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On Campus - Stories
October 13, 2000 - Vol. 53, No. 18


Drake recieves national Well Workplace award

Drake University has been designated as one of "America's Healthiest Companies" by the Wellness Councils of America.

The University received the Bronze Well Workplace Award Thursday at the Annual Conference on Worksite Wellness at the Iowa Methodist Education and Research Conference Center.

"We are one of just 16 colleges or universities to receive this national award," said Melissa Junge, Drake's director of wellness and assistant director of recreational services. "It took the support and dedication of Drake's administration as well as faculty and staff to create a program that could receive a national award after just one year."

Well Workplace is a strategic process to create an organizational culture that encourages and supports employee health. Established in 1991 by the Wellness Councils of America, Well Workplace standards are progressive, from providing a foundation for organizational change and lifestyle improvement at the bronze level, to achieving program integration and cultural change at the gold level.

"Drake University has put a lot of effort into building a quality health promotion program and integrating it into the way the organization does business," said a reviewer from the Wellness Councils of America. "The employees of Drake University should feel fortunate to work in such an environment that recognizes the importance of their health and well-being."
Professional sports consultant to speak at Drake Thursday

Drake University alumnus and professional sports consultant Robert Starkey will give a lecture at Drake University on Thursday, Oct. 19, titled "Can Major League Sports Survive in Middle America?"

The annual Financial Executives Institute - Drake Lecture, which is free and open to the public, will start at 7:15 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main.

Starkey and his Minneapolis-based firm, Starkey Sports Consulting LLC, provide financial, economic and strategic consulting services to Major League Baseball and other professional sports franchises.

A 1975 Drake graduate and CPA, Starkey has gained a reputation as one of the preeminent consultants to the professional sports industry. He has advised sports franchises on a wide range of matters such as market feasibility studies, new ballpark initiatives, franchise sales and acquisitions, franchise valuation services, revenue sharing plans and labor arrangements.

The FEI-Drake Lecture is an annual event co-hosted and sponsored by the Iowa chapter of the Financial Executives Institute and Drake University's College of Business and Public Administration. FEI is a professional association of over 14,000 senior financial executives from 91 chapters and some 8,000 major companies throughout the United States and Canada.
Drake dedicates language learning center to Jane Evans

Jame Evans, LA'59, right, celebrates the dedication of the Evans Language Learning Center with (from left) Prisdent David Maxwell; Provost Ron Troyer and Lrthur Huges, assistant Professor of Spanish and director of the center.
The Jane E. Evans Language Learning Center in Meredith Hall was formally dedicated this week by Drake University officials who praised the state-of-the-art facility and thanked the Drake alumna who made it possible.

Jane E. Evans, a 1959 Drake graduate who now lives in Pebble Beach, Calif., funded the center with a gift to Campaign Drake. She attended the dedication with her husband, John, the retired president, CEO and chairman of Allied Insurance. It was the first time the couple has visited Drake since the facility opened last fall.

"We are deeply indebted to Jane Evans for her generous support of the language learning center," said Drake President David Maxwell. "The facility that she has provided for us will serve as an essential component of the foundation of Drake's exciting new initiative in foreign language learning."

With a 25-station computer network and the latest digital audio and video equipment, the Evans Language Learning Center in room 232 of Meredith Hall is one of the most modern language laboratories in the country.

"This center has permitted Drake University to provide students with the latest technological enhancements for language learning on an American college campus," said Drake Provost Ronald Troyer.

Evans, a former teacher, has served as vice chair of the College of Arts and Sciences National Advisory Board. She also has been very supportive of Drake students through the Evans Scholarship, which helps to underwrite the costs of students taking part in travel seminars to Latin American countries.

The Evans Language Learning Center enables faculty members to make multimedia presentations and to organize students into several activity groups, all at the same time. At each computer station, students can connect to the Internet and search for cultural material, write compositions, participate in group discussions, as well as communicate one-on-one with the instructor.

"This facility is a very important asset for Drake," said Arthur Hughes, assistant professor of Spanish and director of the Evans Language Learning Center. "Language labs used to be places where students went to watch a video or listen to tapes and practices drills- pretty boring stuff. Here at Drake, thanks to our digital state-of-the-art equipment, we can do all those lab activities as well as incorporate the essential instructor-student interaction that goes on in a normal language classroom. Students can respond to audio and video input, discuss it with their colleagues and invite the instructor's input at the same time. It's a much more collaborative way of teaching and learning."

Evans participated in a demonstration of the center's capabilities and said the facility represents a "quantum leap into the 21st century."
Iowa's first lady visits Adult Literacy Center

Iowa First Lady Christy Wilsack, right, chats with new adult reader Lisa Walker, left, and tutor Angela Newhouse at the Drake Adult Literacy Center
Iowa First Lady Christy Vilsack recently toured the Drake Adult Literacy Center in the School of Education and met with Lisa Walker, a new adult reader, and Angela Newhouse, a tutor. Both Walker and Newhouse serve on the center's advisory board.

Vilsack said she came to Drake to find out more about the center's activities as part of her initiative to connect providers of literacy services statewide.

At the Drake center, volunteers meet twice a week for an hour to assist adults who want to improve their literacy skills. Volunteers receive training and ongoing information and support. For more information or to volunteer, call Anne Murr at x3982.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author to speak at Law School Oct. 23

The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book that examines the nation's Constitution from both historical and contemporary vantage points will speak at Drake Law School on Monday, Oct. 23.

Jack Rakove, the W.R. Coe professor of history and American studies at Stanford University, will help answer the question, "What Did the Constitution Originally Mean?" at 4 p.m. in room 213, Cartwright Hall. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is part of the Constitutional Law Center's Distinguished Speakers Series.

In his book, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution, Rakove suggests that originalism, the concept that the Constitution should be interpreted by a fixed set of the Founding Fathers' intentions, is not the only approach to settling contemporary judicial questions.

"Originalism rests on the assumption that a coherent, unsullied set of meanings was somehow locked into the Constitution at the moment of its adoption," Rakove wrote in a essay published in the Stanford Historian shortly after the book won the Pulitzer Prize. "That sense of experimentation did not come to a sudden halt in 1788; nor did the participants in this debate themselves think they had decisively solved all the problems with which we still wrestle."

Rakove spent close to 12 years writing the book and says he wanted readers to understand what the ratifiers of the Constitution were engaged in. "I worked hard to convey what was at stake, how important people thought it was at the time, and why what [the Founders] were doing was so momentous. I wanted to convey that in a powerful narrative to restore excitement to the original event and to get people to see the things they take for granted," he says.

In addition to Original Meanings, Rakove has written three other books, contributed chapters to numerous scholarly collections, written essays for various law reviews and published a host of op-ed articles in such newspapers as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and New York Times.
Law School to host open house

Drake undergraduate students who are considering law school are invited to attend an open house at Drake Law School on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Students are welcome to stop by the Quiet Lounge on the second floor of Cartwright Hall any time between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Faculty, staff members, law students and alumni will be on hand to answer questions. Refreshments will be served.

Faculty members who advise prospective students are also invited to attend the open house. "Many of our successful law school graduates received their bachelor degrees from Drake," said Kara Blanchard, director of admission for the Law School. "We want to make sure current undergraduate students and faculty know about the excellent opportunities that are available at the law school located on their own campus."
Forum to explore career success in the global economy

Drake University will present a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main titled "How to Succeed in Business by Really Trying: A Forum Exploring the Knowledge, Skills and Perspectives Essential to Success in the Global Economy."

The discussion, moderated by Des Moines Register editor Dennis Ryerson, will explore the ways individuals can prepare effectively for successful careers in international business. Panelists will include Richard Cusac, LA'62, chairman of Impact Investors and formerly with Merrill Lynch London and Citicorp in Hong Kong; James Israel, senior vice president, commercial and international finance, John Deere Credit; Christopher Nelson, CEO, Kemin Industries; Martha Shepard, LW'79, second vice president, general auditor and chief compliance officer, The Principal Financial Group; and Lloyd Ward, CEO, Maytag Corp.

The forum, which is free and open to the public, is presented by Drake and co-sponsored by the Des Moines Business Record and the Iowa Council for International Understanding.
Drake to celebrate Homecoming

Homecoming activities will begin with window painting from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, on the west side of Meredith Hall. A movie, "The Game," will be shown in Hubbell Field at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24. The Second Annual Drake Olympics will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, on 34th Street.

On Friday, Oct. 27, the Homecoming King and Queen will be announced at the Yell Like Hell Contest, which will start at 8 p.m. in Drake Stadium. The Homecoming Concert in Parents Hall at Olmsted Center will feature The Jayhawks. The doors will open at 9 p.m. and the band will play at 10 p.m.

Beginning Sunday, Oct. 22, free concert tickets will be available in Olmsted Center for Drake students, faculty and staff. One ticket will be issued for each Drake ID. Tickets will go on sale to the public for $15 at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 27, in Olmsted Center.

Homecoming Day will start with a carnival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hubbell Field. A Chili Feed will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Forest Avenue and 29th Street. Performing during the Chili Feed will be the Brattleboro Boogie Woogie Band, led by Drake alumnus Abe Goldstien, a musical ensemble/phenomenon on campus during the 1970s that will hold a 30-year reunion during Homecoming. The football game against Butler will start at 1 p.m. in Drake Stadium.
Drake to join online college fair

Drake will participate in the new Online College Fair program sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Prospective students will chat live with Drake representatives at www.OnlineCollege Fair.com from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19.

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