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March 10, 2000 - Vol.52, No. 38

McGiverin to speak at Supreme Court banquet

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Arthur A. McGiverin will reflect on four decades of change in Iowa's court system in a keynote address at Drake Law School's Annual Supreme Court Celebration banquet Saturday, March 11. The speech will follow a reception and dinner at the downtown Marriott Hotel.

McGiverin will retire next fall after serving 40 years in a judicial capacity, 22 of those as a state Supreme Court justice. During that time profound and important changes have changed the landscape of Iowa's judicial system, according to McGiverin. The most important change was an amendment to the state's constitution in the early 1960s that established a merit system for selecting judges based on nomination commissions, appointments and non-partisan retention elections.

Drake Law School's Supreme Court Celebration honors the Iowa Supreme Court through a series of appellate advocacy competitions that culminates in hypothetical case arguments by Drake law students before the state's highest court. The banquet that caps the festivities brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and members of the community to announce various awards and achievements and to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the Law School.
Drake's 515 magazine wins third national award

The inaugural issue of 515 magazine, published last spring by senior magazine majors at Drake University, has earned its third top award - the All American rating with five Marks of Distinction from the Associated Collegiate Press. The magazine received the highest rating given by the ACP.

"This issue is one to celebrate," the judge said of 515. The judge, who was not identified, also noted that the magazine is "well-written, well-planned, well-executed."

515 magazine has previously earned a first place in the magazine competition sponsored by the Association for Education in Journalism and the Gold Medalist rating from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

"This is like winning the Triple Crown," said Patricia Prijatel, Drake's E.T. Meredith distinguished professor of journalism and publisher of 515, which derives its name from the local telephone area code. A magazine for young people living and working in Des Moines, 515 is produced as a capstone project by the senior-level magazine class at Drake.

The magazine is made possible by a grant from Meredith Corp. that covers the cost of printing 5,000 issues of 515 each year. The grant also has provided computers, scanners and printers for students to use in the production of 515.

In addition to winning national awards, 515 magazine has given Drake students hands-on experience in magazine design, production, marketing and promotion. This, in turn, has led to impressive jobs in the magazine industry for many of the students listed on 515's masthead, Prijatel said.

Jackie Ross, editor of the triple award-winning issue, works as an editorial assistant at Family Life magazine. Eric Dahl, 515's creative director, is staff editor of PC World. Nicholas Fonseca, managing editor of 515, is a freelancer for Entertainment Weekly. Dave MacDonald, 515's art director, is a designer with Think Inc.

"I couldn't have made it to New York City - or to my current job, for that matter - without the expectations that were placed upon myself and my co-workers on 515," Fonseca said. "Professor Prijatel sees the best in each of her students, and she doesn't hide it when she doesn't see them reaching their potential. Having a professor and mentor who uses her connections and her wealth of experience to her students' advantage was so important in keeping us motivated to finish our product."

The next printed issue of 515 will be distributed in May, but the Web version is already online at www.515mag.com.
Drake mourns Jules Kirschenbaum

Jules Kirschenbaum, the Ellis and Nelle Levitt professor of art, died of cancer Saturday at Kavanagh House on Grand in West Des Moines. He was 69.

Robert Craig, chair of the Department of Art and Design, said professor Kirschenbaum was the longest serving member of the art department as well as an extraordinary artist with an esteemed national reputation.

Tom Worthen, professor of art, described Kirschenbaum as a profoundly influential teacher and artist. "He impressed upon his students the absolute seriousness of art and the demand for high quality, but he in no way imposed his personal style on them," Worthen added. "Some students would imitate his style, but without question he was extremely open to other styles of art.

"As an artist," Worthen said, "he worked through a variety of styles from the time he came to Drake until very shortly before his death, when his health prohibited him from working any more. They were always marked by a seriousness of purpose, very high craftsmanship and a genuine intelligence, which resulted in some of the most beautiful and powerful images that I know of in contemporary art."

Kirschenbaum joined the Drake faculty in 1967. A native of New York City, he first came to Des Moines in 1963 as artist-in-residence at the Des Moines Art Center. He had previously lived in Florence, Italy, and attended the prestigious Institute of Fine Arts in Florence on a Fulbright scholarship. He also attended the Brooklyn Museum Art School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the High School of Music and Art in New York City.

His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., among many others.

He was a member of the National Academy of Design and in 1991 the academy awarded him the Benjamin Altman Award for Figure Painting. He also won numerous awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

At Drake, he was chair of the art department from August 1991 through May 1997. He was instrumental in the development of the Anderson Gallery, which opened in October 1996.

In December, the Anderson Gallery Exhibitions Fund was named in honor of Jules Kirschenbaum.

"The Jules Kirschenbaum Exhibitions Fund will significantly help the Anderson Gallery continue to provide an excellent and diverse exhibition schedule," professor Craig said. "Naming the fund after Jules will ensure that his dedication and advocacy for the arts are remembered."

Kirschenbaum was the Stalnaker Lecturer in 1987 and received the Drake President's Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in 1989.
Student wins Fulbright grant

Amanda Kellenbarger, a senior from Lincoln, Neb., has earned a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship and Study Award.

Roughly one out of every 100 students who apply for the Fulbright Research Study Award actually receives it. Yet, for those who know Kellenbarger, it would have been more astonishing had her application been rejected. Kellenbarger is majoring in German and Spanish and has a minor in business.

"Mandy's language skills are out of this world. She has this tremendous working knowledge of the languages she's learning," said Dale Patrick, Drake's Fulbright faculty adviser.

The grant will enable Kellenbarger to spend the next year teaching and conducting research in Vienna, Austria, where she plans to write a play (in German) about the life of Jewish Baroness Fanny von Arnstein.
Another Truman Scholar finalist

Sheila McCoy, a junior from Merrill, Iowa, has been selected as a finalist in the 2000 Truman Scholarship competition.

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards merit-based $30,000 scholarships to college students who plan to pursue careers in public service, and wish to attend graduate or professional school.

This year, 599 students from 309 colleges and universities were nominated for Truman Scholarships. McCoy is among 219 finalists vying for 75 to 80 Truman Scholarships this year.

McCoy will be interviewed Monday in Minneapolis. If she receives a Truman Scholarship, McCoy will become the fifth Drake student to be named a Truman Scholar since 1990. Drake's most recent Truman Scholar was Todd Sechser, AS'99.
Law School to host forum

Several Iowa legislators will discuss the merits and drawbacks of making English the official language of the state at a Drake Law School community forum on Wednesday, March 15. The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at
7 p.m. in room 213 Cartwright Hall. Audience members will be permitted to ask questions and participate in the discussion. The forum is sponsored by the Drake Law School Constitutional Law Center.
Second conference on sports corruption set for March 24-25

Approximately 25 people are expected to attend a second conference of the National Alliance for College Athletic Reform (NAFCAR) at Drake University on March 24-25.

The first NAFCAR conference took place at Drake last fall. The second conference is expected to focus on issues directly involving academic integrity.

For more information about NAFCAR, visit the organization's Web site at www.drake.edu/events/collegesports/.
Drake to show 'Taking Pictures'

Drake's Cultural Studies Film Series will present "Taking Pictures," an inquiry into the practicalities, politics and aesthetics of the documentary experience, at 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, in room 206 of the Pharmacy and Science Center. The showing is free and open to the public.

A discussion led by Richard King, assistant professor of anthropology, will follow the 56-minute film. The event is sponsored by the Drake Cultural Studies Program and the Drake Center for the Humanities.
Students to build houses

Eight Drake students will be spend spring break in Georgetown, S.C., building houses through Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge program. Students will work with Habitat for Humanity, International, from March 19 through March 25.

"This will be an exciting opportunity for us to not only travel and see the country, but also to help someone in need," said Jeni Lewis, a senior magazine major from Rochester, Minn.
Meeting to focus on fundraising

John Amato, director of Campaign Drake, will lead the discussion at a town meeting titled "Drake Development and You" on Thursday, March 16, in Bulldog Theater in Olmsted Center. There will be two sessions: one from noon to 1 p.m. and another from 4 to 5 p.m.
A Student-Centered Learning Environment

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, came to Drake this week to give the Bucksbaum Lecture. In addition to advocating children's rights in her lecture, she invited Drake students to join her in lobbying for children's health and well-being at the State Capitol on Thursday.

She also joined Gov. Tom Vilsack and Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson in signing a proclamation that calls for using tobacco settlement funds to provide a better life for Iowa's children.

Kavita Patel, a fifth-year pharmacy major from Mt. Prospect, Ill., is one of about eight Drake students participating in the lobbying effort. "I'm hoping to learn a lot by seeing what Marian Wright Edelman does," she said. "I'm also looking forward to hearing what legislators have to say about health-care priorities for children."

Mary Katherine Sherman, a fourth-year pharmacy major from Clinton, Mo., said she joined the lobbying effort to learn more about a proposed health insurance program for Iowa children. "There's a great need for a low- or no-cost program for children in low-income families," she said.

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