Nominations are now being accepted for the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award and the Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Award. Nominations are due to Human Resources by Friday, March 30, at 4:30 p.m. Late nominations will not be accepted.

Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award

Madelyn M. Levitt established the Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff. Recipients are chosen on the following criteria:

• A demonstrated personal commitment to volunteerism and community service
• An outstanding record of leadership or substantial involvement in community projects, services and activities contributing to the quality of life in our region, state and/or the nation
• Professional and personal values and behavior that typify the ideals of “giving back to others” and “making a difference in the lives of others”
• The nominee must be a current faculty or staff member with at least five years of service at Drake.

Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Award

The Employee Excellence Award is presented to a staff member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. Criteria for the award include:

• Exceptional performance as an employee of Drake University
• Outstanding dedication to providing courteous, prompt, and quality service
• Demonstrated commitment to University programs, initiatives, and services
• Professional values and behavior that demonstrate exceptional service to others and a commitment to Drake University
• The nominee must be a current staff member with at least one year of service at Drake.

To nominate a colleague, submit a letter of nomination to the Levitt Award Committee, care of (c/o) Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent through campus mail or electronically to drakehr@drake.edu.

A nomination letter detailing specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria is desirable. Additional letters of support are not necessary. A review committee will make award recommendations to the President’s Council.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Nominations are open for All Staff Council. Please take a few minutes to nominate yourself or others to serve on All Staff Council. Remember—All Staff Council positions are open to both bargaining unit and non-bargaining unit staff members. The nomination process will close on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 12 p.m.

The following committees and number of positions are open for election:
Governance: 3
Recognition: 2
Special Events/Community Service: 3
Special Interest: 2
Chair Elect: 1

More details on each position are available on the nomination form.

All nominated individuals will be contacted for confirmation that they wish to run and asked to provide a brief statement about why they wish to serve on the committee.

Submit nominations (Link may be used multiple times for multiple nominations)

— Tony Tyler, Dean of Students/All Staff Council

Attend an ITS workshop on Office365 on Monday, Feb. 26, from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Olmsted Center, TMR 133. Learn what tools are included in the suite, and how you can use Office365 for student access and collaboration. Please bring your own laptop or an internet capable device. If you don’t have a laptop or internet capable device, consider borrowing one from the kiosk located in the lobby of Meredith Hall. The workshop is taught by Clayton Mitchell.

Sign up here and view other March workshops.

— Carla Herling, ITS

ITS is continuing its roll out of OneDrive to campus. Several administrative units are enjoying the benefits of this new storage solution, and we are excited to begin rolling out to the first academic unit this month. A phased approach is being taken for the release of OneDrive to ensure adequate technical support is available to faculty and staff as they get familiar with this new platform for document storage. Implementation will continue through the end of the fiscal year. A full schedule for the OneDrive project is available on the ITS Project Management site.

— Chris Mielke, ITS

Faculty Senate will meet in regular session on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 3:30 p.m. in Cowles Library, Room 201. View the agenda and meeting materials.

— Nancy Geiger, Office of the Registrar

Last April, Drake and Des Moines were selected as hosts for the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first and second rounds. As a Drake faculty/staff member, you will have access to an exclusive ticket pre-sale prior to the general public sale. On March 20, you will receive an email from Drake Athletics with a link to your exclusive ticket offer. The offer is non-transferable and only valid with your drake email address. The ticket offer will be sent to Drake students as well.

Learn more about the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

— Dave Haskin, Athletics

The first Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) lunch of the semester is Friday, March 2, at 12 p.m. in Medbury Hall, Room 201. The lunch discussion is an opportunity for those engaged in SoTL projects at any level—from just thinking about starting one, to almost complete, or those simply curious about SoTL—to share ideas, seek advice, or ask questions of colleagues engaged in the process. To receive a lunch, register by Monday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m.

— Art Sanders, Associate Provost

Drake faculty are invited to submit nominations to the Deans’ Council for University Marshal and Assistant Marshal. The marshals oversee and participate in Drake commencement and other ceremonies. Submit nominations by Friday, March 9, prior to Spring Break.

University Marshal: To be eligible for consideration, nominees for University Marshal must 1) hold the rank of professor, 2) be actively engaged in the life of the University through all-university leadership and service, and 3) have regularly attended Drake University commencements.

Assistant Marshal: To be eligible for consideration, nominees for Assistant Marshal must 1) have been recognized by their academic unit or by the University for excellence in teaching, scholarship or service, and 2) have regularly attended Drake University commencements.

The University and Assistant Marshals are appointed by the President, upon the recommendation of the Deans’ Council. The term is for five years, renewable at the discretion of the President. Nominations can be directed to Drinda Williams, administrative assistant to the provost, at drinda.williams@drake.edu.

University Marshal Joseph Schneider, Ellis and Nelle Levitt distinguished professor of sociology and department chair, and Assistant Marshal David Wright, professor of journalism and mass communication, are stepping down as Drake’s Marshals following the 2018 commencement.

—Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost