Drake UniversityOn Campus


On Campus - Stories

November 16, 2001 - Vol. 54, No. 24

Additional chairs were added at the last minute on the main floor of the Drake Knapp Center to accommodate the burgeoning crowd.

Bill Moyers answers questions during an informal talk in Cowles Library Reading Room.


Bill Moyers discusses politics and religion in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.


Alumni such as Robert and Billie Ray join students in chatting with Bill Moyers.


From left: Bill Moyers and moderator James Autry listen to Martin Marty's remarks on religion.

Bucksbaum Lecture draws record crowd

 Approximately 3,000 people packed the south side of the Drake Knapp Center to hear television journalist Bill Moyers and religious scholar Martin Marty give the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Monday night. Highlights of the lecture, titled "The Aftermath of September 11th," were aired Tuesday night on Iowa Public Television and will be repeated on IPTV at 9 p.m. today (Friday, Nov. 16).

"We had been trying for five years to get Bill Moyers to give the Bucksbaum Lecture," said professor Mike Marty, former chair of the lecture series committee. "We were finally able to get him because he's a good friend of Jim Autry and Martin Marty."

Law professor Neil Hamilton, who now chairs the lecture series committee, said the group is extremely pleased with the high level of interest in the lecture. "This shows the value of the Bucksbaum Fund to Drake and to the community," he added.

The lecture series was made possible by a gift from Melva and the late Martin Bucksbaum, a longtime member of Drake's governing board.

President David Maxwell presented Melva Bucksbaum with a bouquet of flowers after she spoke at the start of Monday's lecture. "I'm still in awe of Monday night's attendance," she said later in an e-mail message to Hamilton. She also said she plans to travel to Des Moines from her home in New York City to attend the next lecture, set for April 10, 2002, with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
Nebbe joins Red Cross volunteers in NYC

Linda Nebbe, assistant professor of education, traveled to New York City Wednesday to begin volunteering as a trained Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services worker.

"They told me to bring boots, so I'm expecting to be assigned to Ground Zero," said Nebbe, a licensed mental health practitioner and drug and alcohol counselor in Iowa.

Nebbe signed up for the Red Cross training after reading an article in Counseling Today magazine that said there was a desperate need for more Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services workers to help deal with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She completed two days of training in Des Moines along with 29 other volunteers before being assigned to work in New York City for at least 12 days.

Nebbe's colleagues in the Counseling Education Program are covering her classes while she's gone.

"I'm not practicing now, so this offers me an opportunity to get back in the field," Nebbe said. "This is something that I can do with my professional skills that might help somebody else, and I will gain something from it, too. I will have more information and diverse experiences to share with my students."

Nebbe joined the Drake faculty in 1998 after serving as clinical director of a methadone treatment program. She also has worked as an elementary school teacher and counselor, camp director and therapist. When she's not teaching at Drake, she resides with her family on 22 acres of reestablished prairie and hard wood timber near Waterloo, Iowa. She is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and one of the founders of an Animal-Assisted Activities/Therapy Project that's affiliated with the Cedar Bend Humane Society.

Susan Ladd holds her award.

Ladd receives top award for distinguished service

Susan Ladd, financial aid director, recently received the Allan W. Purdy Distinguished Service Award from the Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (MASFAA).

 This award is the highest honor that MASFAA can bestow upon one of its more than 1,600 members. "I was absolutely astonished at receiving the award," Ladd said.

Ladd was recognized for her leadership in financial aid associations at the state, regional and national levels and for her outstanding work on behalf of members and students.

She recently completed a term as MASFAA vice president and chair of the MASFAA Finance Committee. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. She also is past president of the Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Seminar set for Nov. 28

Charlotte Haller, assistant professor of history at Drake, will present the second Women's Studies Seminar at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the Medbury Honors Lounge.

The seminar is titled "Taking Liberties: Black Women's Freedom Struggles in Revolutionary North Carolina."

The Women's Studies Program is sponsoring the seminar. Refreshments will be provided.
Fallon to speak at Drake Nov. 29

State Representative Ed Fallon, AS'86, who also serves as director of 1,000 Friends of Iowa, will speak at Drake Thursday, Nov. 29, as part of the Environmental Science and Policy Program Speaker Series. The speech will start at 4 p.m. in the Medbury Honors Lounge.

Fallon, D-Des Moines, will discuss issues of urban sprawl and loss of habitat and farms. He also will address the subject of working with the legislature on environmental issues.
Counselors flock to Drake

Approximately 250 guidance counselors from schools across Iowa attended the first New Horizons joint conference and workshop at Drake last month. The conference was sponsored by the Iowa School Counselor Association and the Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling.

Drake faculty and staff made presentations at the conference. Kay Augustine-Pettijohn, associate director of the Institute for Character Development, discussed character development initiatives. Linda Nebbe, assistant professor of education, spoke about nature and animals and the school counselor.

In addition to attending sessions on a variety of topics, the counselors also toured the Drake campus.

"We were pleased to be able to host the conference," said Deneen Dygert, associate director of admission and Drake's onsite coordinator of the conference. "It provided counselors with educational opportunities as well as the chance to visit our campus and learn more about Drake."
Software distribution starts

Drake University has signed a license agreement with Microsoft, making many of Microsoft's most recent products available to students, faculty and staff. As a result, the Office of Information Technology along with building level technical support staff are busily updating all University-owned computers. The upgrades will not only facilitate the implementation of Drake's new administrative software (SCT Banner) but will also help reduce software incompatibility experienced on campus.

Part of the agreement also provides for the distribution of Microsoft Office and FrontPage to students. Students' technology fees are being used to support this part of the distribution so that students can obtain the software at no additional cost. During the first week of distribution, 1,161 students received 1,547 copies of software.

Distribution of Microsoft Office to faculty and staff for use on home computers began Thursday, Nov. 15. Faculty and staff may install Office on a single home computer and use it for University business.

Details on the agreement and the distribution of software are available on the Drake Web site at www.drake.edu/it/molp/. Questions may be sent to molp@drake.edu.
Construction Corner

Weather permitting, the new walkways in Helmick Commons will open on Tuesday, Nov. 20. The last walkways were scheduled to be poured by the end of the day today (Friday, Nov. 16). New light fixtures also were installed this week.

Once the walkways are complete, installation of an irrigation system will begin. Trees also may be planted in the next week or two.

By the time students return from Thanksgiving break, all of the walkways are expected to be open.

Stories | Calendar | Faculty & Staff News
Drake Home Page > News & Events >> Publications >>> On Campus >> Stories

Special Routes for:
Prospective Students | Current Students | Faculty & Staff | Alumni | Visitors
Last Modified: 11/26/01
Created by: Web Editor