FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2004

CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119

DRAKE PRESENTS TOP TEACHER, MENTOR AWARDS

Drake University recently presented its most prestigious awards for faculty and staff to John Rozycki, associate professor of finance, and Frederick Adams, the Ellis and Nelle Levitt professor of history. The awards were given at Drake's Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 9.

The Madelyn M. Levitt Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award and Madelyn M. Levitt Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award were established in 1994 by Madelyn M. Levitt, a member of the Drake University Board of Trustees and special assistant to President David Maxwell.

Rozycki, a resident of Urbandale, was honored with the Madelyn M. Levitt Mentor of the Year Award, which recognizes the faculty or staff member who best demonstrates excellence in advising and offers outstanding commitment to student success and integrity in personal relationships. Adams, a resident of Des Moines, received the Madelyn M. Levitt Teacher of the Year Award, which recognizes the faculty member who best demonstrates excellence in teaching, inspirational leadership and intellectual rigor.

Rozycki, who joined the Drake faculty 12 years ago, teaches corporate finance, equity valuation and analysis, financial management, strategic financial processes, investments, international finance, investment analysis and portfolio management. In addition, Rozycki has become chairperson of a newly created department consisting of actuarial science, finance, economics, insurance and statistics.

In spite of these additional duties, Rozycki continues to lead his equity valuations and analysis class in the Krause Gentle Challenge, a competition among students at Drake, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. Krause Gentle donated $100,000 each to the four universities four years ago for the competition.

"After four years of investing, the class had grown the fund to $175,000 and Drake had a $50,000 lead over its closest competitor," wrote a student nominating Rozycki for the award. "In contrast, investing the same amount in the S&P 500 four years ago would have resulted in a loss. The fantastic results are a testament to professor Rozycki's steadfast commitment to hard work."

Rozycki carries his commitment to students beyond the ordinary classroom setting. "The professor takes an interest in his students' lives outside of the classroom," the student said. "After finishing a session in his office, one can always expect him to say, 'So, what else is going on?' It his effort to push beyond the realm of academia. When I have discussed difficult decisions with him regarding my career choices, he has always been supportive and frank. He desires success for his students and creates opportunities for them to pursue."

Adams joined the Drake faculty in 1969 as an assistant professor of history. He became an associate professor in 1973, professor in 1976, department chair from 1988-1998. In 1989, he was named the Ellis and Nelle Levitt professor of history. During his time at Drake, he has received the Honor Teaching Award in the Social Services Division in 1973-74, the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1973-74 and Teacher of the Year in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1992-93.

In a nomination letter, a former student said Adams is "a teacher of unparalleled excellence, at once a brilliant, mesmerizing lecturer and an inspired seminar leader. He maintained the highest academic standards, yet his broad sympathies, commitment, and passion earned him the respect of a range of students running from junior-year Phi Beta Kappas to those with modest academic records and relatively limited academic ability. Indeed, he was one of those exceptionally rare teachers who was consistently popular despite a reputation for being a tough grader.

"While I was at Drake he spent countless hours with me," the former student continued. "Counseling, advising, listening to (and sometimes gently disabusing me of) my immature and half-baked pronouncements about history - and, in so doing, helped me to acquire the skill set and confidence necessary to create a life for myself in academe. Anything I have accomplished over the past 30-odd years is due to Fred Adams more than anyone else."