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March 17, 2000 Vol. 52, No. 39

DRAKE TO FACE CLEMSON TONIGHT IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Drake women's basketball team is seeded eighth in the East Regional of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and will play ninth-seeded Clemson (18-11) in the first round today at Storrs, Conn. The game, which will start at 5 p.m. CST, will be broadcast on KJJC Radio (107.1 FM) and can be listened to over the Internet at one of three sites: www.drakebulldogs.org or www.broadscastsports.com or www.kjjc.com.

The Bulldogs are riding a seven-game winning streak and claimed their fourth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship in the last six years last Saturday, defeating host Southwest Missouri State, 70-67. Drake, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, also claimed the MVC regular season crown for the third time in the last four seasons.

The Drake-Clemson winner will advance to play Sunday against the winner of the game between No. 1-ranked Connecticut and Hampton in a contest that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

The Bulldogs have played just one of the three other teams in the East sub-regional, defeating Clemson, 86-85, in the first round of the 1980 NWIT Tournament in Amarillo, Texas.

"We're going to the basketball mecca of the United States," said Lisa Bluder, who has constructed an 187-105 record in 10 years as head coach at Drake. "It's a fun environment, hosted by one of the top programs in the country. We think we have a tough draw but we're excited to play Clemson on a neutral court."
BLUDER TO BE HONORED AS ONE OF THREE 'WOMEN OF VISION'

Lisa Bluder, women's basketball coach at Drake, is one of three women who will be honored Thursday, April 6, as "Women of Vision" by the Young Women's Resource Center. The other honorees are Sarah Grant-Hutchison, founder and owner of Sticks, and Kittie Weston-Knauer, principal of Scavo Campus in Des Moines.

All three will be recognized at the April 6 celebration at the Hy-Vee Conference Center in West Des Moines. The event will start with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and the program (a panel discussion led by young women) at 7:45 p.m.

Individual tickets are $65 and student tickets are $30. A table seating 10 is $650. Proceeds will benefit young women who use the Young Women's Resource Center services. The center's goal is to enhance young women's knowledge and understanding in problem-solving skills, self-esteem and relationships in their lives.

For more information and reservations, call 244-4901. The deadline for reservations is March 30.
DRAKE TO HOST CONFERENCE ON ATHLETIC REFORM MARCH 24-25

Drake University will host a conference Friday, March 24, and Saturday, March 25, for faculty members from universities across the country who are determined to devise a proposal to reform collegiate sports.

"This conference is for those who are fed up with the corruption, exploitation and hypocrisy in collegiate athletics and are willing to work to end it," said Jon Ericson, conference organizer and the Ellis and Nelle Levitt professor of rhetoric and communication studies at Drake.

Ericson conducted a similar conference last October, but the attendees were unable to reach agreement on a reform proposal. They did, however, form a National Alliance for College Athletic Reform and agree to hold another conference: "College Sports Corruption: The Way Out - Round Two."

Approximately 25 faculty members are expected to participate in the second conference, which will start at 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 24, in Levitt Hall in Old Main. Saturday's sessions also will take place in Levitt Hall. All sessions are open to the public.

Among the participants will be Linda Bensel-Meyers, director of composition in the English Department at the University of Tennessee, where an investigation is under way into allegations of academic fraud and plagiarism in the athletic department.

A document Bensel-Meyers sent to the UT Faculty Senate was disclosed last fall as part of an investigation conducted by ESPN.com. That document states that athletes had submitted papers that were either co-written or entirely written by tutors hired by the athletic department. "These athletes," she wrote, "claimed they had been told by their tutors that this sort of intervention was acceptable," and added that "the acts of plagiarism appeared to be institutionally mandated by the athletic department."

Bensel-Meyers said she hopes the upcoming conference will result in a "full statement to faculty senates that we need to have academic control over college athletics and the best way to do that is to have all advising and all tutoring overseen by academic offices rather than athletic departments."

She said she also favors Ericson's proposal to disclose athletes' academic records. By making scholarship athletes' courses, majors, academic advisers and instructors public record, light would be shined on the educational enterprise of college sports, Ericson said. Grades would remain private, however, he added.

"The one consistent element in all of the efforts to clean up college athletics is the refusal to face academic corruption, to expose it," Ericson said. "Exposing the academic corruption is the only solution supporters of the present system fear."

The results of the conference are scheduled to be posted by noon Monday, March 27, on the World Wide Web at www.drake.edu/events/collegesports/.
NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR HONORS PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Faculty, staff and students are invited to nominate an individual to serve a three-year appointment as director of the Honors Program, beginning June 1. Steven Faux, associate professor of psychology, finishes his third year as honors director this spring and has expressed the opinion that the directorship should go to a new person every three years.

The honors director should have a terminal degree, hold tenure and have experience teaching in an Honors Program or involvement in interdisciplinary programs. The director also should have outstanding organizational, communication and leadership skills; an ability to relate well with students; a sense of vision for the program; and a commitment to excellence.

Nominations and/or applications should be submitted to the Dean of Arts and Sciences, 268A Harmon Fine Arts Center by April 7. Applications should include a cover letter outlining the candidate's interest in the position and her/his qualifications for the position and a current curriculum vita. Interviews will be held with both student and faculty groups from the Honors Program and the Deans Council.
LEHMKUHLE EARNS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Drake senior Jason Lehmkuhle (St. Charles, Mo.) earned All-American honors by finishing eighth in the 5,000-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships on March 9 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Lehmkuhle, who won the Missouri Valley Conference individual cross country title last fall, was clocked in 14:06.25 to become the first Drake athlete to earn All-American honors in the NCAA Indoor Track Championships since Kevin Little in 1990.

"Jason ran a smart tactical race," said Drake track coach Dan Hostager. "He certainly worked all year for this."
NOMINATIONS DUE MARCH 31 FOR DRAKE SERVICE AWARD

Three years ago the Student Senate proposed the creation of a Drake Service Award to recognize Drake students' active community service on campus and in greater Des Moines. It is now time to consider nominations for the 1999-2000 award.

Students may be nominated by faculty, staff, students or members of the community. Jerry Price, dean of students, will accept letters of nomination or e-mail messages describing the students' service activities.

Nominations for the award will be evaluated based on the nominee's effort to create awareness and educate others about the needs of the Drake and Des Moines communities. Other criteria include commitment and dedication to service work; respectful interaction with others; openness to concerns and diverse views; engagement in activities which require consideration of the ethics, values and consequences that inspire and motivate their work; and involvement in activities that exhibit a sustainable impact on the community.

Nominations are due by Friday, March 31, so that the recipients can be selected in time to be recognized at the April 7 Board of Governors Student Recognition Luncheon.
FRIDAY OPEN HOUSE TO CELEBRATE DINING HALL RENOVATION

Faculty and staff are cordially invited to attend an open house for the newly renovated Spikes Pizza/Sub Shoppe and C-Store on Friday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Snacks will be provided. "This is an opportunity to preview Spikes before our students return from spring break," said Blair Stairs, director of operations for Sodexo Marriott at Drake.

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