The Most Beautiful Bulldog Drake's Center for Digital Technology and Learning is sponsoring a presentation on Fines is president of the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction and serves on the advisory board for the Institute for Law School Teaching. She also hosts the Web site for the AALS section on Academic Support. For more information, contact faculty members Andrea Charlow at x2066 or Dan Alexander at x3764. Tim Russert, managing editor and moderator of NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press,” will speak at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday, April 26) at the Drake Knapp Center. The distinguished broadcast journalist will discuss “Washington From the Inside Out” as part of the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series. After the lecture, Russert will attend a reception and book signing. The event is free and open to the public. Russert recently returned from Rome, where he helped cover the death of Pope John Paul II, which is why his appearance at Drake earlier this month was rescheduled. The Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by a gift from Melva and the late Martin Bucksbaum, former chairman and president of General Growth Corp. and longtime member of Drake's governing board. Drake University student Lauren Derebey has been awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English as a foreign language in Korea. Derebey is a senior at Drake, majoring in international relations, political science and French. "I feel very honored to have been selected and offered this tremendous experience," said Derebey, a 2001 graduate of Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Ill. "After having studied international relations for the past four years, I am really excited to put some of my knowledge into practice." Derebey will leave for Korea in early July and return after a 13-month placement. During her visit she intends to teach English language courses to high school students and help them develop an understanding of American culture, society and values. "I hope to develop a better global awareness by gaining an understanding of Korean culture, politics and economics," Derebey said. "I also hope to offer Koreans a better understanding of the United States." She plans to educate her students using both traditional methods of reading, writing and speaking, as well as exposing them to more current cultural elements, such as magazines, music and movies. Upon returning from Korea, Derebey hopes to work for a few years before attending graduate school. She plans to obtain an international law degree or a master's degree in international relations. Like most Drake University graduate students, all Michelle Laughlin really wanted from the school was an education. Laughlin spent the last eight years raising her two children, 8-year-old Collin and 5-year-old Mackenzie, who starts kindergarten in the fall. She wanted to rejoin the workforce and thought she would get her master’s degree in counseling from the School of Education. The disability services position was open. When she saw the job, she knew she’d found her calling. “I just looked at that and said ‘this is the perfect job for me,’” said Laughlin, who will pursue her graduate degree at Drake while working in her new position. “I have been educating people on disabilities all my life. This is where I needed to be.” While working at Family Service Agency in DeKalb, Ill., Laughlin presented disability awareness programs to third and fourth grade students. She coordinated guest speakers – people living with disabilities – to talk to students about their lives and answer questions. Laughlin answered plenty of those questions herself. She was born without portions of both her legs and her left arm and has used a wheelchair her entire life. “Children are very frank and ask a lot of questions – which I think is a good thing,” she said. “Too often, all children learn about people with disabilities is that they shouldn’t stare and that they should back away. I consider it a life mission to educate people about just how rich and diverse the lives of people with disabilities are.” Laughlin comes into the disability services job at an important time. Recent surveys say the fastest-growing minority group on college campuses is students with disabilities. The first generation of students who were treated at early ages for attention deficit disorder and childhood mental health issues are reaching college. “I just took a call the other day from a student who will be coming in the fall who wanted to make sure certain things were in place before school started,” she said. “We know a lot more about how the brain and the body works than we did even five or 10 years ago. There are so many cool things we can do with technology and support. I’m excited about helping Drake students get where they want to be.” Wanda Everage, vice provost for student affairs and academic excellence, said Drake is fortunate to have Laughlin join the University. "Her personal experience as well as her work in student services at the University of Northern Iowa and at a community college give Michelle Laughlin a good understanding of how to prepare our students for the future," Everage added. "She's a strong supporter of student responsibility while holding the University responsible for providing the access and accommodations needed by students with disabilities." "We've known all along that our Director Susan Ladd and Associate Director Chris Ditter and their staff are terrific, but it's always nice to have outside recognition," President David Maxwell said. "It's a well-deserved honor, and we re very proud of them." In addition to the award for the entire office, two individual staff members in Student Financial Planning also were honored recently. Brandi Stone-Miller, assistant director of new student programs, was awarded the Outstanding New Contributor of the Year Award at the spring Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators conference. This award is presented to an IASFAA member who has made a significant first contribution to the association or the financial aid profession. Kristi Fuller, assistant director of continuing student programs, was awarded the Committee Member of the Year Award for her contributions to the association's Community Outreach Committee. Drake magazine, Drake magazine online and 515 magazine have won first in their categories (magazines published twice and year, online magazines and magazines published once a year) in the Mark of Excellence regional competition sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists. Drake magazine swept the feature writing category, winning first place (Sarah Schafman), second place (Lynn Freehill), and tying for third place with themselves (Alecia Pennington/Julie Collins and Anna Dolezal). "Congratulations to Drake magazine editors Julie Collins, Rachel DeSchepper, Andrea Schmidt, Kristin Watson, 515 editor Emily Bida and the staffs of all three publications," said Patricia Prijatel, the E.T. Meredith distinguished professor of journalism. Eighteen current and future leaders from the Des Moines nonprofit community were specially selected for this 160-hour, 12-month program of study. Participants represented the following Des Moines nonprofit organizations: Recovery Village, Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa, PACE Juvenile Justice Center, Spectrum Resources, YMCA, Creative Visions and Young Women’s Resource Center. The certificate program was developed through a collaborative effort by the Directors Council—a group of Des Moines nonprofits under the leadership of the director of PACE Juvenile Justice Center, Vernon Johnson and Drake University with critical private sector support from Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a Dupont company represented by Thomas Phillips. The program is unique in that participants and their sponsors signed a covenant that committed each participant to 12-months of study at the Drake campus. The comprehensive coursework package was developed by the Center for Professional Studies in Drake's College of Business and Public Administration and utilized both Drake faculty and nonprofit community leaders as instructors. To put the learning into practice, team projects were developed and completed by the learners. These projects deal with topics such as: School Bullying, Bridging Juveniles successfully from Middle School to High School, Analysis of Des Moines’ Homeless Population and new programming to Expand Foster Care for High-Risk Teens. The graduates presented their projects to the Drake community. PCDS differs from the traditional career center model by focusing less on the centrality of "entering the workforce" and placing more emphasis on strategically developing an appreciation for exploring and connecting intellectual study to personal life (reflective practitioners) and social responsibility (civic engagement). This will increase the likelihood of students participating in service learning and volunteer activities, undergraduate on- and off-campus employment, job shadowing experiences, internships, acceptance to graduate and professional schools, and obtaining full-time employment in their areas of study or interests. Students will be involved with PCDS throughout their collegiate experience at Drake, beginning with their first year. Programs will emphasize student self-assessment, professional mentoring, leadership development, organizational involvement, experiential and service learning as well as developing a professional portfolio and job search skills. Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Academic Excellence Wanda Everage oversees PCDS and recently hired two new staff members — Chrystal Stanley and Amy Jo Reimer-Myers. They work with Debra Setterdahl, professional and career development services coordinator, who focuses primarily on students in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and the School of Education. Stanley, student disability services coordinator at Drake since 2001, has been named professional and career development coordinator and academic assistance coordinator. She is involved in the all-University academic assistance program and works primarily with students in the College of Arts and Sciences on professional and career development. Stanley and Setterdahl will work out of The Point at 1331 27th St. until their new office, room 107 on the lower level of Old Main, is renovated. With graduation just a few weeks away, many seniors are focusing more on their job searches even as they prepare for finals. Help is available through PCDS. "We can assist students with their resumes and cover letters, plus we often conduct mock interviews to give them practice so they feel more comfortable during job interviews," Setterdahl said. "We also can help with alumni contacts and networking opportunities. In addition, we encourage students to talk with their advisers and professors because they may be aware of opportunities as well." Reimer-Myers recently joined Drake as career services coordinator for the College of Business and Public Administration and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She had been medical staff development manager for Iowa Health Systems and holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in fine arts from Drake as well as a master's degree in art history from the University of Iowa. Before joining Iowa Health System, she was director of corporate recruiting and development at Frank N. Magid Associates in Marion, Iowa. "I'm thrilled to be at Drake," Reimer-Myers said. "I want to be helpful in any way that I can to students in the College of Business and the School of Journalism. I encourage students to think about how what they're learning in the classroom can be put into practice as they gain experience through internships and prepare for professional positions." Reimer-Myers works in Aliber Hall, where a new career services office will be developed near the dean's office, thanks to a gift from Drake alumnus Dwight "Joe" Dollison and his wife, Diane. The career services office will help business and journalism students secure internships, develop career skills and conduct job searches. Dollison, a Polk City resident who graduated from Drake in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in accounting, retired in 2001 as vice president and treasurer at Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. Members of Phi Gamma Delta recently pitched in to help Facility Services add new mulch to the plant and flower beds in and around Helmick Commons as part of efforts to spruce up the campus for Drake Relays. "They did a great job and helped our staff out getting a mulching project done that is usually a challenge to squeeze in this time of year with The Drake Relays upon us," said Jeff Bosworth, grounds manager. "We're big into community service and do a lot of things with different organizations, but we've never done too much for the Drake community," said Josh Anderson, community service chair for the fraternity. "We decided this project would be something good to do. It looks really nice and I'm glad to say that we did this." The University has been engaged in a yearlong campus planning exercise to shape the future of Drake's campus and the surrounding area. Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, the University's master planners, have met with many faculty, staff, students, neighborhood representatives, Board of Trustees members, and city/ community leaders to receive input. They have also held several town meetings to share progress on the plan and receive feedback.† A draft of the final plan will be presented next Thursday evening to the Board of Trustees, the Faculty Senate, the Senior Advisory Council and the Cabinet. Final approval of the plan should occur at the June meeting of the Board. Before the plan is finalized, the campus community is again being provided an opportunity to review the draft plan, ask questions and provide input. Two campus-wide town meetings led by the ZGF team are scheduled for Thursday, April 28, in Bulldog Theater in Olmsted Center. They will start at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sometimes, when you're hurt, the only place you can go is home, and the only thing that can heal is family. The Magrath sisters of Hazlehurst, Miss., have had pain in their lives; all of them are still haunted by the suicide of their Lenny, the oldest, is convinced that no man will want her with her deformed ovary. The youngest, Babe, has just shot her rich and powerful husband in the stomach, but is much more concerned with her newfound love for the saxophone. Their sister, Meg, returns from Los Angeles, where she has failed as a singer, to be confronted by the man and the questionable reputation she left behind. Faced afresh with tragic circumstances, the sisters confront these situations in a hilarious and heartfelt manner, realizing that, in the end, only family matters. Henley first received attention for her playwriting when "Crimes of the Heart" won the Actors Theater of Louisville's Great American Play Contest in 1978. Her first play, "Am I Blue," was produced while she attended Southern Methodist University. The Actors Theater of Louisville first staged “Crimes of the Heart” in 1979. The year it opened on Broadway, it also won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. It also garnered Henley a Tony for best play and an Oscar for the 1986 film adaptation. Deena Conley, Drake assistant professor of theatre arts, directs Drake's production of "Crimes of the Heart," which contains smoking and adult situations. Performances will start at 8 p.m. April 28, 29 and 30 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 1, in Studio 55 of the Harmon Fine Arts Center. Tickets may be purchased at the Harmon Fine Arts Center Box Office, x3841. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens and $1 with a Drake ID. The first shovels of dirt that will remake Drake Stadium into one of the crown jewels of the track and field world once again will be overturned in a groundbreaking ceremony set for Saturday, April 30. The festivities will begin immediately following the traditional Drake Relays opening ceremonies at 11:55 a.m. The groundbreaking will begin a $12.6 million renovation of the Stadium, which has been a premier track and field landmark since opening in 1926. The stadium upgrades will include new seating for fans, a wider track that meets international competition standards, an outside safety lane for athletes, a state-of-the-art artificial grass field by FieldTurf that will be large enough to accommodate Drake’s NCAA football and men’s and women’s soccer teams and a new scoreboard. “The Drake Stadium Revitalization Project is a wonderful example of what we can accomplish when we work together in pursuit of a common goal—a collaboration among Drake University, our team of leadership donors, alumni and friends, and the Central Iowa community,” said Drake President David Maxwell. “A renovated Drake Stadium—a world-class facility with almost a century of proud tradition—will be a huge asset for the University, for Des Moines and for the region, and we are very, very grateful to those who have supported us in making this happen.” Those participating in the ceremony include generous contributors and enthusiastic supporters Daniel and Patricia Jorndt, James and Patricia Cownie, William Knapp, William Knapp II, Jack Taylor, Don Lamberti, Gerald Neugent, Dwayne McAninch, Maddie Levitt and Michael Gartner. Also joining the celebration will be representatives from the many corporate and community groups whose donations and passion helped make this project possible, including The Principal Financial Group, AmerUs Group, Prairie Meadows, the Des Moines City Council, the Windsor Heights City Council, the Polk County Board of Supervisors, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., FBL Financial Group, the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. And representing the true spirit of the Relays will be two of the finest competitors to ever grace the Stadium’s track, Drake track coach Natasha Kaiser-Brown and Suzy Favor Hamilton. Drake mascot Spike the Bulldog also will cheer on this momentous occasion. The 14-musician Brass Ensemble of Amsterdam’s world-renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, in Drake University's Performing Arts Hall in the Harmon Fine Arts Center. The program will include music for combinations of brass instruments as well as the entire ensemble playing together. Although the program begins with antiphonal music of Gabrieli, the repertoire focuses on the 20th century, with composers such as Ravel, Prokofiev, Hindemith, George Delerue, the Dutch-born Jan Koetsier and Hans Werner Henze, as well as Ennio Morricone, represented by an arrangement of his score for "Once upon a Time in the West." The RCO Brass Ensemble also will perform two pieces commissioned for the group's second U.S. tour: a work by RCO timpanist Nick Woud and "Night and Dawn" by New York-based Raphael Mostel, nephew of Broadway star Zero Mostel. "Night and Dawn" was commissioned in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation and has been underwritten by The Netherland-America Foundation. The anniversary falls on May 5, 2005. Members of the RCO Brass Ensemble also will conduct master classes and instrument workshops, which are open to the public, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, in the Harmon Fine Arts Center. These activities are made possible with the support of the Donald Blakeslee Fund for Master Classes of the American Friends of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The fund honors the American-born Blakeslee, who died in March 2004 after a 40-year career as principal tuba player of the RCO. This is the second U.S. tour for the RCO Brass Ensemble. During its 2003 tour of the northeast, a critic wrote that “If you can't hear the whole Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, a concert by its brass section is a next-best thing." Another critic praised the ensemble's "velvety smooth" sound and "dazzling display of virtuosity, stylishness, musicianship and all the other good things of concert life." Tickets, which are $15 for the general public and $7 for students, senior citizens and those with a Drake ID, are available at the Drake Fine Arts Box Office, x3841. The concert is made possible by a gift from the late Earle Ferguson, an accomplished musician and attorney who worked his way through Drake and Drake Law School during the Great Depression by playing the piano at local radio stations and the Younkers Tea Room. All four Drake University choral ensembles and an orchestra made up of Drake students and faculty members will perform Haydn's "Schˆpfungsmesse," also known as "Creation Mass," at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, 221 Walnut St. Aimee Beckmann-Collier, professor of conducting at Drake, will conduct the performance, which will involve nearly 275 musicians. The orchestra will be conducted by John Canarina, professor of conducting and director of orchestra activities. The concert will be preceded by a presentation about Haydn and his "Creation Mass" given by Eric Saylor, Drake's musicologist, at 7 p.m. in the lobby of the Civic Center. Saylor's presentation will be the inaugural event in the James Cox Memorial Lecture Series, which has been established by the Drake chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national professional music fraternity, in memory Cox, associate professor of music and head of the music education area at Drake. He died of a heart attack at age 49 in 1997. The inaugural lecture in the series has been titled the James Bennett Distinguished Lecture in memory of Bennett, a staunch supporter of Drake's music program and husband of Virginia Bennett, associate professor of music education and head of music education at Drake. Both Cox and James Bennett were members of the Drake chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Tickets for the concert are $15 for the general public and $7 for students. They are available at the Drake Fine Arts Box Office x3841 and at the Civic Center Box Office at 243-1888 and at Ticketmaster. "Called to be True Blue" nominations for individuals and departments practicing the core values of Drake University's Strategic Plan are due in Human Resources no later than Friday, May 6. This is the final nomination period for this academic year. Award winners will be selected on the basis of their efforts to promote the University's core values of excellence, learning, integrity, citizenship and fiscal responsibility. Nomination forms can be found at The 2005 issue of the Drake Undergraduate Social Science Journal has been launched. Go to http://www.drake.edu/artsci/PolSci/ssjrnl/ssjournalhome.html to view the work that some of Drake's top Social Science students have produced. This year's authors are Scott Belcher, Jason Boothe, Brittany Buchholz, Julie Collins, Drew Gulley, Lauren Mattern, Rachel Pifer, and Trin Turner. Drake University Opera Theatre will perform Menotti's "The Telephone" and "Amelia Goes to the Ball" — two comic, one-act operas presented in English with orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30, in the Performing Arts Hall, Harmon Fine Arts Center. Ann K. Cravero, visiting assistant professor of voice, directs the production while John Canarina, professor of conducting and director of orchestral activities, conducts the orchestra. Tickets, which are $12 for general admission and $6 for students and senior citizens, are available at the Drake Fine Arts Box Office, (515) 271-3841. The opera is made possible by a gift from Friends of Drake Arts. The Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences will honor Morgan Cline, a 1953 pharmacy alumnus who fundamentally changed the way consumers learn about the benefits of new medical products through advertising campaigns targeted to the general public rather than only medical professionals. Cline, of Red Bank, N.J., is the 2005 recipient of the Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal of Honor, the highest award presented annual by the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He will be presented the medal and deliver a lecture at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, in the Reading Room of Cowles Library. A reception will follow from 4 to 6 p.m. at Terrace Hill, 2300 Grand Ave. A member of the Drake Board of Trustees, Cline is a founding partner of Cline, Davis & Mann, a New York agency that became the premier pharmaceutical advertiser with Pfizer Inc. at the top of its list. In 2004, his impact on the industry was recognized as he was inducted into the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame. Cline grew up on a farm outside of Centerville, Iowa, and has been instrumental in the town’s rebirth, contributing more than $15 million to various civic projects. In 2001, Cline endowed a scholarship fund for pharmacy students with a $5 million gift to Campaign Drake. In honor of Cline’s scholarship endowment, Drake renamed Pharmacy and Science Hall the Morgan E. Cline Hall of Pharmacy and Science. The Weaver Medal of Honor is made possible through the generous gifts of the Weaver family. Lawrence Weaver, a 1949 pharmacy alumnus, is dean emeritus of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and a past vice president of professional relations with the Pharmaceutical Manufactures Association. He has received numerous awards including the American Pharmaceutical Association Remington Honor Medal Award, the American Association of College of Pharmacy Distinguished Service Award and the Drake University Distinguished Service Award. Delores Weaver is an active healthcare volunteer in her community, serving such organizations as the University of Minnesota Hospital, Girl Scouts and her church. She has taught English in Malaysia, served as precinct chairwoman and den mother, and participated in several local advisory boards. “There is a spirit in men, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Cathy Lesser Mansfield has lived that passage from the Book of Job in recent years, as the Drake University law professor works to complete a musical drama that superimposes the story of Job over the tale of a Jewish family caught up in Hitler’s Germany. The completed portions of “The Sparks Fly Upward” will be performed on Saturday, May 7, by the City Opera Company of the Quad Cities as a part of a series of Holocaust-related events sponsored by the Quad Cities Jewish Federation. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. in the Moline High School Auditorium, 3600 Avenue of the Cities, Moline, Ill. Tickets, available at the door, are $10 for adults and admission is free for all students. The performance is part of a community-wide project titled “Beyond the Holocaust: Lessons for Today” taking place in the Quad Cities from April through June. The project encompasses a national traveling exhibit about Anne Frank as well as a variety of performing arts events and educational opportunities. "Beyond the Holocaust," which marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of concentration camps, addresses issues of prejudice and intolerance and promotes understanding among all faiths and races. “The Sparks Fly Upward” will be performed with a full orchestra, thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Scott County Regional Authority to the City Opera Co. Ron May, director of the City Opera Co., will conduct. Seven of the lead roles are being played by members of the Drake community, including five music students, a recent graduate and Leanne Freeman-Miller, associate professor of voice at Drake. Last April Mansfield conducted a performance at Drake with local performers, a computer-generated orchestra and slides of the period. Since then, she’s composed three additional songs and added narration to explain more of Holocaust history. The opera follows a German Jewish family in Berlin beginning with the autumn of 1938, which culminated in Kristallnacht, a night of orchestrated attacks against Jews, their businesses and synagogues. At various times during the war that ensues, the family goes into hiding. To entertain each other, they play-act the story of Job, the righteous man who refuses to speak against God despite terrible events that befall him and his family. As the opera progresses, they relate more of Job’s tale, and the audience sees how his story parallels the family’s. The extensive research Mansfield is undertaking for the opera has already brought her to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the Leo Baeck Institute in New York, the Jewish Museum and the Centrum Judaicum in Berlin and to countless unpublished biographies of Holocaust survivors, contemporaneous news accounts and books. “I decided that it was very important that the piece be historically accurate,” said Mansfield, “ so it could memorialize what happened, educate the public and oppose the revisionist historians who claim the Holocaust never happened.” For more information on the May 7 performance in Moline, visit |
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