More than 50 faculty and staff members were recognized for their dedication and commitment to Drake at the Drake University Spring Faculty and Staff Recognition Event. The event took place on Tuesday, May 7 in Parents Hall of the Olmsted Center.
The celebration honored Drake employees who have reached 20, 25, 30, or 35 years of service, as well as upcoming and recent retirees. More than 200 faculty and staff members attended the event to celebrate their colleagues.
President Maxwell opened the ceremony by welcoming the guests and reminding the audience of Drake news headlines from 20, 25, 30, and 35 years ago. Venessa Macro, assistant vice president of business and finance and director of human resources, then took the podium to read the name and title of each honoree.
In the past, only the honorees, a guest of their choice, and their supervisor or senior level administrator was invited to attend the celebration. This year, the event was open to all full-time faculty and staff. The University plans to continue the tradition every spring in this new format.
“We are very pleased with the new format of this program,” says Laura Schwarz, administrative support specialist. “Each and every employee contributes to the University and to our students. It is important to recognize those contributions.”
The 2013 faculty and staff honorees were as follows:
20 years
Daniel Alexander, Robert Bruinekool, Charisse Busing, Hunter Clark, Charles Disilvestro, Susan Fink, Gary Johnson, Gholam Mirafzal, Amy Nichols, Clarence Padilla, Nivedita Pandit, Charles Phillips, John Pomeroy, Elizabeth Stucker
25 years
Judith Allen, Klaus Bartschat, Danny Beaty, Ronald Caudle, Robert Cooper, Marie Fisher, Trudi Holst, Janet Howard, Gloria Lawless, Carla McCrea, Carolyn Nelson, Josefa Poppen, Robert Stensrud, Jody Swilky
30 years
Garry Frank, Claudia Frazer, Neil Hamilton, Patrick Heaston, Larhee Henderson, Aggie Jones, Katherine Lincoln, Joseph Scavo, Janice Weaver
35 years
Terry Barnes, David Foley, Kathy Jefferson, Lawrence Naylor
Retirees
Ronnie Buenger, Jane Dewitt, Hans Hanson, Douglas Hillman, Ronda Menke, Adolphus Pulliam, Lois Santi, Beverly Shivers, Ronald Troyer, Janice Walker, Susan Wright