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On Campus
- Stories
July
18, 2003 Vol. 56, No. 5
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| John Burney |
After
a period with an interim dean, the College of Arts and Sciences now
has
an acting dean.
John Burney, who started his new deanship on June 24, enjoys acting in college
and community theater productions, which provide a respite from his demanding
career in academia.
At Dubuque's Loras College, where Burney served as vice president for academic
affairs and academic dean before coming to Drake, he played a key role in
organizing faculty and staff members to produce a play every two years that
raises money
for student scholarships. "We usually picked a melodrama or a mystery -
something students would laugh at," Burney said. "Our first production
was a goofy melodrama: 'Dark Deeds at Swan's Place or Never Trust a Tattooed
Sailor.'"
Before he joined Drake as help desk supervisor, Jim O'Brien appeared with
Burney in the first two plays produced by faculty and staff at Loras. "The plays
built great relationships between cast members and broke down some of the walls
that sometimes exist between faculty and staff and different departments," O'Brien
said. "The productions gave the Loras community a chance to come and see
faculty, administrators and staff in a totally different light, and to laugh
with and
at us."
Burney - who always played the villain at Loras - traces his love of theater
to his high school days in Hartington, Neb., where his mother directed the
annual play. His very first role was that of the invalid in Moliere's "The Imaginary
Invalid." Since then, Burney has starred in plays such as "Art," "Oleanna" and "The
Complete Works of William Shakespeare." His all-time favorite role, though,
was playing Pseudolus, a slave trying to secure his freedom by pulling the wool
over other people's eyes, in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum."
Despite being stagestruck, Burney plans to put his acting on hold while he
devotes himself to learning about the College of Arts and Sciences and to
settling into
his new job.
He is meeting with all the department chairs, touring their spaces and learning
about their programs and their needs. "I want to find out what's going on
in the nooks and crannies of all the different buildings that house the College
of Arts and Sciences," he said. "At this point, I'm halfway through
the departments."
The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of Drake's six colleges and
schools, with 14 departments, 140 faculty members and 33 majors. In addition,
the college
is home to seven interdisciplinary programs such as the First-Year Seminars
and the Center for Global Citizenship.
"
I want to see individual programs get the resources they need to excel as well
as see the College of Arts and Sciences make additional connections with other
colleges," Burney said. He also wants to find ways to link the liberal
arts with professional studies with the goal of improving the learning experiences
of all Drake students.
Burney, 50, accepted the dean's position more than a year ago but didn't
arrive at Drake until June because he wanted to wrap up several major initiatives
at Loras, where there had been three presidents in three years. "There were
a lot of things that I didn't want to leave hanging during a time of transition," he
said. "Provost Ron Troyer was gracious enough to offer me a year to complete
those projects, which included developing a new general education curriculum,
finishing a strategic plan and setting up a program that provides every student
with a laptop computer."
The delay also enabled Burney's daughter, Kate, to finish her senior year
of high school in Dubuque. Kate will be attending Grinnell College this fall.
Once Kate gets settled in at Grinnell, Burney's wife, Lou Ann, plans to resume
her career as a cardiac
rehabilitation nurse.
Troyer said Drake was willing to wait a year for Burney because he is the
best person for the position. "He is an outstanding academic leader who has demonstrated
a capacity for working with faculty members to bring about curricular innovation," he
added.
Troyer knows the position well, having served as dean for six years. When
Troyer became provost, sociology professor Sue Wright graciously stepped
in to serve
as interim dean for two years, then continued as dean for the 2002-03 academic
year. "Sue has been meeting with me to orient me to the various procedures
and issues," Burney said. "I owe her a big thanks for her years as
dean and for her help in getting me acclimated to Drake. I've received a warm
welcome from the faculty and staff as well."
Burney holds a bachelor's degree from Creighton University as well as two
master's degrees and a Ph.D. in modern European history from the University
of Kansas.
He taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska-Omaha
and Southwest (Minnesota) State University before joining Loras in 1986 as
assistant professor of history. He was promoted to associate professor and
then professor
before becoming vice president for academic affairs in 1999. He specializes
in the French Revolution and is the author of a book on French educational
history.
While at Loras he served as director of National Endowment for the Humanities
and FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education) grants to
develop innovative general education courses.
In addition to acting, his hobbies include traveling, golf and baseball.
He's an avid fan of the Baltimore Orioles.
Could a role in "Damn Yankees" be in Burney's future? "Maybe," he
said, "but I think I'll wait for a while to get involved in theater again.
Wait till next year, so to speak."
In the meantime, he'll be directing the College of Arts and Sciences, and
he's hoping for a hit.
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| David Walker |
Ask David
Walker about Drake Law School's future and he begins with the school's
past: how it developed a strong regional reputation that now needs to be
enhanced nationally.
By building on the Law School's strengths - trial practice, dispute
resolution, constitutional and agricultural law - we'll be better
known five years from
now and be better, too, Walker said.
Walker's long view underscores his long tenure at Drake. Despite having
become the Law School's new dean on July 1, he's no newcomer. The graduate
of Yale,
who earned his law degree at the University of Virginia, joined the Law
School faculty in 1975. Walker, 59, served as dean from 1987 to 1996 and
then became
the Dwight D. Opperman distinguished professor of law. He also has longstanding
ties on campus and off.
"His teaching career uniquely connects him to current and former students,
faculty and the local and national legal community," said Laurie Doré,
professor of law.
Anjie Shutts, LW'96, of Des Moines, who's president of the Board of Counselors,
agrees. "A lot of alums know him not just as a professor but as the dean," she
said. "He has this uncanny ability to remember things about people.
That goes a long way. And he loves the Law School. I asked him, 'Why do you
want
this job again? You have a pretty good gig now, teaching and without all
of the administrative hassles.' He said, 'Because Drake is my school.' "
The Ohio native's enthusiastic support from students, faculty and alumni
will come in handy as he grapples with major challenges facing legal education.
Law schools are vying to attract the brightest students while retaining
top
faculty, to contain soaring costs while maintaining high quality, to help
graduates find good jobs as the labor market tightens, and to boost financial
resources
from donors as the economy sputters.
To better compete, Drake needs a strong national profile. "Right now we're
regionally seen as a good law school," Walker said, "but there
are real risks of slipping backwards. My vision includes a very energetic
outreach
to our alumni and friends, students and faculty, eliciting their strengths
and support to continue building a really fine school."
Walker is committed to improving the Law School's career services. "I
don't think any school can promise jobs . . . but it really behooves us to
provide outstanding career services," he said.
To attract top candidates for two open faculty positions, Drake must offer
competitive salaries and professional opportunities, Walker said. He also
wants to enhance the curriculum, to keep alumni involved, and to boost
funding for
the law library and legal clinic as well as for scholarships, so students
graduate with less debt.
One of his first goals, he said, will be to develop a strategic plan and
a budgetary model that comprehensively addresses "what we need to be
simply outstanding where we aren't already."
Because the Law School's resources don't match its aspirations, Walker
also will examine where to reduce expenses and raise money.
During his almost three decades at Drake, Walker has helped guide the Law
School as it added new buildings, technology and opportunities for students.
During
Walker's first deanship, the Law School gained the Dwight D. Opperman Hall
and Law Library, along with improvements to Cartwright Hall and the Neal
and Bea Smith Law Center addition. Support from alumni and friends more
than doubled,
and international programs were added, enabling students to study in France
and Scotland.
As a professor with expertise in business associations, corporate law,
civil procedure, and federal and state courts, Walker has served as the
president
of the Faculty Senate and won the Professor of the Year award three times.
He gets rave reviews from students and alumni.
"He earned our respect with his intelligence and his ability to impart
that knowledge to us. And he earned our friendship by displaying his genuine
humor and interest," said Travase Erickson, 27, a third-year law student
and one of the Law School's Opperman Scholars. "He exemplifies what
it means to be a gentleman and a scholar."
Walker is married to Sara Walker, LW'83,
assistant professor of accounting and law at Drake. They have two adult
children.
Beyond Drake, Walker's leadership of the Iowa State Bar Association's Business
Law Section resulted in a rewrite of the Iowa Business Corporations Act
that became law. He recently was asked to chair a
national committee to review the Uniform Limited
Liability Company Act.
As dean, Walker plans to capitalize on the Law School's strengths as a
rigorous academic program
offering professional skills, strong ethics, an experienced faculty and
an unusually strong relationship with Iowa's bar and bench. "This is going
to be a great period for Drake Law School," he said.
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Alexander Kleiner, the Thomas F. Sheehan professor of mathematics and computer science, poses with Cubbie, the mascot of the Iowa Cubs, at the Drake Neighborhood Farmers' Market. Kleiner won a drawing for tickets to an I-Cubs baseball game. Patrons of the market can register to win various prizes each week. The market is open from 4 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday through September in the parking lot of First Christian Church, 25th Street and University Avenue. |
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