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Be True to Your
School
Alumni
Award Winners Give Back to SJMC
Mentoring students, devoting
time to committees and advisory boards, funding projects and helping students find
their first job keep Alumni Achievement Award winners connected to Drake and give
them an opportunity to give back to their alma mater. For Drake, Alumni Achievement
Award winners are inspiring proof of just how far SJMC graduates can go.
Each year since 1997, the SJMC honors dedicated graduates with Alumni Achievement
Awards as a small token of thanks for their loyal and active involvement in the SJMC.
"Alumni play a vital role in the life of the University," said President
David Maxwell. "Many serve the University as members of various boards -- such
as the Board of Trustees, the Alumni Board and National Advisory Boards. In those
roles, they provide critical guidance, support, expertise and resources. As accomplished
professionals out in the 'real world,' many of our alumni offer invaluable perspectives
and input that help us in decisions regarding programs, curricula and planning. A
number of Drake faculty invite alumni back into the classroom to talk with students
about their area of expertise. Alumni are also very generous in talking with students
about careers, in arranging internships and 'work shadowing' opportunities."
Louis Carr
Crediting Drake with giving him the "experience, flexibility and understanding
to deal with people from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds,"
Louis Carr, JO'78, executive vice president of broadcast advertising sales for Black
Entertainment Television in Chicago, said staying involved at Drake is his way of
giving back and keeping students "in tune with the current work environment."
Carr earned his Alumni Achievement Award in 1999.
Bonnie Miller Rubin
"Hopefully when others see a successful Drake alum, it cements the reputation
that Drake is a place where minds are expanded, skills are honed and dreams are realized,"
said Bonnie Miller Rubin, JO'73, Pulitzer prize-winning reporter for the Chicago
Tribune, of why she stays involved with Drake. Rubin hosts coffee talks with
her husband, also a Drake grad, for prospective students.
Professionally, Rubin is a book writer and magazine contributor in addition to her
role at the Chicago Tribune. The SJMC honored her with an Alumni Achievement
Award in 2000.
Keeping students abreast of current issues in the professional world of journalism,
as well as helping them get a foot in the door, are of prime importance to many Alumni
Achievement Award winners. Some even started their own careers that way.
Paul Leavitt
Paul Leavitt, JO'72, Washington news editor of USA Today in McLean, VA, and
a member of Drake's Board of Trustees, earned his award in 1997. As a student at
Drake, Leavitt's favorite reporting class was taught by a retired Des Moines Register
reporter George "Lefty" Mills. Mills sent his students to ferret out stories
he'd been tipped off to by sources in state government. Mills would gather the most
newsworthy stories and publish them in the Register with the student's byline.
"It was real journalism," said Leavitt. Before moving to the East Coast,
Leavitt often volunteered in the classroom as a guest lecturer discussing ethics,
accuracy and obtaining information in the "real world" of professional
journalism. And, though he currently lives in Virginia, Leavitt is still involved
in the J-school as a member of the National Advisory Board and funded the start-up
of a SJMC Faculty Development Fund and Dean's Discretionary Fund.
Jill Van Dyke Waage
A frequent visitor to Drake's campus and J-school classrooms, Jill Van Dyke Waage,
JO'91, speaks to journalism classes about everything from pitching and writing a
story to layout design and production. As editorial manager of the decorating and
design department of Better Homes and Gardens special interest publications, Waage
also recruits students. In the past, she has invited students to photo shoots, critiqued
student publications, interviewed and judged finalists for the Alumni Scholars program
and served on the J-school's Alumni Advisory Board. She won her Alumni Achievement
Award in 1998 and received the Young Alumni Loyalty Award from Drake's National Alumni
Association in May.
"I wouldn't be where I am today without the education I received at Drake,"
Waage said. "I enjoy the fact that my relationship with Drake did not end at
graduation. It is gratifying, and not to mention fun, to continue to be involved
with the University, its students, faculty and other alums across the country. In
some ways, it feels like I never leftÖ until someone calls me 'ma'am.'"
Diane Graham
Diane Graham, JO'74, managing editor for staff development at the Des Moines Register,
received her award in 1997. As a founding member of the SJMC National Advisory Board
and current chair, Graham has remained involved in directing the future of the J-school.
"Personally, I like talking with students about the journalism profession and
want to give back to a school that was so important to my professional success,"
said Graham. "Professionally, I'm recruiting and hiring Drake students to work
in the Register newsroom."
Bob Tucker
Bob Tucker, JO'72, is another SJMC grad who's been honored for his contributions
to Drake. Tucker, president and CEO of TuckerKnapp Integrated Marketing in Schaumburg,
IL, has seen his company grow dramatically over the past 15 years from a home-based
business to a 40-person firm. Last year, it was named one of the top 100 marketing
agencies by Business Marketing magazine. Tucker's professional success has encouraged
him to donate time and funding to several important projects in the SJMC and to the
University as part of Campaign Drake.
| SJMC Alumni Award
Winners |
| 2002 |
1998 |
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Jacqueline Goettsch, JO'79 |
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Catherine A. Carroll Erickson,
JO'79 |
| 2001 |
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Ken Robinson, LA'38 |
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Becki Roth Drahota, JO'72 |
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Harrison "Skip" Weber,
JO'55 |
| |
Warren Swain, JO'68 |
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Jill Van Dyke Waage, JO'91 |
| 2000 |
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Maury White, JO'42 |
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Bonnie Miller Rubin, JO'73 |
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Verda L. Williams, JO'66 |
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Robert Spiegel, LA'43 |
1997 |
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Robert Tucker, JO'72 |
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Diane Graham, JO'74 |
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Larry Whiteside, JO'59 |
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Barbara Powers Hazlehurst, JO'69 |
| 1999 |
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Paul Leavitt, JO'72 |
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Louis Carr, JO'78 |
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John Mathew, JO'77 |
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Barbara Franklin Humeston, JO'67 |
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Paul Morrison, JO'39 |
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Christopher Scholl, JO'85 |
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Patricia Prijatel, GR'79 |
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