Des Moines, Drake histories come alive at Cowles Library Tuesday "There are a lot of great characters in Drake and Des Moines history that we're just not aware of and this will be an opportunity for us to get to know them a little better," Wright said. "I spent the summer going through the University archives looking for stories that people could really connect to." Among the stories Wright will explore are George Carpenter's move to found Drake 125 years ago, the 1951 racially motivated attack on Drake football star Johnny Bright and its impact on NCAA sports, a Drake student who was lost at sea with the Titanic and a look at Des Moines at the dawn of the 20th century. The event, which is free and open to the public, coincides with the newly renovated James Collier Heritage Room exhibit of historical artifacts and photos from Des Moines and Drake history. The gallery can be viewed online at www.lib.drake.edu/heritage/. James Collier, a 1970 alumnus of Drake's School of Education who lives in Medford, Ore., donated $100,000 to help remodel an upstairs room at Cowles Library, 28th Street and University Ave. The remodeled space, called the James Collier Heritage Room, will display items from Drake's history as part of the University's celebration of its 125th anniversary, beginning in fall 2005. The room will also be used to display items from Cowles Library special collections, which include original artwork, papers from Iowa leaders and Drake alumni and a run of cartoons from Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Jay "Ding" Darling. The exhibit also marks another way Cowles Library is serving Drake students and the community at large. Through an ongoing digital archive, such as those on display in the Collier room, Drake librarians are creating a bold new library that is part archive, part museum and part research facility - all of which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Internet. Cowles librarians have been actively encouraging members of the public to contribute to the archive, including materials related to the history of the Drake Relays and Des Moines in general. "Well, what's really exiting about this is the capabilities we now have to create new learning experiences for Drake - and for the community," said Rod Henshaw, dean of Cowles Library. "The Heritage Room gives us a special space for exhibits, and the digital tools that the library has deployed, allowing Drake faculty and students the opportunity to create new forms of knowledge and discourse. This is a very powerful combination, one that I think is unique to Iowa." Despite his last name, Drake senior Chris Hamburger always preferred hot dogs to the sandwich with which he shares a moniker. So when he saw an essay contest dubbed "Win Your Weight in Hot Dogs" in For Him Magazine, a men's magazine known for scantily clad women on the covers and bizarre content within, Hamburger decided to tell the editors exactly why he deserved it. "I play soccer and when I was in high school the news used to make comments on it about me making 'a whopper of a pass,' the Knights are trying to play ketchup, but Hamburger's shot didn't have enough mustard on it and the goalie scooped it up like a happy meal," wrote Hamburger, who also plays on Drake's men's soccer team. "I'm always buying hot dogs, which I like better than hamburgers anyway. I love my name because it makes me a hard person to forget, but I hate when everyone thinks they're doing me some kind of service by making some crack at my name," he said. Apparently FHM dug the Lincoln, Neb.-native's tale. They sent him 255 pounds of beef, smokehouse hot dogs, and hot and spicy hot dogs, which are packed in his refrigerator. Next month, Hamburger will be featured on the cover of FHM. Woods is dean of the faculty at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., which provides journalists, students and educators with media-related workshops and seminars. Before joining the institute he worked for 16 years at the New Orleans Times-Picayune as a sports writer, news reporter, city editor, editorial writer and columnist. He is the co-author of "The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity in America: The Authentic Voice." He received a 1991 Associated Press award for his coverage of the end of apartheid in South Africa and a 1994 National Headline Award for his contributions to the 1993 series "Together Apart/The Myth of Race," an exposé on race relations in New Orleans. At Poynter, Woods specializes in diversity and media ethics and has written about many topics, including fatherhood, race relations and the emerging South African post-apartheid press. He writes a regular column on race and media for Poynter's Web site and leads seminars and workshops on diversity and ethics. A native of New Orleans, Woods holds a master's degree in social work from Tulane University and a bachelor's degree in social welfare from Dillard University. The Community in Diversity Lecture Series began in 2003 to provide Drake University and the metro area an opportunity to hear diverse viewpoints from distinguished media professionals. Speakers give a public lecture and teach in several journalism classes as part of their three-day visit to the campus. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication organizes the series with support from the Office of the Provost and the College of Business and Public Administration. On Thursday, Nov. 10, Drake University Theatre will present William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Picnic," which revolves around a drifter who roams into a small town in Kansas and changes the lives of everyone he encounters. The play, set in the 1950s, focuses on the Owens family and their neighbors as they plan an end-of-summer picnic. When Hal Carter, a handsome drifter, moves in next door, his presence reveals the gaps in their contentment. "So much of happiness is tied up in whom we choose to love, but so often we choose unwisely," said director Deena Conley, Drake assistant professor of theatre arts. "The young chase dreams, while their elders realize their dreams have quietly slipped away." Conley will speak at a Pre-Theater Dinner and TalkAbout at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in the Cowles Library Reading Room, 28th Street and University Avenue. Tickets for the event, sponsored by Friends of Drake Arts, are $20 for the dinner and that night's show. For reservations, call (515) 271-3147 by Friday, Nov. 4. Inge is one of the Midwest's greatest playwrights. He was born in Independence, Kan., and educated at the University of Kansas, and his works often reflected small-town life. He began his career as theater critic for the St. Louis Times, but a meeting with Tennessee Williams inspired him to write his own plays. "Picnic," first produced in 1953, received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Drama Critics Circle Award, the Outer Circle Award and the Theatre Club Award. His other best known works include "Come Back, Little Sheba," "Bus Stop," and the screenplay "Splendor in the Grass," which won an Academy Award. Drake's performances of "Picnic" start at 8 p.m. Nov. 10, 11 and 12 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, in the Performing Arts Hall, Harmon Fine Arts Center, 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue. Tickets, which are $6 for the general public and $4 for students and senior citizens, are available at the Drake Fine Arts Box Office at (515) 271-3841. This production contains smoking and adult themes that may be unsuitable for children. Cowles Library will be conducting an electronic quality survey of students and faculty on library services from today through Nov 18. Those who complete the survey will have their names entered in a drawing to win one of three $50 gift certificates to Jordan Creek Mall. "The last time we conducted the quality survey, we were able to respond to numerous areas needing attention," said Rod Henshaw, dean of Cowles Library. "We plan to respond to the findings of this survey in much the same way." To complete the survey, go to Boyer's poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming in The Denver Quarterly, TYPO, New Letters, Konundrumg Engine, Painted Bride Quarterly, Octopus and other journals. A chap-length selection of her work is forthcoming in 2006 in Narwhal. Boyer, who has lived in Des Moines since 2002, also writes lyric prose and short fiction and edits the micro-press Sodear. Jarnot has edited two small magazines - No Trees and Troubled Surfer - as well as The Poetry Project Newsletter and "An Anthology of New American Poetry." She is the author of three full-length collections of poetry: "Some Other Kind of Mission," "Ring of Fire" and "Black Dogs Songs." Her biography of San Francisco poet Robert Duncan is forthcoming from University of California Press. Jarnot lives in New York City and teaches at Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Long Island University and Brooklyn College. For more information, contact Dina Smith at x3127 or Baum's talk is part of a new Executive in Residence Program created by the College of Business and Public Administration and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication to bring professionals into the classroom to share stories and case studies from their career. Baum recently retired as CEO of Dial Corporation and is now the executive chairman for Action Performance Companies. He is a director on the Board of Directors of PepsiAmericas, Meredith Corporation, America West Airlines, Playtex Products Inc. and Action Performance Companies. Joining Dial in 2000, Baum is credited as the driving force behind the turnaround of the business. He was also responsible for the sale of Henkel that preserved Dial's Scottsdale headquarters, manufacturing locations and employee base. The program is designed to expose students to real world situations in the workplace. Participants are chosen from the fields of business and journalism/mass communications. In addition to delivering a large lecture to the general campus community related to their experiences, the executive in residence spend at least one day on campus visiting classes and meeting with student groups, faculty and alumni. The next lecturer will be Don Peschke, a 1969 CBPA alumnus and the owner and founder of August Home Publishing. |
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