|
On Campus
- Stories
Oct. 3,
2003 Vol. 56, No. 15
"Simply, wow!" That's
how David Miles, LA'79, GR'81, chair of the Drake Board of Trustees,
described his reaction to the transformation
of the first floor of the Olmsted Center into the Marvin and Rose Lee
Pomerantz Student Union. Miles was among the Drake officials who spoke
at Thursday's dedication of the Pomerantz Student Union, a $2.2 million
project made possible by a lead gift from Marvin Pomerantz, CEO of
Mid-America Group Ltd. and a former Drake trustee, and his wife,
Rose Lee.
"Although there have been several attempts to create a student union here
on campus, there was never a design that really incorporated what
the students wanted and needed until now," said Student Body President
Martha Fung. "This project has now given Drake students a 'true'
student union, and provides us with a place to gather, play and study.
It's a dream come true.
"As you look around campus, you can see what was made possible through
the generous support of alumni and friends, like the Pomerantz family," she
added. "These friends recognized and understood our need and
helped us bring our vision to life."
After receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, Marvin Pomerantz
said, "It is our hope that this student center will become a
focal point for students not only to experience their academic work
as
they go through
the classrooms
of the University, but as they experience each other and the diversity
of people, where perhaps more is learned outside the classroom than
in the classroom. So it is our wish and our hope that this student
center
will facilitate those relationships and make the college experience
for students for many years to come to be enhanced and to be maximized."
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| President David Maxwell presents a plaque to Marvin and Rose Lee Pomerantz. | Marvin Pomerantz, seated, chats with fomer Iowa Gov. and Drake President Robert D. Ray as Rose Lee Pomerantz and Drake students Teresa Abney and Mary Carney listen. |
Drake alumnus
Eric Shimp (AS'93) will return to the campus of Drake University to give
a talk titled "Geopolitics
and Global Trade" at
3 p.m Monday, Oct. 6, in Bulldog Theater in Olmsted Center.
Shimp comes well qualified for leading the discussion. After
majoring in international relations at Drake, Shimp completed
an M.A. program
in international relations at George Washington University.
From there, he joined the State Department as a foreign service
officer
and was stationed
in China and Hong Kong. His final government post placed him
in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Since leaving
that
position,
he has
been doing business consulting for the Washington, D.C., law
firm of Hunton and Williams.
"Geopolitics and Global Trade" is being sponsored by the Center
for Global Citizenship. For more information, contact David
Skidmore, director
of the center, at x3843 or at david.skidmore@drake.edu.
Drake established the Center for Global Citizenship last fall
with the support of a $225,000 gift from Des Moines business
leaders
Rolland W.
and Mary Nelson, and a $25,000 gift from Richard S. Cusac,
LA'63, a member of Drake's Board of
Trustees. The center's mission is to educate students to function
effectively in different cultural contexts and to ensure that
global and international
perspectives and issues are an integral part of the intellectual
and cultural experience of all members of the Drake community.
Mark C. Terrell, executive director of KPMG's Audit Committee
Institute, will discuss "New Challenges Facing the Participants in the
Financial Reporting Process" in a lecture at Drake on Wednesday,
October 8.
The 17th annual Financial Executives International-Drake School
of Accounting Lecture, which is free and open to the public,
will start
at 7:15 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main. A reception will
follow in Levitt Hall.
Terrell is a leading authority in the area of audit committees
and other aspects of corporate governance and the financial reporting
process.
He began as a partner in charge of KPMG's Audit Committee Institute
before becoming its executive director.
As part of his lecture, Terrell will discuss the new atmosphere
of corporate and financial reporting in the wake of financial scandals
involving companies such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco International,
as well as the passage of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley bill.
The FEI-Drake Lecture is an annual program sponsored by the Iowa
chapter of the Financial Executives International and Drake's School
of Accounting
and Business and Public Administration. FEI is a professional association
of more than 14,000 senior financial executives from some 8,000
major corporations throughout the United States and Canada.
 |
| Prof. Klaus Bartschat |
The National Science
Foundation (NSF) recently awarded two continuing grants to
research projects under
the direction of Klaus Bartschat, the Ellis and Nelle Levitt
professor of physics. The grants, which will provide $80,000 and
$90,000 annually for the next three years, fund research that examines
collisions of
electrons and photons with atoms and ions, with the ultimate
goal
of developing sophisticated computer programs charting these
collisions.
"Other sciences depend on this," Bartschat said, noting that the
charting of atomic collision processes is essential to better
understanding everything from the atmosphere to efficient electronic equipment. "We
still want to know how the world works. This research will
help describe the processes of everyday life and have many useful applications.
"To give an example, the processes I calculate take place in a lamp," Bartschat
said. "An electron collides with an atom, the electron
changes its state, and light is produced. If we know the details
about this
process, we can maybe make a better lamp." He said that
by continuing work on lamps with researchers from the U.S.
Navy and industry, the
ultimate result could be wasting less energy, spending less
money, and developing new heating and lighting sources, such
as mercury-free
lamps.
"I'm not so interested in engineering the final product," Bartschat
said. "I'm interested in basic research and development."
More than anything, the two NSF grants are meant to give Bartschat
time for and help with the research and development process,
which will ultimately result in complex algorithms for computer
programs.
The grants include allocations for summer salary, computer
equipment, domestic and foreign travel, undergraduate student
assistants
and the temporary hiring of post-doctoral associates, who will
ease
Bartschat's
load by teaching some of his classes. There is also more than
$100,000 overhead income to Drake.
Bartschat, who was elected a Fellow of the American Physical
Society in 1998, has now received more than $1 million in research
grants
since coming to Drake in 1988. Besides many published papers
and conference
appearances, he has earned international recognition and respect
for his individual commitment to and work with others in the
demanding field of atomic physics.
"Klaus is well funded [for research] by anybody's standards at this
point, even though he's at a small, but high-quality, university," said
Dr. Barry I. Schneider, program director for theoretical physics
at the National Science Foundation and the cognizant NSF program
official
for both grants. "He's been able to establish a unique
leverage among and work effectively with others on an international
scale, and
he's done great work with undergraduates."
Also, in the often cutthroat world of obtaining research grants
- where the money is limited, but innovation isn't - Bartschat
has managed
to maintain his personal integrity and professional identity.
"In some cases, there's heavy competition," he said. "In other
cases, there's collaboration. In most cases I'm on a collaborative
side. Because of the competition for the same U.S. government
or industry funds, I have to be somewhat careful with collaborations
in the United
States. Overall there's a very good collaborative spirit, but
one has to be sure one's identity is known."
Just like his sabbatical last year - when he spent seven months
at Harvard University, five months in Australia and three months
in Europe
- the next three years will be nonstop for Bartschat. He plans
on attending international conferences, visiting other universities,
collaborating
with his post-docs and other visitors to Drake, and applying
for more grants. Of course, finishing his current projects
is just
the beginning.
"There are so many things going on in atomic physics, I'm not at all
worried about running out of ideas," he said. "I'm
more worried about running out of time."
On Monday, Oct. 6, students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive video conference with Derrick Bell, visiting professor of law at the New York University School of Law. The discussion, titled "Ethical Ambition: Living Life of Meaning and Worth," will detail Bell's three-decade fight to end racial injustice. The event will start at 2 p.m. in 213 Cartwright Hall.
The U.S. Air Force Heartland
of America Band Clarinet Quartet will perform a free concert at
7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium
in Old Main.
On Sunday, Oct. 12, Drake's three select choral ensembles - the
Drake Choir, Chamber Choir, and Chorale - will present "Seasons," a
free concert at
8 p.m. on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium.
The choirs will perform music that reflects on changes associated
not only with seasons of nature, but of life. The program includes
selections
from "A Litany for Courage and the Seasons" by Montana composer
David Maslanka (featuring Drake music faculty Clarence Padilla, clarinet,
and Robert Meunier, vibraphone); Brahms' "Neue Liebeslieder;" and
an anthem written for the coronation of King George II by Handel (featuring
a chamber orchestra).
William S.E. Coleman, professor emeritus of theatre arts at Drake and author of Voices of Wounded Knee, will discuss his book at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, in the Cowles Library Reading Room. A book signing will follow.
Drake University Theatre will present "The
Miss Firecracker Contest," a
fast-paced comedy by Beth Henley, at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10,
and Saturday, Oct. 11, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, and Sunday, Oct.
12, in Studio
55 of the Harmon Fine Arts Center.
"
The Miss Firecracker Contest" follows Carnelle, a 24-year-old
Mississippi girl, on her quest to win the Miss Firecracker Contest.
With the help of Popeye, her more than quirky seamstress, and Elain,
her cousin who was formerly Miss Firecracker, Carnelle tries to shed
the nickname of "Miss Hot Tamale," by which she is known
by several men of the town. By winning the contest, she believes she
can prove to everyone that she's changed and leave the town "in
a crimson blaze of glory."
Drake's production is directed by senior Colleen Perch of
Jefferson City, Mo. This play does contain some adult language.
Admission
is free with reservations. For reservations, call the Drake
Fine Arts
Box Office at x3848.