rain or shine. RSVP is required at your earliest convenience.
New University City Part-Time Parking Options
Drexel Parking Services will share new University City part-time parking options for fall 2021 once it's closer to the start of the fall term. For more information and to apply, please visit the Parking Services website. If you have any questions and would like to contact the Drexel Parking Services office directly, please email parking@drexel.edu or call 215.895.2813, Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
University City Campus Clean-up
Drexel Real Estate and Facilities’ annual University City Campus Clean-up continues through Sept. 30, providing an opportunity for departments and offices to dispose of obsolete or broken equipment, furniture, and other large, non-hazardous materials.
To participate, please complete the following steps:
- Submit a WebTMA work request noting “Campus Clean-up” and providing a description of the items to be removed in the action requested. (Some oversized pieces of equipment and sensitive items may not qualify for the Campus Clean-up and will require special handling for disposal.)
- Clearly identify the items to be discarded for Campus Clean-up. Indicate the work order number (FM-XXXXX) on the item/sign if possible.
Relieve Return-to-Work Anxiety With Upcoming Wellness Opportunities
Are you feeling anxious about the ongoing uncertainties and challenges associated with COVID-19? Rediscover your strength and stamina with these upcoming virtual wellness events designed to help you reconnect with your well-being. Please register for the events of your choice in Career Pathway:
- Afro-House Dance for Everyone — Sept. 7, 1–2 p.m.: This mixed-level class is designed to increase cardio and strengthen abdominal muscles while moving your body to a funky beat. Be sure to wear sneakers!
- Restore and Rejuvenate: Stretching, Self-Massage and Stress Reduction — Sept. 28, 12–1 p.m.; Join us for a fun and interactive workshop filled with tips to reduce muscle tension, relax stiff joints and revitalize.
- Dragon Dialogue: Healthy Holiday Eating Traditions — Oct. 20, 1–2 p.m.: Learn yummy new ways to cook and prepare seasonal dishes, discuss some simple modifications to promote the health and well-being of you and your family, and provide a few fun recipes for you to take home.
Work Your Mind and Body With a Virtual Intro to POUNDfit
The Drexel Administrative Professionals Learning Community Network (DAPLC) invites you to kick off the new academic year on Sept. 23 at noon with an introduction to POUNDfit with the College of Nursing and Health Professions’ Kymberlee Montgomery. This virtual networking event will get your mind and body to work together for an awesome brain boost and physical workout with musical flair. The class combines cardio, Pilates, isometric movements and plyometrics with constant simulated drumming – all to great music, so it becomes a jam session that rocks the body and mind. The movements utilized during a POUNDfit session can help lower your stress levels, boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, and combat anxiety and fatigue. During the event, you use the power of your Ripstix, but if you don’t own a pair, anything similar to a pair of drumsticks will work. Register for this event via Career Pathway.
Start a Conversation With A Healthier U’s New Teams Community
Have you been wanting to connect with others striving for wellness, form new friendships, get tips and share healthy recipes? Drexel HR invites faculty and professional staff to join Drexel's new wellness community, A Healthier U in Microsoft Teams (click the link or search “A Healthier U” in Teams to add yourself to the community, which is public within Drexel).
You'll find channels focused on physical, financial and emotional well-being, as well as reminders about upcoming events and opportunities. A Healthier U on Teams is your newone-stop shop for everything wellness at Drexel. Join today and let’s be healthy together!
Kick Off Autumn at the Gateway Garden
The Maker’s Market at the Gateway Garden (located at 32nd Street and JFK Boulevard) returns on Sept. 16, and will run every Thursday from 3–6 p.m. during the fall term through Oct. 28. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society presents this weekly market featuring Philly-made art, ceramics, jewelry, skin care and more!
Meet the Makers also returns to the Gateway Garden on Sept. 29, from 5–7 p.m., featuring “Autumn Apple Harvest” with Dressler Estate. At Meet the Makers, you'll meet local brewers and taste a selection of your favorite beer and cider (must be 21+ to attend). On Sept. 29, meet Drexel alumnus Brian Dressler ’11 and Olga Dressler from Dressler Estate and enjoy some of their beautiful cider as they chat about the local orchards they work with, apple harvest and cider fermentation. Cider will be available for purchase to be enjoyed at the Garden or to be taken to go. In the case of inclement weather, the rain date will be one week following.
Other upcoming Meet the Makers events include Dark Beer With Conshohocken Brewing on Oct. 6 and Saisons With Sacred Vice on Oct. 20.
Seven Ways to Get Ready for Fall Term
Whether you’re preparing to return to campus after being away, or new to the Drexel community this fall, Drexel Public Safety has you covered with a checklist of safety-related actions you can take now — as you enjoy these last weeks of summer — to prepare for your arrival at Drexel. Check out the list in August’s Public Safety & U newsletter!
Giving Back for Back to School: Donation Drive for Local Kids
In partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department’s 16th District, Public Safety is helping local elementary school children start the academic year off right by collecting donations of the following items through Sept. 8: pencils, mechanical pencils, erasers, pens (black and blue), highlighters, pencil cases, markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue (stick and regular), folders, spiral single subject notebooks, composition books, two-inch binders, binder dividers, lined paper reams, copy paper reams, Clorox wipes, tissues. dry erase markers, textbook covers, rulers and backpacks (plain colors).
Items can either be dropped at the Public Safety offices at 3201 Arch St., Suite 350, or at Drexel Police Headquarters at 3219 Arch St. For further information, please contact Linda Moran at lmm467@drexel.edu.
Scheduled Outage: Libraries Online Resources Unavailable Sept. 8
As part of a planned upgrade to the Drexel Libraries’ EZproxy authentication software, both on- and off-campus access to the majority of library online resources (including journal articles, ebooks, databases, and streaming videos) will be unavailable on Sept. 8, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. This service upgrade will impact online resources and databases that require authentication via EZproxy. For more details, please visit the Libraries’ website.
Reminder From General Accounting
Departments that are expecting any receipts of funds (deposits): Please email General Accounting at acct11@drexel.edu with the expected receipt amount as well as FOAPAL to apply for this receipt.