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On Campus
- Stories
September
26, 2003 Vol. 56, No. 14
Drake
University has been designated a Silver Well Workplace by the Wellness
Councils of America, meaning
it ranks among the healthiest places in
the country to work.
The University will receive the award at the 13th Annual Conference
on Worksite Wellness on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the Iowa Methodist
Education
and Research Conference Center.
Organizations earning the Silver Well Workplace Award have demonstrated
that their workplace is supportive of employees' efforts to modify
health risks and to improve overall health and well-being - both
in terms of
organizational environment and policy, according to the Wellness
Councils of America.
"This award is the culmination of the hard work and efforts of many people
over the last several years," said Mollie Keitges, Drake's wellness
director. "It is very challenging for an organization to meet
the qualifications to receive the Silver Well Workplace Award. This
reaffirms
the commitment the senior administration at Drake has made to building
a results-oriented wellness program that protects the health of faculty
and staff."
This is the second time Drake has been recognized by the Wellness
Councils of America. In 2000 the University received a Bronze Well
Workplace Award.
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| Former Congressman Neal Smith points out the wall of presidents to Senator Charles Grassley in the Neal Smith Congressional Archives room in the Drake Law Library. |
Drake
officials dedicated the Neal Smith Congressional Archive room in
Dwight D. Opperman Hall and Law Library on Sept. 19. The archives
were donated by Smith, LW'50, in 1995. Since then, the documents
have been in the process of being inventoried. The archives are
now
available to the public during regular law library hours.
"There's a treasure trove of information here," said John Edwards,
director of the law library. "It will be a tremendous resource
for researchers interested in legislative history and the history
of Iowa."
The documents were accumulated during the 36 years Smith represented
Iowa in Congress. During his time in Washington, D.C., Smith accomplished
major feats for the state, ranging from securing funds for relief
after the floods of 1993 to aiding in the development of the bike
trail around
Saylorville Lake.
Smith also has made many contributions to Drake. He sponsored bills
that appropriated $5.5 million in federal funds to construct and
endow the Drake Legal Clinic, which was dedicated as the Neal and
Bea Smith
Law Center in 1987. In 1994, Smith was instrumental in the appropriation
of funds to expand the facility. He also played a key role in the
establishment of the Constitutional Law Resource Center at Drake
Law School with
an endowment of $800,000. Smith was awarded an honorary Doctor
of Laws degree from Drake in 1989.
The 2003-2004 Distinguished
Speaker Series, sponsored by Drake University Law School's Constitutional
Law Center, welcomes
Mari Matsuda, distinguished
professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, Sept. 29
through Oct. 3.
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Matsuda will deliver a public lecture titled "Somebody
Else's Child: On Democracy and Public Education." The lecture,
which is free and open to the public, will begin at
4 p.m. in Room 213 Cartwright Hall.
Matsuda also will teach a weeklong course to law students titled
Public Education: for Democracy, Equality, Citizenship and Community.
Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend
the dedication of The Rose and Marvin Pomerantz Student Union in
Olmsted Center
at 11:45
p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2.
On Saturday, Oct. 4, there will be a dedication ceremony at noon
for three projects in Helmick Commons. The dedication of Lane Plaza,
Principal
Plaza and Quad Creek will take place at a tent in the middle of
Helmick Commons.
Tours of Helmick Commons and the eight projects it encompasses
will be available at 11:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m.
| Despite heavy rain, a total of 45 Drake students, faculty and staff took part in the "Walk As One" walk-a-thon at Gray's Lake on Sept. 21 to raise funds for the National Conference for Community and Justice. The Drake community raised $1,562 through the walk. Drake's efforts were led by co-chairs Mollie Keitges, wellness director, and Dolph Pulliam, director of community outreach and development. Those who didn't venture out on the soggy 2-mile walk can still contribute to the effort by sending checks payable to NCCJ to Pulliam at the Kinne Alumni and Development Center. |  |
Drake University and Cityview, Central Iowa's "smart alternative" newspaper,
will honor six local activists on Oct. 7 as part of the Cityview
Activists Project, a comprehensive community-service project designed
to honor
individuals who have worked tirelessly to achieve social change.
Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino is a sponsor of the awards.
The local activists who will be honored are Rich Eychaner, civil
and human rights; Chester "Chet" Guinn, peace; Haley Whitlatch,
education and youth advocacy; Jo Hudson, environment; Ila Plasencia,
neighborhood and community; and Jonathan Narcisse, general advocacy.
The Central Iowa Activist Awards ceremony will be held at 5:30
p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, in Sheslow Auditorium. A reception will follow
at
Levitt Hall.
Charles Edwards, dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communication
and College of Business and Public Administration, will moderate
a panel discussion among the winners. Also speaking will be R.
Dean Wright,
the Ellis and Nelle Levitt professor of sociology at Drake, who
will pay tribute to activists who have died.
John Tinker, one of the plaintiffs in the landmark Tinker v. Des
Moines Independent Community School District U.S. Supreme Court
case, will
be a special guest. In 1965, 15-year-old Tinker and his sister,
Mary Beth, 13, and Christopher Eckhardt, 16, wore black armbands
to protest
the Vietnam conflict. The high court decision established that
public school students did not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom
of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates." Tinker is expected
to speak on continuing challenges to the First Amendment.
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| Sally Beisser, Tara Bassett and Michelle Terry pose with the new SMART Board. |
Drake senior
education students Tara Bassett and Michelle Terry have received
a Smarter Kids Foundation Prep Grant, enabling the School of Education
to purchase a new SMART Board. The interactive whiteboard can display
images with the touch of a finger and save images and text written
in "electronic ink." The saved file then can be printed,
sent as an e-mail message or posted on a Web site.
The technology costs approximately $2,500. To acquire a SMART Board
for the School of Education, Bassett and Terry applied for a $900
Smarter Kids Foundation Prep Grant while obtaining matching funds
from Bankers
Trust Co. The foundation was established by SMART Technologies Inc.
The students discovered SMART Board in a classroom at Rex Mathes
Elementary School in West Des Moines, their partner school in Associate
Professor
of Education Sally Beisser's Social Studies Methods course.
The SMART Board enables a teacher to display his or her computer
screen in front of the whole class, enhances lecture delivery method,
frees
students from the task of taking notes and increases computer-based
instruction.
"
The SMART Board is a revolutionary product for teaching," said
Bassett, who hopes to teach at the elementary or secondary level. "It
allows teachers and students to do a variety of things." The SMART
Board arrived at Drake in late August and is being used in a variety
of classes at the School of Education.
Colleges, universities and teacher-training institutions offering
professional certification or a degree in education are eligible
for a Prep Grant.
To apply for the grant, Bassett and Terry first gave a presentation
to the School of Education's technology committee. With the committee's
approval, the students submitted the grant application, which detailed
how Drake would utilize a new SMART Board.
To develop new ways to use information and communication technology;
to encourage active learning and interaction; to promote an integrated
curriculum; and to train teachers to integrate technology into the
classroom - these are several of the school's visions for SMART Board,
as outlined in Bassett and Terry's grant application.
"
We're excited to see the SMART Board in use this fall," Bassett
said. "It will enable future teachers to become familiar with
the emerging technology being used in the schools."
Beisser said Bassett and Terry demonstrated extraordinary initiative. "They
took time from a hectic spring schedule to meet a grant deadline and
they took the risk that their work would not result in the outcome
they had hoped for," she said. "Now that they're successful,
they'll see their efforts continue to have an influence on their peers
and those students who will come behind them."
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Pianist Nicholas Roth, seated, celebrates the dedication of Drake's new Steinway D with (from left) donor James Collier, GR'70, Chiu-Ling Lin, professor of piano and chair of the music department, President David Maxwell and John Burney, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The dedication took place at Roth's recital Tuesday. "The Steinway piano is, in my opinion, the supreme instrument," Roth said. "The newly acquired piano is a pleasure to play and, thanks to the generosity of James Collier, all of us at Drake University can look forward to many years of enjoyable performing experiences." |
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