Smeal Update: Friday, June 4, 2021

Smeal Development and Alumni Relations team receives DDAR 2021 Teamwork and Collaboration Award

This award recognizes individuals, units, or groups who embody and exemplify the Penn State Division of Development and Alumni Relations core values of teamwork and collaboration. We seek to acknowledge the efforts of either individuals or groups of staff members who, within and beyond the scope of their own jobs and/or areas of responsibility, work across functional lines to produce an outcome that could not have been achieved working individually. The Smeal team was recognized for its record-breaking performance in the fiscal year 2020.

Ph.D. student chosen as recipient of RISE Above Graduate Student Award

Felix Xu, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Marketing, has been selected as the 2020-21 academic year recipient of the RISE Above Graduate Student Award. Read the story.

Performance review cycle ends June 30

The end-of-year ratings phase of the performance review cycle began March 17. End-of-year reviews must be completed by June 30. Staff employees should have received a notification in their Workday inbox to complete their self-evaluation. Employees must have approved goals in Workday, or they will not receive the notification or have access to complete end-of-year evaluation activities. Workday will launch end-of-year activities once this is completed. On June 30, Workday will close for this review cycle. After June 30, it will not be possible to enter evaluation comments or overall ratings in Workday. For more information, see the email from Penn State Human Resources sent on Monday. Anyone with questions should reach out to HR Services at 814-865-1473.

Smeal in the News

Ed Ketz quoted in Fortune

Ed Ketz, associate professor of accounting, was quoted in a Fortune Eye on Investing story titled “The Bitcoin rollercoaster will force Tesla to take hits that investors will hate.” Read the story (subscription required).

Do you know someone who rocks? Nominate them!

Each month the Smeal Staff Advisory Committee names a You Rock! Award recipient. You can nominate a co-worker for the You Rock! Award online.

The Smeal Community Weekly Poll
This week's survey explores your propensity for owning pets. Click this link to participate. Results will be shared during the next Smeal Community Zoom.