|
|
|
|
|
Campus
News
The year was 1926. Herbert Hoover was president, and women had earned the right to vote only six years earlier. The first commercial broadcasting network-NBC Red-transmitted its first programming to the 20 percent of American homes fortunate enough to own radios. Prohibition and the Jazz Age defined the cultural context, and a young teacher and football coach, John T. Scopes, was plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit pitting Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan in the infamous "monkey trial" that eventually legalized the teaching of evolution in public schools. It was also the year that Drake Stadium was built. For nearly 80 years, Drake Stadium has been a place where records are broken and memories made. For many alumni, athletes and track and field fans, it is where they've gathered every April for the Drake Relays. It's been the place where students and alumni gather for a beautiful fall football afternoon. And for the local community, Drake Stadium is a landmark and a significant financial contributor to Des Moines and one of its most historic neighborhoods. Renovation means rejuvenation Although Drake Stadium has been maintained as responsibly as resources have allowed, the years have taken their toll. Though it is safe for current use, extensive repairs are needed to ensure its future structural stability. And just as importantly, Drake Stadium must meet the needs of the 21st century. The stadium's track does not conform to national and international standards. This lack of conformity-the sharp turns-slow down runners and is the reason national and international records are no longer set at the Relays. A reconfigured track will provide the physical foundation for creating new national and international records here at Drake; it will also create tremendous potential for attracting national events like the NCAA and USA Track and Field meets, even Olympic Trials. Realizing that potential becomes even greater if Drake undertakes badly needed physical and aesthetic renovation to the press box, meeting rooms and concessions. To make this vision of a renovated stadium a reality, Drake University is launching an aggressive $20 million fundraising campaign. Because public moneys, if available, are likely to be limited, private donors must play a critical and pivotal role in saving the stadium-and saving the Relays from diminishing in relevance and stature. Something special Clearly, a structure dating back to the times of Herbert Hoover and Prohibition is a structure sorely in need of major repair and restoration. And to make Drake Stadium a major venue for national and international track and field events will require an unprecedented commitment from the entire Drake community. Jesse Owens, one of the most legendary figures in American sports history, once said, "There's something special about the Drake Relays...the bigness and smallness. The smallness comes from the stadium, so uniquely right for track, and the closeness of the people...You know they're with you." We hope alumni will be with us as we embark on this exciting new chapter in our future. |
||||
 'Magic'
Johnson shares his perspective on HIV, AIDSOn Dec. 3, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson attended a dinner in Levitt Hall, delivered the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture to a crowd of approximately 4,000 at the Drake Knapp Center and posed for photos and signed autographs at a private reception. Johnson, who first tested positive for HIV 11 years ago, said, "People think it can't happen to them. I'm living proof that it can happen." |
||||
|
Presidential historian and Grammy-winning composer to present Bucksbaum lectures Presidential historian Michael Beschloss and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and musician Wynton Marsalis will give the next two lectures in the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series at Drake University. Beschloss, described by Newsweek as "the nation's leading presidential historian," will give a lecture titled "Democracy in a Time of Crisis" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in the Drake Knapp Center. Beschloss is the author of seven books, a regular commentator on PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" and a contributor to ABC News. His most recent book is the bestseller "The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945." He also has written books about John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson. He won the Ambassador Book Prize for his book titled "The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khruschev, 1960-1963." Beschloss is now working on a history of Abraham Lincoln's last days and assassination. He is a trustee of the White House Historical Association, the National Archives Foundation and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Marsalis, who has garnered nine Grammy Awards, is the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize in music, will give a lecture titled "An Evening with Wynton Marsalis" at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 in the Drake Knapp Center, then perform a concert with the Wynton Marsalis Septet at 9:30 p.m. on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main. Marsalis received the Pulitzer Prize for his epic oratorio on the subject of slavery, "Blood in the Fields." He serves as artistic director of the internationally recognized Jazz at Lincoln Center Program, which includes the popular Marsalis' Jazz for Young People series. Since his debut album was released in 1982, Marsalis' numerous jazz and classical recordings have sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide. He has taken his jazz groups to 30 countries on six continents and is the author of "Sweet Swing Blues on the Road," an in-depth chronicle of his touring life. In 1996 Time magazine named Marsalis among America's 25 most influential people. Both lectures are free and open to the public. Concert tickets will go on sale in September at the Drake Fine Arts Box Office. "About Schmidt" makes Drake grads proud Drake University alumni across the country can hardly contain their pride when they see the movie "About Schmidt," in which a character mentions he has a business degree from the University.  "Since
I live in Kentucky, I think I was the only one in the theatre to get excited at
the mention of Drake!" says Stephane Rogers, BN'86. "I wanted to stand
and tell the entire theatre audience that I, too, have a business degree from
Drake, but instead I remained in my seat and chuckled to myself."In the film, Jack Nicholson plays a retiring actuary at the Omaha insurance firm Woodmen in the World. His replacement is a young whippersnapper from Des Moines who has a business degree from Drake. Though the novel on which the film is based is set in Manhattan, screenwriter/director Alexander Payne (of "Election" and "Citizen Ruth" fame) brought the story to his hometown of Omaha. Coincidentally, there really is a Drake graduate working as an actuary at the insurance firm. Michael Batchelder, BN'93, is an assistant actuary there, and he and his wife Shannon served as extras when the film crew came to Woodmen Tower in May 2001 to shoot parts of the film. Though the Batchelders' scene got cut, many Woodmen associates did appear in final edit. A couple of months before the scenes were filmed, Nicholson came to Woodmen to do research for the role and met with some of the senior actuaries. Though only three actuaries were invited to the meeting, Batchelder did get the chance to tell Nicholson an actuary joke, which he describes as "not exactly politically correct": "What's the difference between a New York actuary and a Sicilian actuary? A New York actuary will tell you how many people will die, but a Sicilian actuary will tell you who." "From what I've heard from those in the meeting," Batchelder says, "his general impression of actuaries after the meeting was that they were not quite as boring as the script had made them out to be." Drake maintains top "U.S. News & World Report" rankings Drake University has again received U.S. News & World Report's top ranking for academic reputation, tying with Valparaiso and Creighton among the 141 Midwest universities in the Master's category. Drake also remained in the top five universities overall, as well as moving up from fifth to fourth place in the "best value" the magazine's 2003 edition of America's Best Colleges. You can help Drake rank even higher The U.S. News & World Report rankings are a tool widely used by prospective students and their parents in narrowing the number of colleges and universities they consider for application. Alumni play a key role in the rankings; one of the factors comprising the overall rankings is alumni participation. In recent years, the percentage of alumni who contribute to Drake has declined. Please help Drake move up in next year's rankings by contributing to the Annual Fund. Your contribution-regardless of size-is not only appreciated, but also helps us with student recruitment by strengthening Drake's competitive position in these annual rankings. Drake takes innovative approaches to increasing enrollment In order to remain competitive and build awareness in the highly competitive race for students, Drake has positioned itself ahead of a national trend by sending information to prospective students earlier in their high school careers. Reaching out to students while they are sophomores allows Drake more time to build a relationships with the students and to position Drake more strongly in their minds as they shape their college decisions. Thus far, the Office of Admission reports good response from high school sophomores and juniors. Drake is seeing increases in campus visits and applications. While it's too soon to make any predictions, the Office of Admission is optimistic these trends will continue. Other news from the Office of Admission
|
||||
| << previous | next >> |
|||
