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August 24 , 2001 - Vol. 54, No. 12 |
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James Wynn, left, joins John McCaw in packing boxes in the sub-basement of Cowles Library. |
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Every Other Sunday tells the story of Alabama's Birmingham Black Barons. |
I grew up on a farm in eastern Iowa in the 1950s and attended school in a one-room schoolhouse that sat across the field on a corner of my parents' farm. It wasn't easy to predict how many students would be in each grade at the Fairfield Independent School each year. Some years there might be nine or fewer students in the whole school; sometimes there would be 25 or more. Miss Fowler, who taught every grade and every subject, had her hands full!
Because there might be one or five or no students in any grade, textbooks weren't kept at the school but at a drug store in Maquoketa. Mom took us to that drug store each year to get our new books and supplies.
I think most kids enjoy getting new pencils and notebooks and crayons each fall. I believe I looked forward to school even more because I lived on a farm and didn't see my friends much, except when school was in session. But those trips to Maquoketa were
special for a couple of reasons.
First, I loved getting the new textbooks. Opening those books for the first time, I was enthralled with all I would learn that year. Each book was full of things I didn't know then but that I would know by the next spring. When I saw all those books, I wanted to sit down on the floor of the drug store and begin to take it all in, right then.
But there was another reason I loved those trips to town. After we got all our books and supplies, mom took us to the Green Mill Café for a treat. I had a chocolate malt. One of my sisters had a banana split. When grandma went along, she ordered half a cantaloupe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Such treats were fantastic and decadent and so rare when I was growing up.
I was transported back to my grade school years this summer, when I opened the books I'll teach from this fall as a visiting professor at Drake University. All those new books! I sat right down when I got them and began to read.
It may be too much to hope that the students in my classes will open these books with as much eager anticipation as I did. But I hope when I walk into those classrooms I can convey some of the excitement I feel about these subjects, and the students will capture some of my enthusiasm.
I have no illusions that my first teaching experience will be a walk in the park. I expect the reality of rooms full of students will challenge me every bit as much as they did Miss Fowler during my grade school years.
But I look forward to the adventure of the new books, the unknowns of the classroom, and the excitement of knowing a whole lot more next spring than I know this fall. And regardless of the outcome on my first day of classes, when I'm finished, I may just punctuate the day with a chocolate malt.
Rachel Caufield, instructor of politics and international relations.
Deena Conley, assistant professor of theatre arts.
Daniel Gast, visiting assistant professor of voice.
Deanna Hahn, assistant professor of flute.
Francis Hutchins, visiting instructor of anthro-pology.
Darlene Lawler, visiting instructor of English.
Marylin Mell, visiting assistant professor of English.
Charles Nelson, assistant professor of astronomy.
Sandra Patton-Imani, assistant professor of American studies.
Athanasios Petridis, assistant professor of physics and astronomy.
Timothy Wager, visiting assistant professor of English.
Eleanor Zeff, assistant professor of politics and international relations.
College of Business and Public Administration
Thomas M. Glenn, visiting assistant professor of management.
Ronald R. Grieb, visiting assistant professor of economics.
Philip A. Houle, associate professor of computer information systems.
Chip E. Miller, associate professor of marketing.
School of Education
Lisa M. Martin-Hansen, assistant professor of education.
Edie A. Moore, assistant professor of education and director of student teaching.
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Randall J. Blum, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication.
Carol A. Bodensteiner, visiting assistant professor of journalism and mass communication.
Angela K. Renkoski, visiting instructor of journalism and mass communication.
Kathleen Richardson, instructor of journalism and mass communication.
Law School
Susan Nissen Lerdal, instructor of librarianship and reference librarian.
Deborah E. Sulzbach, instructor of librarianship and acquisitions/reference librarian and instructor.
College of Pharmacy and Health Science
Orlando Matas-Sosa III, instructor of pharmacy practice and Drake/Albertson's Community Care Lab resident.
Christine Meyers, instructor of pharmacy practice.
Michelle Nebel, instructor of pharmacy practice and community pharmaceutical care resident.
Kristin B. Summers, assistant professor of pharmacy practice.
Tanya A. Wilhite, assistant professor of pharmacy practice and clinical specialist, Iowa Heart Center.
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Old Main tops the
elaborate sand sculpture sponsored by Drake at the recent Iowa State Fair. |
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