Drake UniversityOn Campus


On Campus - Stories
December 9, 2002 Vol. 55, No. 24

'Magic' Johnson shares his perspective on HIV, AIDS
On Tuesday, Dec. 3, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson attended a dinner in Levitt Hall, delivered the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture to a crowd of approximately 4,000 at the Drake Knapp Center and posed for photos and signed autographs at a private reception. Johnson, who first tested positive for HIV 11 years ago, said, "People think it can't happen to them. I'm living proof that it can happen."
Johnson poses with President David Maxwell and his wife, Madeleine, at the dinner.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson talks about how his life changed when he was diagnosed with HIV.
Coaches and members of the women's basketball team gather around Johnson for a photo opportunity after the lecture. Johnson congratulated the team for advancing to the NCAA's Sweet 16 last season.
Johnson meets with men's basketball players Marcin Konarzewski and Sean Tracy, right.
Graduate student enjoys 15 minutes of fame for cat rescue

James Butler, a Drake graduate student and senior police officer in Des Moines, was on routine patrol Nov. 29 when he heard the cries of a kitten at 15th Street and Ingersoll Avenue.

"At first I thought it was trapped in a car engine," Butler said. "Then I looked up and saw it was stranded atop a utility pole."

Butler called MidAmerican Energy, which dispatched Jerry Johnson to help get the kitten safely to the ground. Johnson retrieved the kitten and delivered it to Butler's car for warmth and food. The kitten panicked and slithered up under the dashboard. A worker at a nearby body shop had to take the whole dashboard out to get to the kitten, which was turned over to an Animal Control officer for an evaluation.

Butler, who is completing his first semester in Drake's Master of Public Administration program, was interviewed for a news story on KCCI-TV that was later picked up by CNN and "Inside Edition." He also was mentioned in a feature in the The Des Moines Register. "My classmates have been teasing me and asking when I'm going to be on the 'Late Show' with David Letterman," Butler said. "I don't think what I did was that big a deal."

Butler has visited the kitten twice at a local animal shelter. "It's a wild cat that's having trouble adjusting to its new surroundings," he said. "At least it's not cold any more. It's in a nice warm area."
Volunteers needed for study on controlling prescription drug costs

Drake faculty and staff are invited to participate in a research study on using medications well in order to control high prescription drug costs.

Volunteers for the study will be asked to participate in a one-hour seminar on smart medication use. Topics discussed in the seminar will include making sure that your medications do what they are supposed to do, why Americans pay so much for medications and how you can get the best use from your medicines for the money you pay. After the seminar, participants will be asked to complete a brief survey. Several seminars will be held during the week of Dec. 16.

This research project has been approved by Drake's Human Subjects Research Review Committee and all care possible will be taken to maintain the confidentiality of any information obtained from study participants.

Faculty and staff members interested in participating in this study should call John Rovers, associate professor of pharmacy practice, at 480-0422 or send an e-mail message to john.rovers@drake.edu.
Drake receives $2.3 million contract from the state of Iowa

Drake University is the recipient of a five year $2.3 million contract awarded by the Iowa Department of Education. The aim of this program is to implement and evaluate school-wide positive behavior supports; new avenues of access to mental/behavioral services for school-age youth; and dropout prevention programs. The program will begin Jan. 2, 2003.

The Iowa Positive Behavior Support (PBS) Alliance based at Drake's Resource Center is a partnership with researchers, clinicians, and advocates from the University of Iowa, Iowa State University (including Iowa 4-H Youth Development of the University Extension, faculty from special education and early childhood education and the Research Institute for Studies in Education), as well as the Iowa Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health. The Alliance will partner with the National Regional Research Training Center based at the University of Oregon and with many local agencies.

Carl Smith, director, Resource Center for Issues in Special Education and associate professor of education, and Marion Panyan, the Mary Collier Baker distinguished professor of education, will be the program's co-directors.
Gildner's new book receives national recognition

Two-time Pushcart Prize winner and former faculty member Gary Gildner, who taught at Drake from 1966 to 1991, recently had his new memoir, My Grandfather's Book: Generations of an American Family, selected as one of ForeWord Magazine's top 10 books published by university presses in 2002.

Gildner, professor emertius English, was interviewed about his book on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" this fall and recently completed a series of readings at 25 colleges and universities as part of a national tour.

In My Grandfather's Book, which was published by Michigan State University Press, Gildner embarks on a journey of self-discovery to discover his Polish grandfather and daughter, Margaret, that takes him from the Tatra Mountains in Eastern Europe to the Clearwater Mountains in Idaho.

Five chapters of the book first appeared in The Southern Review as an essay titled "Where the Dog is Buried," which won a XXVI Pushcart Prize. Another chapter of the book first appeared in New Letters and was a notable selection in the 2002 Best American Essays.

Gildner, who lives on a ranch in Idaho, has had 18 books published, including Blue Like the Heavens, The Second Bridge and The Warsaw Sparks. He has received the National Magazine Award for Fiction and the William Carlos Williams and Theodore Toethke poetry prizes. He was awarded his first Pushcart Prize in 1987.

Gildner also has been the writer-in-residence at Reed College, Davidson College, Seattle University and Michigan State University, and has been a senior Fulbright lecturer in Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Akin writes book about surviving a devastating tornado

Wallace Akin, professor emeritus of geography, has written a book about the "Great Tri-State Tornado" of 1925. The Forgotten Storm was published and released in hardcover by Lyons Press this fall.

Akin is the first survivor to tell the story of the worst tornado in history to strike the United States. At the age of 2, he was picked up in his house, carried through the air and landed on top of two other houses.

The Tri-State Tornado swept through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, injuring 2,000 and killing 695. Akin's hometown, Murphysboro, Ill., suffered the most severe damage, with 243 deaths in a town of 10,000.

Although he doesn't remember the actual tornado, Akin said his first memory is of riding the streetcar to visit his father who was hospitalized in St. Louis for several weeks as he recovered from injuries sustained in the storm.
Akin's book is as much a story of time and place as it is of disaster. "I grew up surrounded by the trauma," he says. "After the tornado, many people suffered from storm phobia."

In the book, a personal as well as professional endeavor, Akin draws from his experiences as a survivor and specialist in climatology. The story is based on an article Akin wrote about the storm, which was published in American Heritage.

Akin joined the Drake faculty in 1953 and retired in 1993.
Two receptions scheduled

Faculty and staff are invited to a reception for December graduates from noon to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, in Levitt Hall.

The All University Holiday Reception will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, in Levitt Hall. Faculty and staff are asked to bring clothing items for the Iowa Homeless Youth Shelters.
Muther remembered for her devotion to students, Drake
Margaret B. Muther
Margaret B. Muther, associate professor emerita of retailing, died of a heart ailment at the age of 92 on Nov. 6 at Park Regency Care Center in La Habra, Calif. A memorial service was held Friday, Dec. 6, at Central Presbyterian Church in Des Moines, of which she was a member.

A native of College Point, N.Y., Muther joined the Drake faculty in 1950 and retired in 1979.

"Margaret was very student oriented and very dedicated to the retailing program in the College of Business," said LouAnn Simpson, executive assistant to the president, secretary of the University and professor of business law. "She was a forerunner of our present internship program in that she helped students to get real world experience in retailing. She was very much a valued colleague and a team player who was extraordinarily dedicated to Drake University and the College of Business."

Muther also was a booster of the Drake women's basketball program. "She and Marjorie Cunningham, former dean of women at Drake, were two of the biggest supporters of women's basketball," said Don Adams, executive assistant to the president for community and alumni affairs. "They were always in the stands and together they supported the team in every way possible."

Muther is survived by a daughter, Judy Muther Martinelli of Whittier, Calif.; two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Margaret B. Muther Scholarship Fund, which will provide scholarships for women attending Drake.

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: 12/09/2002
Created by: Web Editor