Category Archives: For Staff Archive

For Staff Archive

Farewell to Kim Lammers

Please stop by the Provost’s office in Old Main on Thursday, March 9, anytime between 8 and 11 a.m., to say farewell to Kim Lammers and wish her well as she moves on to an exciting new opportunity. Kim will serve as a defined benefit retirement plan administrator for the Principal Financial Group, a company where she previously worked for 10 years. Coffee and breakfast treats will be served. Her last day will be Friday, March 10.

—Melissa Sturm-Smith, Academic Excellence and Student Success

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Spring Break Book Club meeting

There is still time to read the Spring Break Book Club book!  We have been reading the 2017 All Iowa Reads book, Bottomland, by Michelle Hoover. Cowles Library has books available for checkout at the circulation desk.

Please see the attached flyer for additional information. Contact Sara Heijerman at ascspecialevents@drake.edu if you have any questions, would like to receive future book club info directly to your email, or would like to RSVP for the discussion.  Our Spring Break discussion will be Tuesday, March 14, at 4:45 (Mars Cafe).

The author of this book will also be visiting Central Library at 7 p.m. on March 7. We will not be attending as a group, but feel free to attend this event if you are able.

We hope you’ll enjoy the book recommendation; we’ve also pre-selected our summer book, if you want to get a jump start on the next great read. We’ll be reading Lab Girl by Hope Jahren.  Happy reading.

Drake Book Club – previous selections:

  • The Kind Worth Killing – Peter Swanson
  • Thirteen Ways of Looking – Colum McCann
  • The Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown
  • The Nest – Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
  • Hidden Figures – Margo Lee Shetterly
  • Bottomland – Michelle Hoover (current selection)
  • Lab Girl – Hope Jahren (summer break selection)

—ASC Special Events Committee and Cowles Library
Sara Heijerman and Dan Chibnall (Current Book Club Contacts)

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Identify potential students for Fulbright opportunities

The coordinator of post-graduate scholarships Karen Leroux relies on faculty and staff to identify potential Fulbright applicants and encourage those students to seek more information and apply.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers several kinds of grants for motivated and high-achieving students to study, conduct academic research, engage in the creative and performing arts, or teach English in a range of countries after they earn a bachelor’s degree.

The most common types of student awards are: 1) Study/research grants, in which graduates design their own projects to conduct abroad; and 2) English Language Teaching Assistant (ETA) programs, which place graduates in classrooms abroad to assist in teaching English while serving as cultural ambassadors for the United States.

Who might be a promising potential Fulbright applicant? Generally, it’s a student …

  • with the interests and temperament to serve as a cultural ambassador representing the United States
  • who is prepared to adapt to living outside the country for up to one year and actively seeks to immerse him or herself in the host country
  • with a strong academic or artistic record of achievement and persistence
  • who is actively engaged in the community or their chosen profession

If a promising student comes to mind, please suggest the Fulbright program and encourage him or her to contact Karen at karen.leroux@drake.edu to learn more about available opportunities.

You can also find more information at www.drake.edu/international/postgraduate/fulbright/

—Dorothy Pisarski, Drake International communications liaison

For Staff Archive

February True Blue awards

True Blue: Terri Howard
Terri Howard, administrative assistant in the Drake Law School dean’s office, was recognized in February with a Called to be True Blue award from All Staff Council. Her nominator, Law School Dean Jerry Anderson, described her as the “go-to” person for everything that needs to be done:

“Terri gets involved in any event that any of our professors or centers are planning (which happens pretty much weekly). She could tell people it’s not her job. But instead she stays late, comes in early, (and) does whatever it takes to bring off the event and make the Law School and the University look good. Every alum, every visitor, every faculty or staff member who has ever come in contact with Terri comes away with a good impression because she is not only efficient, intelligent, and capable; she is also unfailingly friendly and kind.”

True Blue: Kevin Saunders
On March 2, Kevin Saunders, director of institutional research and academic assessment, was surprised with a True Blue award for his work leading the Office of Institutional Research. He was nominated by Chief of Staff Nate Reagen, who stated in his nomination:

“Kevin is the backbone to so much of what happens at Drake University. His knowledge, history, and understanding of University operations is critical to our collective success. He has a willingness to dive into many situations, and the institutional data he supports is extremely helpful in many ways.”

Added Associate Provost Art Sanders: “The push toward data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement has made the unit Kevin runs central to all that we do. He is gracious and kind to all who approach him or his unit for guidance or for information.”

Make your own nomination!
The Called to be True Blue Award recognizes Drake staff members and teams who epitomize the values of leadership, teamwork, integrity, and commitment to the University. If this sound like someone you know, please nominate them at www.drake.edu/asc/recognition. Recipients are automatically in the running to win a year-end Sapphire Award, the highest staff recognition at Drake.

—All Staff Council Recognition Committee

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning lunch

The second of our spring semester Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) lunches is Friday, March 10, at noon in TMR 133 (lower level of Olmsted). These discussions are opportunities 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 this process. If you would like us to provide lunch for you, please register by Wednesday, March 8, at 10 a.m. at: http://tinyurl.com/SoTLLunchMarch  For more information, contact arthur.sanders@drake.edu.

—Art Sanders, Associate Provost

For Staff Archive

Staff drawing winners

Congratulations to the winners of our staff member drawing, which took place following the Feb. 14 $5 Sodexo Faculty/Staff Appreciation Lunch:

  • Octavio Alvarado, Facilities Planning & Management
  • Umihana Omerhodzic, Facilities Planning & Management
  • Mitchell Stearns, Institutional Research
  • Shannon Saunders, Athletics

Recipients received selected Drake-branded items including a stainless-steel water bottle, T-shirt, plush bulldog, and playing cards. Join us for the next appreciation lunch on March 21, and find the All Staff Council table to put your name in for more prizes donated by campus partners.

—All Staff Council Recognition Committee