The 11 students represent the first graduating class of the University’s Discover Drake: Prepare, Research and Explore Pharmacy (D-PREP) program, which was initiated by the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2009. The program introduces students to pharmacy and other health care careers.

Participants are eligible for enrollment in D-PREP beginning their sophomore year of high school. Throughout the next three years they engage in college-level laboratory experimentation, tour an operating pharmacy, and attend learning sessions focused on college preparation for a variety of health care fields.

In one activity, the upcoming graduating class was introduced to lab work by using Drake’s new pharmacogenomics (personalized medicine) lab to extract DNA from strawberries.

“We’re really giving these students an insight into the work they’d be doing in a pharmacy or pre-professional university experience,” says Renae Chesnut, professor of pharmacy practice and associate dean of student affairs at Drake.

D-PREP participants meet for an all-day summer camp and two evening sessions each year. They must have a 3.25 grade point average when they sign up and are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA through the remainder of their high school career.

The program has grown by a few students every year since its inception. This year, 16 high school juniors and 19 sophomores are enrolled. The drugstore chain Walgreens has donated $8,000 annually to support initiatives at Drake, including D-PREP, that promote diversity in healthcare.

Drake’s pharmacy and pre-professional students have latched on to the program as a valuable learning and leadership opportunity. Approximately 50 of them serve as mentors to D-PREP students, sharing their own high school and college experiences.

“For Drake’s staff and students, it’s great to see the program participants as they learn and progress from year to year,” says Sara Bonney, admissions liaison and D-PREP program coordinator. “They learn so much about health care. But some of what they enjoy most is just having a chance to spend time on a college campus and immersing themselves in that environment. That’s very valuable to them, too.”

After months of intensive planning and preparation, six Republican presidential hopefuls assembled in Sheslow Auditorium to discuss their political convictions.

The GOP debate, held earlier this month, engaged Drake students in the American electoral process and brought national attention to the University.

A packed house watches the debate in Sheslow Auditorium.

Campus was immersed in the complex media and political production, which was televised in prime time by ABC News and moderated by Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos. Hundreds of journalists representing worldwide news agencies were on hand to report on the debate’s outcome.

Rachel Paine Caufield, associate professor of politics and director of Drake’s Iowa Caucus Project, says that the debate provided myriad opportunities for students to become involved with a news production of national caliber and interest.

“An unprecedented number of Drake students are actively engrossed in the 2012 election,” says Paine Caufield. “Most universities envy that kind of political engagement, excitement and energy.”

Debate provides Drake students with opportunities

Earlier this year, the Drake University Student Senate established a committee to coordinate opportunities for student engagement during the 2012 presidential election. Sam Pritchard, a sophomore marketing major from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, serves as its chair.

“Preparing for the debate provided my fellow committee members and myself with a phenomenal opportunity to become involved on campus,” Pritchard says. “We wanted students to become actively engaged in political discourse and to represent Drake positively. They rose to the occasion.”

The student-organized events were well attended by students eager to talk about current events and become involved in the political process.

More than 150 students participated in Pancakes and Politics, a breakfast discussion also attended by Josh Romney, son of presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney. In addition, approximately 250 students attended a debate watch party held in two Meredith Hall classrooms.

Students stand-in for candidates and ABC News personalities.

Civically conscious students

More than two dozen Drake students assisted ABC News producers, technical staff and news personnel in preparing and executing the debate and its broadcast.

“Working side by side with the ABC News crew during the Republican presidential debate was an opportunity that I could not have experienced at another university,” says Christine Setsodi, a senior public relations and biology double major from Lincoln, Neb.

“I learned about event planning, logistics, production, broadcasting and the behind-the-scenes work of the media. Interacting with Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos and potentially the next president of the United States is an experience I will never forget.”

“I could not have asked for more from our students in positively representing Drake,” Paine Caufield says. “When thrust into the national spotlight — and even when they saw Diane Sawyer walking down the hall — our students still remained attentive, calm and respectful, despite their excitement. Everyone from ABC News has emphasized how their experiences with Drake students were delightful.”

Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos moderate the debate.

Drake’s straw poll

Leading up to the debate, Drake’s Student Senate conducted an online straw poll in which more than 1,200 students cast votes using a secure online balloting system.

“We were thrilled that so many students participated,” Pritchard says. “This poll represents the largest university campus straw poll conducted during the 2012 election cycle.”

The results of the poll indicated that students at the University are almost evenly split between those who lean Republican and those who define themselves as Democrats.

Debate brings national attention to Drake

An estimated 7.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the live GOP debate, making it the most-watched debate of the 2012 race. In addition to the debate, ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer” broadcasted two entire shows live from Sheslow Auditorium, where more than 100 students were able to watch. Segments for “Good Morning America,” “Nightline” and “This Week with Christiane Amanpour” were also filmed on campus.

To read Assistant Professor of Journalism Jill VanWyke’s chronicle of student involvement in the preparation and execution of the broadcast, visit:

http://storify.com/jillvanwyke/gop-debate-at-drake-university

To read Assistant Professor of Politics Rachel Paine Caufield’s blog on Huffington Post, visit:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-paine-caufield

“Trying a real case has been an incredibly valuable experience,” says Kaman, a third year law student from Spring Grove, Ill. “This case was particularly interesting and relevant due to events occurring throughout the country related to free speech rights.”

Polk County, Iowa Courthouse

Kaman’s client was physically assaulted while participating in a public demonstration raising awareness of Guantanamo Bay detainee treatment. Thanks to his competence in court, Kaman achieved a favorable outcome for his client, which was reached earlier this month.

“Not only did the assailant receive a very stern lecture from the judge about respecting others’ opinions and the need for civil discourse, but my client was awarded compensation for medical damages and pain and suffering,” Kaman says. The judge also ordered the defendant to pay punitive damages to the Iowa Civil Reparations Fund.

For Kaman, the most rewarding aspect of the experience was his client’s reaction to the case’s outcome.

“This situation was something that she had been dealing with for almost a year,” Kaman says. “It was fulfilling to see her relief.”

Successful real-world practice fostered by expert faculty

Kaman spent 20 hours preparing for the case and represented his client in all court proceedings. Sally Frank, professor of law, who possesses 20 years of experience representing public activists in Des Moines, observed Kaman’s work first-hand. Her knowledge of free speech rights has proven invaluable to her students, including Kaman.

“As an adviser for students participating in real cases, Professor Frank reviews our work, provides support and guides us with a light hand,” Kaman says. “This experience has strengthened my resolve to become an attorney.”

Frank says that the Drake Law School emphasizes the value of clinical experience in its curriculum.

“There’s more to being a lawyer than just legal research,” Frank says. “You have to know how to talk to clients, judges and juries. Drake law students graduate with the practical knowledge base of a second-year associate, rather than ‘first-time-in-court’ recent law school graduates. They have experiences they can rely on, and they hit the ground running on the first day after their admission to the bar.”

Kaman, who graduated from Drake this month, will sit for the Illinois Bar Exam in February.

Renovated electronic media lab at Meredith Hall.

A look inside the University’s upgraded electronic media lab

Professors and students are singing high-tech praises for a newly revamped electronic media classroom in Meredith Hall.

Meredith’s Room 2, which was originally a photo-processing lab and then a small audio/video editing room, was transformed this summer into what Professor John Lytle calls a “digital palace.”

The addition of 18 flat-screen Final Cut Pro-enabled Mac computers and a totally redesigned layout have created a state-of-the-art haven for electronic media students, who recently completed their first semester of study in the lab.

The classroom is also equipped with a full teaching station and two large projection screens. A new shared server makes it easy for file transfers and group-work.

Autumn Moore (JO ’12), a senior radio-television production major, says the addition of so many computers with Final Cut Pro video-editing software eliminated competition among students for lab time. Moore took a sports television production class from Todd Evans, professor of journalism, in the new room this fall.

“The classroom set-up is great because you can be working while following along with the professor,” Moore says. “It really makes for an excellent learning environment.”

Several other classes used the new classroom this semester, including Television Field Photography and Radio News Editing and Reporting. Students are free to use the room when class is not in session.

The renovation project cost nearly $70,000, and was funded primarily by the tuition-funded technology fee. The investment will not only help current students, but will act as a selling point for potential future electronic media students.

– Jack Thumser, Class of 2012

Drake Bulldogs No. 15, Willie McCarter, catches air during a game in 1969.

Though April brings track and field events to Drake Stadium that become many Bulldogs’ fondest memories, winter means college basketball at The Knapp Center. And while many of us remember the men’s 2008 trip to the NCAA Tournament, it wasn’t the team’s first time in the national spotlight.

In 1969, the men’s basketball team, led by Willie McCarter, Willie Wise and Dolph Pulliam, made it to the Final Four. Though they ultimately fell to UCLA, the 1969 Quax said, “SUPER-EEEE-ENDOUS was about the only superlative with enough force to describe the whirlwind season of the 1968–1969 Drake University Basketball team.”

To see more historic photos of Drake basketball, visit our Flickr gallery.

With an exciting early win over rival Iowa State and a hard-fought 62-60 victory over Air Force, the 2011–2012 men’s basketball team record is currently 6-4, which gives students and alumni alike a reason to stream in The Knapp Center this season. Check out their full schedule here.

Alumni connections help a student prepare for a future in physics

Instead of spending the summer shoveling rotten soybeans at the grain elevator near his family’s Haven Township, Minn. farm, a Drake alumni connection afforded Mike Meyers, a senior physics and mathematics double major, the opportunity to ponder plasma at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

“I get to drive a forklift and all that,” Meyers says of his hometown work option. “But I think as far as helping me become a professional, working in a national lab was a lot better and I enjoyed it a lot more. “

Mike Meyers, senior physics and mathematics double major from Haven Township, Minn.

Meyers’ internship experience as a research assistant at a premier national security research institution was hands-on, challenging and meaningful. Ultimately, the type of computer simulations of plasma that he helped design could be applied to develop a type of very compact particle accelerator for use in radiation therapy.

“I got to meet a lot of really smart people from around the country and I got to experience what the life of a professional physicist is like,” Meyers says.

The opportunity arose thanks to a connection with Brian Albright, AS’92, a scientist in the Computational Physics Division at LANL. Meyers took Albright up on an offer to connect him with a LANL internship the summer after his sophomore year and was asked back the summer after his junior year.

Last year, Albright returned to campus as the Life After Drake featured speaker.

“Several of my professors are still at Drake and I maintain my connections with them in order to get an ‘inside track’ on who their best students are, who I can invite to the Laboratory,” Albright says.

“Only by getting a glimpse into our world can students be in a position to make informed decisions about their careers. I know that I benefitted greatly as a student by working with one of my professors while at Drake University, Prof. Klaus Bartschat in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. I credit the successes I’ve had in my career to his mentorship and I am delighted that we could give back by providing Mike a similar experience.”

Meyers says the Drake faculty’s approach to physics instruction prepared him to do the original research required by his internship. He worked with Dr. Albright and Dr. Chengkun Huang on novel ways to model on the computer the dynamics of a plasma flowing at nearly the speed of light. This was a challenging problem involving complex physics (Einstein’s Theory of Relativity), difficult mathematics and the development of new computer algorithms.

Brian Albright, AS'92

“In order to do this work, Mike had to work very hard to master a lot of new material — and then go beyond, to help our team discover something new,” Albright says. “He showed great teamwork skills, integrating well into our group and contributing to what turned out to be a very hard problem. Though we didn’t solve the problem entirely, we made substantial progress and — I believe — are nearing a solution.”

Meyers says he thinks the curriculum at Drake prepares students to make a theoretical-based career.

“It helps you develop an analytic thinking process instead of just memorizing formulas. In science, you have to memorize a few things and then you must be able to do math and reason through to derive the rest of the theory. Those skills allowed me to have success at Los Alamos. “

Meyers says he first decided to pursue a physics degree at Drake after taking the Drake Physics Test in high school. Although he didn’t win the physics scholarship, Meyers said the test made him aware of opportunities at Drake, and when he earned other scholarships he decided to attend.

Exciting opportunities aren’t isolated to summer experiences, either. Meyers is currently carrying out other original research on campus with Athanasios Petridis, associate professor of physics and astronomy.

This fall, he flew to Salt Lake City, Utah to present a poster from his LANL project at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics. There he received the Outstanding Poster Award, which is presented to the best of the 76 undergraduate and high school participants in the meeting. Meyers beat out students from Princeton, MIT, Harvard, University of Chicago, University of Texas—Austin, Virginia Tech, University of Wisconsin, and UCLA, to name a few, for the award.

“This level of preparation and professionalism is a credit to Mike and his institution,” Albright says. “I am delighted that he was able to make it to our meeting and represent Los Alamos National Laboratory and Drake University in this fashion.”

For Meyers, the mentorships he received at Los Alamos and at Drake are preparing him for a future in pursuit of discoveries with plasma — the most abundant form of matter in the universe.

“My next step is to go to graduate school for theoretical plasma physics and then I someday would like to end up working for a national lab,” he says. “That would be the dream.”

Graduates from Drake University’s education leadership program learn one thing above all: how to be a top dog in education.

Randy Peters, GR'04, '09, assistant professor in educational administration.

Drake alumni hold the top position in one-third of Iowa’s 359 school districts: 118 of the state’s superintendents graduated from Drake.

In addition, more than two-thirds of school districts in the state employ at least one principal or superintendent with a Drake degree. And still more alumni work as curriculum directors, athletic directors and administrators with the Iowa Area Education Agency and other educational organizations, according to data gathered by the School of Education and the Iowa Department of Education this year.

Most of those administrators hold degrees from Drake’s education leadership program. The graduate program trains ambitious educators like Randy Peters, GR’04, ’09, to be exceptional leaders.

Peters, who was just hired as a professor in the education leadership program this fall, worked in public schools for more than a decade. He taught history, Spanish, and physical education before moving into counseling. But Peters eventually became frustrated with the routine and longed for a chance to lead.

Peters enrolled in and completed Drake’s Master’s Degree in Education Leadership to get his principal’s licensure. It reignited his passion for education.

After receiving his licensure, he became a principal in Seattle, Wash.

“If it hadn’t been for Drake’s ed leadership program, I probably would not have stayed in education,” Peters says. “The program taught me to look at things from a broader perspective than I had as a teacher. It taught me to look at teaching and learning from a district, state, federal and even global level.”

After working as a principal, Peters returned to Drake University to earn a doctor of education. He currently teaches courses in the master’s and specialist’s programs in education leadership.

Drake’s education leadership program is a cohort-based experience. Courses are offered on weekends at off-campus locations throughout the state. The program’s four faculty members each have administrative experience in education. Every course is taught in person, rather than online or by video-conferencing.

Peters says the weekly face time with faculty members and classmates was an extremely valuable learning and networking tool.

“You spend every weekend with a group of people for two years; you get to know them pretty well,” he says. “And the program creates a model for the way you’ll need to work as a leader in education.”

Drake’s massive network of public school administrators often translates to career opportunities for both undergraduate students and alumni.

“When our graduates apply for teaching or counseling positions, they often have a natural foot in the door,” says Janet McMahill, dean of the School of Education. “These administrators know that the high standards they were held to in the graduate program correlate to the high standards that we have in our undergraduate programs.”

Today’s educators are tomorrow’s administrators — the next tops dogs in education, in Iowa and beyond. To learn more about Drake’s education leadership program, visit the program website or call Jared McCarty, coordinator of graduate admission, at 1-800-44-DRAKE, x2552.

Sunday, Jan. 22, (7 p.m. CST) National Game Watch vs. UNI, Various locations nationwide

Thursday, Feb. 9, 6 p.m. distinctlyDrake Naples

February 17-18, 2012 Choir Reunion and Benefit Concert

March 1 – 4, Men’s Basketball Missouri Valley Conference Tournament – Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 10:30 a.m. Drake Women’s Connection of Chicago Spring Brunch, East Bank Club 500 N. Kingsbury, Chicago

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 School of Education Awards

March 8 – 11, Women’s Basketball Missouri Valley Conference Tournament – Family Area, St. Charles, MO

Thursday, April 26, 5 p.m., National Alumni Awards Ceremony, Reading Room, Cowles Library

April 26-28, 2012 Drake Relays

April 26-28, 2012 10- and 40-Year Reunions

April 27-29, 2012 African-American Reunion

Saturday, April 28, 2012 All Greek Reunion

May 11-13, 2012 50- and 60-Year Reunions

Visit http://www.alumni.drake.edu for more information on upcoming alumni events.