In 1994, the Madelyn Levitt Awards were created in honor of Madelyn Levitt’s commitment to Drake and her ongoing interest in faculty and staff achievement and academic excellence. Each year they are awarded to various individuals in recognition of their excellence in a respective area of achievement consistent with Drake University’s mission and core values. 

Invitations for nominations for the various awards are accessible via the respective links below. All Drake faculty, staff, and students are invited and encouraged to nominate a Drake faculty member for the appropriate award(s) per the instructions included therein.   

 Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Teacher of the Year Award.pdf 

 Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Mentor of the Year Award.pdf 

 Nominations for the Madelyn Levitt Scholar of the Year Award.pdf 

— Anne Marie Greenwood, Office of the Provost

Drake professors Chris Porter and Chris Snider will host four virtual AI Lunch Club sessions starting Feb. 9 designed to help professionals, students, and curious learners understand and apply the latest generative AI tools.

All Drake faculty, staff, students and alumni are encouraged to sign up and share these events. There are sessions for beginners and advanced users of generative AI.

Feb. 9, 2026 – Getting Started with Generative AI

Feb. 16, 2026 – Gemini, Nano Banana and NotebookLM

Feb. 23, 2026 – Building Microsoft Copilot Agents

March 4, 2026 – Vibe coding with Claude, ChatGPT and Lovable

The sessions are free to attend thanks to a sponsorship from technology and management consultancy, Lean TECHniques. For more information, visit innovationprofs.com.

— Chris Snider, Professor of Digital Media

The Center for the Humanities invites you to join us in reading Natasha Brown’s razor-sharp 102-page novella, Assembly.

Drake students, faculty, or staff who want a book can request a free copy via this Google form.

Books will be available for pick-up at Nos Books, located in the Drake neighborhood, during the first 2 weeks of the spring semester (Jan 26-Feb 6). An optional but celebratory catered book chat will take place on Friday, March 6, at 10am, so readers can share their thoughts on the book.

The goals of this common read are to celebrate books and human ingenuity, and to promote connections among students, faculty, staff, and the Drake neighborhood through a focused reading experience. Please join us.

— Jeanette Tran, Associate Professor of English