Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Sapphire Awards hosted by the All Staff Council Recognition Committee and Human Resources. The committee recognized 14 individuals and 3 groups who received True Blue Awards throughout the year. One individual and one group are voted on by All Staff Council members to win the Sapphire Award.

Congratulations to Rob Ebel on winning the individual Sapphire Award!
Here is an excerpt from his nomination: “Managing construction projects also means that you manage change. It is with a servant’s heart that he strives to help our clients (faculty, staff, students) through the changes that construction progress brings.”

Congratulations to Sara Heijerman & Erica McGowan on winning the group Sapphire Award!
Here is an excerpt from their nomination: “Although the book club is not part of their regular responsibilities at Drake, they show their generosity of spirit by joyfully taking on this project, and carefully planning it out to make sure the book selections are diverse, all participants have a say in the selections, and that the social gatherings are varied to accommodate both on campus and remote employees.”

Congratulations to all of the 2022-2023 True Blue Winners!

• Lilianna Bernstein
• Dan Burkett
• Maureen De Armond
• Rob Ebel
• Maggie Fiala
• Alice Fynaardt
• Karly Good
• Sheila Goodwin
• Mary Beth Holtey
• Terry Janssen
• Brandi Miller
• Kevin Moran
• Jeannie Nielsen
• Kara Vaughn

Group winners:

• Helen Frizel & Chanelle Harris – Sodexo
• Sara Heijerman & Erica McGowan – University Book Club
• Korrine Jackson & Heather Winslow – Payroll

— All Staff Council Recognition Committee

Students utilizing Drake’s tuition waiver benefit for undergraduate degree programs in the Fall 2023 or Spring 2024 semesters are required to complete the 2023–2024 FAFSA before July 1, 2023. See Drake’s Tuition Waiver Policy for more details.

Employees should complete the Tuition Waiver Application for each semester that the employee or eligible dependent wishes to utilize this benefit.

— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid

Please join us Tuesday, April 18, in the Cowles Library Reading Room for the Provost’s Social. This month’s Social will follow All Staff Council’s Sapphire Awards, where the Sapphire awards and the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service award will be presented.

The Sapphire Awards will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Cowles Library Reading Room and will be immediately followed by the regular social at 4 p.m. Please join us to enjoy some refreshments and celebrate our colleagues.

Refreshments will include light snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, and cake. This is a family-friendly event, so please feel free to bring your children or partner!

— Madison Bemus, Provost’s Office

Recruitment is currently underway for the Director of Environmental Health & Safety.  To ensure coverage during this interim period, a coverage plan has been developed as outlined below.

First, all non-emergency questions can be e-mailed to ehs@drake.edu; we will continuously monitor this email. Please be sure to include your name, title, department and phone number so we can refer you to the appropriate individual.

For lab related questions or questions about chemical or hazardous waste pick up, you may also reach out to Nick Crumpton at nick.crumpton@drake.edu. Nick is a Chemistry Lab Assistant and is well equipped to answer lab safety questions, facilitate chemical pick up or connect you to other resources, as needed.

For general health and safety questions, reach out Public Safety at 271–2222. For COVID-19 related questions, please contact Scott Law at Scott.Law@drake.edu

Workers Compensation and occupational health related questions can be referred to ehs.@drake.edu. If you need to report a workplace injury, please complete a first report of injury form here.

Thank you for your patience during this time of transition.

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

Join fellow Drake colleagues on Tuesday, April 18, at 3:30 p.m. for this year’s Sapphire Awards, hosted by All Staff Council.  The award ceremony will be held just prior to the Provost’s Drake Social in the Cowles Library Reading Room. 

All Called to be True Blue recipients from this past academic year will be recognized, with one individual and one team receiving the coveted Sapphire award. The winner of this year’s Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service award will also be announced.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

All Staff Council is holding a Bulldogs Connect networking lunch on Wednesday, April 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The  Recognition Committee is hosting this month. Enjoy learning what staff on this committee focus on throughout the year. Anyone is welcome to come for a $5 lunch at Hubbell. Look for the table with the Drake swag and a special Bulldogs Connect table tent in Hubbell.

Also a reminder that All Staff Council invites you to share any suggestions, concerns, or other feedback you’d like us to look into using this form. (If you’d like us to respond to your feedback directly, please include your name and contact information, otherwise let us know your thoughts anonymously.)

— Megan Franklin, On behalf of All Staff Council

Thank you to everyone who has already completed the Great Colleges To Work For survey. We have not yet reached our participation goal, but we’re getting closer! Currently, 63% of faculty and staff have participated. We are striving to have 67% respond. The good news is, there is still time to complete the survey. The survey period ends today, so if you have not completed the survey, please consider taking this opportunity to make your voice heard.  

If you have not received an invitation to complete the survey, please check your junk or spam folder.  If it is not there, please let Nate Reagen or Maureen De Armond know right away.   

We will follow-up before the fall semester with the overall university results of the survey. All unit-leaders (with greater than five employees) will have the results to share by then as well.   

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources; Nate Reagen, Office of the President