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. While it is too late to register for a lunch, you are welcome to come and bring your own lunch.

— Art Sanders, Associate Provost

Deadlines for students to study abroad this summer are quickly approaching. Students must submit their applications to Drake International by March 1 for all summer study abroad programs. Students can submit their applications online here.

— Karen Williams, Drake International

The University Book Club is reading “Arrowood” by Laura McHugh this spring, an eerie tale set in Keokuk, Iowa. The book is available for checkout at Cowles Library.

The club will meet Tuesday, April 3, at 4:45 p.m. at Smokey Row to discuss the book. Faculty and staff are invited to join.

Contact ascspecialevents@drake.edu if you are interested in participating in the discussion, to receive future book club information directly to your email, or if you have any questions.

In addition, the book club is accepting book selection ideas for the next fiscal year. Please send book suggestions to ascspecialevents@drake.edu.

Previous selections include:

• “The Kind Worth Killing” by Peter Swanson
• “Thirteen Ways of Looking”  by Colum McCann
• “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown
• “The Nest” by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
• “Hidden Figures” by Margo Lee Shetterly
• “Bottomland” by Michelle Hoover
• “Modern Romance” by Aziz Ansari
• “The Alice Network” by Kate Quinn
• “Arrowood” by Laura McHugh (current selection)
• “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand (upcoming summer selection)

— All Staff Council, Special Events Committee

Join ITS staff for the next session of Tech Tuesday on March 6 from 2 to 2:50 p.m. in the Dial Center Large Conference Room.

The session will focus on keeping your identity safe six months after the Equifax breach. Led by Peter Lundstedt, director, information security and compliance.

Sign up for the March 6 session and other upcoming sessions.

— Carla Herling, ITS

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