On Campus - Stories August 17, 2001 - Vol. 54, No. 11 DRAKE ALUMNUS INTERVIEWED ON 'THE EARLY SHOW' DRAKE CLASS TO BE FEATURED AT STATE FAIR WANTED: NOMINATIONS FOR EMPLOYEE EXCELLENCE AWARDS MICROCOMPUTER SERVICES PLANS AUG. 22 OPEN HOUSE DUAX, GRAU NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MVC SOCCER TEAM

Drake University alumnus Jeremy Glenn, now an attorney in Chicago, was interviewed today on "The Early Show" on CBS.
Glenn, BN'94, discussed employer liability for employee cell phone use. He also addressed a recent case where, allegedly, an employee's use of a cell phone to conduct firm business caused an accident.

On March 8, 2000, Jane L. Wagner, an associate at the law firm of Cooley Godward, was driving to her Virginia home at 10 p.m. when she accidentally swerved off the road and hit what she thought was a deer, before continuing home. In fact she struck and killed 15-year-old Naeun Yoon, who was walking on the shoulder of the road.

Wagner now is serving a one-year jail sentence for leaving the scene of an accident. Her employer, Cooley Godward, is facing a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit, because Wagner allegedly was making business calls on her hand-held cellular phone at or around the time of the accident. Currently, at least 40 states are considering legislation to limit or ban the use of cell phones while operating a motor vehicle.

Glenn, an attorney with the Chicago firm of D'Ancona and Pflaum, recently was interviewed by Business Insurance magazine regarding a Sept. 1999 article he wrote about employer liability for employee cell phone use. The Business Insurance article was published on July 16, and prompted Glenn's invitation to appear on CBS.

Darlene Bradner, assistant professor of education, will have her Human Resource Management weekend class featured tonight and tomorrow at the Iowa State Fair. The class, which Bradner teaches over the Iowa Communications Network, will be shown at the Iowa Communications Network exhibit in the Knapp Industrial Building, formerly known as the Varied Industries Building.

The class sessions to be televised run from 5 to 10 p.m. tonight (Friday, Aug. 17) and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18. The class originates from the Heartland Area Education Agency in Johnston and reaches students at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa.

Human Resource Management is a core course in the graduate program in Adult Learning, Performance and Development.

Nominations are being sought for two Employee Excellence Awards that will be presented this fall. The awards are designed to recognize members of the Drake staff who demonstrate exceptional initiative, commitment and excellence in the performance of their duties.

Recipients will receive $500 each. The recipients will be announced at the Faculty and Staff Convocation, which starts at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main.

Nominees must be current staff members with at least one year of service at Drake. Letters of nomination should be submitted to Human Resources Director Venessa Macro by Monday, Aug. 27. Nominations should include a concise description, with specific examples of the following qualifications of the nominee:

• Exceptional performance as an employee of Drake University, consistently going above and beyond the regular expectations of the position;
• Outstanding dedication to providing courteous, prompt and quality service;
• Demonstrated commitment to University programs, initiatives and services;
• Professional values and behavior that demonstrate exceptional service to others and commitment to the University.

A screening committee, composed of senior administrative staff, will review all nominations and select a group of finalists for submission to the President's Cabinet, which will select the two recipients.

Faculty and staff are invited to attend an open house from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Aug. 22, in the computer lab on the second floor of Cowles Library. The open house will showcase the lab's new computers.

The annual Athletic Department Corn Feed will be held on Monday, Aug., 27, at the Izaak Walton League, 4343 Valley Drive. This event provides a great opportunity to meet the Bulldog coaching staff as well as other Drake supporters throughout the community.

The social hour will start at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will follow at 6:30 p.m. and the program will start at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $25 per person For more information or reservations, call the Athletic Ticket Office at x3791.

Junior Dusty Grau (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and sophomore Brian Duax (West Des Moines Valley) of the Drake University men's soccer team, have been named to the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference team.

Sophomore goal keeper Zack Brennan (Olathe, Kan.) received honorable mention honors on the preseason MVC team.

Duax, who scored a team-high 25 points including a team-high 13 goals last season, earned honorable mention All-MVC honors last year. Grau tallied 25 points, including 10 goals. Brennan recorded a 1.97 goals against average.

Drake was picked to finish ninth in the preseason MVC coaches poll. Southern Methodist, receiving nine of 10 first-place votes, was the overwhelming choice to win the league title, followed by Creighton, Bradley, Tulsa, Southwest Missouri State, Vanderbilt, Eastern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Drake and Evansville.

The Bulldogs will open a19-match regular season schedule when they play Oregon State Sept. 1 in Omaha, Neb.