Drake celebrates 125th birthday at science center Bennett, a 1975 Drake Law School alumnus, was on the bench for a pair of drug trafficking related murder trials held in Sioux City, Iowa, late in 2005. In the cases, Dustin Honken and his girlfriend, Angela Johnson, were each sentenced to death by juries in separate trials for the murders of three adults and two children. Bennett imposed the first death sentences issued in Iowa since 1963. Iowa is one of 12 states that do not have the death penalty but because the case was tried in federal court, the ultimate penalty was in play. Bennett was appointed to his federal judgeship in 1994 and became chief judge in 2000. After his graduation from Drake, Bennett started his own law firm in Des Moines, which eventually became Babich, Bennett & Nickerson. Over the course of more than 16 years, his extensive practice in employment discrimination, constitutional law and other civil rights litigation took him to numerous state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States, resulting in more than 50 reported decisions. "We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Drake University," said Chris Burch, director of Racing and Events. "It is the vision of the Des Moines Marathon to attract a larger number of athletes to our event by offering the premier racing experience in Des Moines. Today is another step towards making that vision a reality." "To go around the new Drake Stadium track in a setting rich with traditions will be a very exciting day for our race, our athletes and greater Des Moines," Burch said. Drake is completing a $15-million revitalization of Drake Stadium, which includes new seating, a new track that meets international standards, press box renovation, lighting and a new artificial FieldTurf surface large enough to accommodate Drake's football and men's and women's soccer programs. "The addition of Drake's campus and Drake Stadium to the Des Moines Marathon is another extension of our efforts to be an active leader and partner in the success of this community," said Drake President David Maxwell, who also runs recreationally for fitness and enjoyment. "We are pleased to host these athletes on our campus during this great event." Webb's talk is titled "America and Europe: Why We're Drifting Apart." He will discuss the changing nature of relations between the United States and Europe and the growing misunderstandings between the peoples of the two continents. Webb is a television anchor - currently seen in the United States on the evening BBC World News on public television. Before coming to Washington, Webb spent three years as the BBC's Europe correspondent, based in Brussels, Belgium. Prior to that he was a BBC anchor based in London. For three years he was the main anchor of the morning television news show "Breakfast News" and also presented the evening six o'clock news. During that time he interviewed many senior politicians and two Prime Ministers, John Major and Tony Blair. Webb's previous career included stints as a roving foreign correspondent during which he reported from the first Gulf War, the war in Bosnia, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first democratic elections in South Africa, and even a coup in the Maldive Islands. His first job in the BBC was for Radio Ulster, based in Belfast, Ireland. He was educated at Friends' School Sidcot and the London School of Economics from which he graduated in 1983 with an honors degree in economics. The dinner is an invitation-only annual celebration of the Iowa Supreme Court. For more information, contact Jennifer Hansen at x1877 or First-year students at Drake Law School will hear oral arguments before the Iowa Supreme Court at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 9, in the Drake Legal Clinic courtroom in the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center. Following the arguments, the justices will participate in a question-and-answer session for the students. This special event is designed to help law students become more familiar with appellate court procedure and arguments. The public and the media are invited to attend this session. Court rules regarding expanded media coverage apply. The court will hear arguments in two cases: The Supreme Court Celebration also includes a moot court competition in which four law student finalists will present oral arguments to the court at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 11, in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building, 1111 E. Court Ave. The seven-student team compiled a perfect 8-0 record at the tournament hosted by the University of Missouri, besting schools in their division, including the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Columbia, Creighton University and their hosts. "There are no divisions in undergraduate mock trial so no matter how small your school is, you're going up against the Ivy League or big state schools," said Elizabeth Vaubel, a Drake junior from Okoboji, Iowa, and co-president of the team. "That's what makes this win a real thrill for us - because of the level of competition." Drake's second team mock trial competitors placed sixth in the tournament with a 5-3 record. The eight-member second team will compete in the Silver Championship Marcy 17 to 19 at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. If Drake's second team wins that competition, the students will qualify for the Des Moines championships. On Sunday, March 5, Drake University will hold a Mozart Celebration in honor of the 250th anniversary of the great composer's birth. The celebration, which is free and open to the public, will start at 8 p.m. on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium, Old Main. Leanne Freeman-Miller, soprano, Michelle Havlik-Jergens, piano, Timothy Robinson, baritone-lecturer, voice faculty and students will participate in the lecture-concert featuring duets, trios and ensembles from Mozart's great operas. Leonard Bernstein's musical is set in 1935 in New York City, where Ruth and Eileen Sherwood have just moved into a basement apartment. Bent on breaking into the glamorous worlds of acting and writing respectively, both of them embark on separate missions to fulfill their dreams. Setbacks, madcap hilarity and a host of other diversions ensue. Bernstein wrote the music to this witty story based on Ruth McKenney's "My Sister Eileen." In 1953 "Wonderful Town" opened to critical acclaim, winning six Tony awards. A 2003 revival garnered another six Tony nominations and won for Best Choreography. Director Tony Humrichouser, assistant professor of theatre arts, said "Wonderful Town" is a "challenging show for our students, but also a great opportunity for the public to see a wonderful classic musical." Performances start at 8 p.m. March 9, 10 and 11 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12, in the Performing Arts Hall, Harmon Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students and senior citizens. Call the Drake Fine Arts Box Office at x3841 for reservations. Students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and the College of Business and Public Administration have a slew of new offerings for majors and concentrations. The journalism school, in partnership with the business college under the School of Management and Communication umbrella, will begin offering a master's degree program in communications leadership next fall. The program will require courses in both journalism and business along with a series of electives. "It's designed for communications professionals in the Des Moines area who want to take the next step in the careers," said Gary Wade, associate professor of electronic media. "This combined effort will help provide the tools and knowledge people need to become editors, station managers, supervisors and so forth." The business college is also augmenting its course offerings for undergraduates with a new concentration in law and business that began last fall. The 18-hour concentration, which is open to all students, adds new courses to the business roster. New courses in the business college cover business organizations such as trusts, partnerships and corporations. In addition, a new survey course covers selected topics ranging from copyright and intellectual property law to sports and entertainment law. The concentration also requires at least one ethics course. "Looking at what other schools were doing and basing this on the strong desires of our students to work more with business law, we've put together this concentration that will really increase our students' exposure to the law and business," said Sara Walker, assistant professor of accounting practice. "There has been tremendous interest." Beginning next fall, CBPA will also offer a new major in entrepreneurial management. The curriculum will draw from all areas in the school including marketing, accounting, finance and business law. The idea is to prepare would-be business leaders with the tools and thinking they need to succeed. The curriculum builds to a senior course in which students will create a business plan for a business that they are interested in starting - or act as a student consultant on another start-up plan. "It will be more than just preparation for starting a business," said Deb Bishop, assistant professor of information systems. "It will really focus on what it means to be an entrepreneur, the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and learning to manage all the facets of that mindset." Faculty, staff and students are invited to a free lunch and networking exhibit on Tuesday, March 14, sponsored by the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the Hotel Community. Those who attend will be asked to share information about the associations, clubs and organizations they belong to that might hold meetings in Des Moines on a local, state, regional and even national level. There will be two sessions of the lunch in Olmsted Center. The first will start at 11:30 a.m. and the second will follow at 12:30 p.m. For reservations, send an e-mail message to As Drake continues to celebrate its 125th anniversary, the University seeks items from the past for a historical display in downtown Des Moines. Wanted are old freshman beanies, sweaters, cheerleading uniforms, posters, pennants or other knickknacks from the University's founding through the mid-1970s. Quax yearbooks and photographs are not needed. All items would be returned. For more information, contact Casey Gradischnig at x3779 or casey.gradischnig@drake.edu. The best way to make sure your event, speaker, accomplishment, accolade or other newsworthy item gets published in the weekly OnCampus is to e-mail oncampus@drake.edu. The deadline for OnCampus copy is 3 p.m. Friday for the next Monday's edition. A schedule for the remaining OnCampus publication dates is posted at Questions? Contact Daniel Finney, OnCampus editor, at x2833 or |
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A total of 850 members of the Drake Community explored the Science Center of Iowa Saturday during Drake's 125th birthday party, which featured a cake shaped like Old Main along with hands-on science activities and three showings of "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon" at the Blank IMAX Dome Theater.
