The art of apes: Exhibit combines art and great ape research The students are now creating a visual response to the experience with the orangutans and to Shumaker's research. Their paintings will be displayed in an exhibition titled "The Shumaker Project: Artists Respond to Primate Cognitive Research" from Nov. 18 through Dec. 2 in the Weeks Gallery in the lobby of the Harmon Fine Arts Center. An opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. The exhibition also will feature drawings by the orangutans at Great Ape Trust. "Apparently they love to draw and we're thrilled to be able to include some of their drawings in the exhibition," said Battle, assistant professor of art at Drake. "During the opening reception, we plan to show a video of the orangutans creating their drawings." Battle described the class visit to Great Ape Trust as inspiring. "It was an amazing experience for me as well as the students," she added. "We felt privileged to watch Dr. Shumaker interact with Azy and Knobi and to perhaps understand the orangutans a little better. In some ways it was like looking at yourself." In addition to the art project, Shumaker is already involved at Drake as a university fellow and he teaches two courses - Introduction to Primatology and Primate Cognition. Great Ape Trust of Iowa is a world-class research center in Des Moines dedicated to studying the intelligence of great apes, advancing conservation of great apes and providing unique educational experiences about great apes. Stone was honored for the third consecutive season after earning the honor in 2003 and earning co-coach of the year plaudits in 2004. He has led Drake to 20 MVC wins in just four years as a program, accumulating a 20-4-3 conference record. Under his direction, the Bulldogs have not lost a conference match since 2003 when they posted a 6-1 record. Drake had five league shutouts this season, allowing only one goal in MVC action for a 0.16 goals against average in the conference. Stone, who is in his fourth year at the helm of the Drake squad, has led Drake to three consecutive 10-plus win seasons with a 10-6-2 mark this year. Stone's efforts have earned Drake the No. 1 seed in the MVC Tournament this weekend in Omaha, Neb. The bulldogs will face No. 4 seed Illinois State in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament at 5 p.m. Friday. A win would send them to the MVC Championship match facing the winner of No. 2 seed Creighton and No. 6 seed Evansville. The MVC Championship game is slated for 2 p.m. Sunday and will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Drake University's four choruses and a student-faculty orchestra will perform two pieces by the great 20th-century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 13 at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, 221 Walnut St. A 60-member orchestra and 250 singers - including Drake faculty and two student soloists - will present "Serenade to Music," set to the words of Act 5 of William Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice," and "Dona nobis pacem," Vaughan Williams' passionate plea for peace. The performance will kick off an interdisciplinary learning experience for Drake students in the College of Arts and Sciences. History, culture and society, music and theater classes will all discuss ideas of cultural identity, nationalism, patriotism and the arts' response to war. Vaughan Williams, at the age of 42, volunteered to be an ambulance driver in France during World War I. He set to music texts by famed authors and political figures relating to war and peace, including poems by Walt Whitman and British politician John Bright's speech "Angel of Death," given during the Crimean War. He also composed music for selections from the Old and New Testaments. Eric Saylor, Drake assistant professor of music history, will discuss these two pieces and their composer at the James Cox Memorial Lecture preceding the performance at 2 p.m. in the east lobby of the Civic Center. Drake Phi Mu Epsilon, a professional music fraternity, sponsors the lecture series. Tickets are available at the Drake Fine Arts Box Office by calling (515) 271-2841, the Civic Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster location and charge-by-phone at (515) 243-1888. Tickets are $15 for non-students, $7 for those with IDs from any K-12 school or college. A Cajun-style barbecue, kickball tournament and silent auction are among the activities Drake University students organized this fall to raise money to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Four Drake choral groups also have gotten involved in efforts to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Drake Choir, Chamber Choir, Chorale and Drake University/Community Chorus partnered with the Care Bags Foundation to raise funds and collect articles for children affected by Hurricane Katrina. The choruses contributed $284 to the foundation and donated hundreds of items to be used to fill bags with books, toys and toiletry items. Several members of the Drake Choir will soon travel to Newton, Iowa, to help fill shte bags and prepare them for shipment to devastated Gulf Coast areas. The Drake University/Community Chorus also contributed $150 toward disaster relief, which was matched by Thrivent. Drake President David Maxwell will be the keynote speaker for the plenary session of the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Region IV Conference at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Downtown Marriott. Approximately 300 people are expected to attend the three-day conference, which is hosted by Drake for NAFSA members who advise foreign students and scholars, direct international programs and services, coordinate study abroad programs, coordinate host family programs, and teach English as a second language. President Maxwell's speech, which is titled "International Education for the Next Decade: Re-charting the Map," is expected to cover current issues and concerns in international education and what lies ahead in the next decade, given enrollment concerns and national security issues. President Maxwell will then participate in a panel discussion with top administrators from several other Iowa colleges and universities. The topic will be "Internationalizing the Campus" -- what's involved, the complexities, hurdles and benefits. NAFSA Region IV includes: Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota. This is the first time that the regional conference has been held in Des Moines. For more information on the conference schedule, visit The final presentation in the Drake University Science Colloquium Series for the fall semester will take place at noon on Friday, Nov. 11. David Courard-Hauri, assistant professor of environmental science and policy, will discuss "Happiness, Economics and Overconsumption: Combining Hedonic Psychology with Monte Carlo Modeling." Faculty, staff, students and other members of the Drake community are invited to attend. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Maria Bohorquez, director of DUSCI, at Drake University and the Des Moines Business Record will honor six activists in a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 25th Street and University Avenue. Winners of Central Iowa Activist Awards are: This is the third year that Business Publications Corp., publisher of the Des Moines Business Record, has honored community activists through the Central Iowa Activist Award. The Activist Project originated as an event for Cityview, but was retained by BPC President Connie Wimer when she sold that publication earlier this year. "We made the decision to retain it and continue to implement it because of our belief that Central Iowa is filled with people with passion and commitment to improve the lives of the people who live here," Wimer said. "Recognizing a few of these people each year is our way of supporting he work they are doing and encouraging others to continue to commit themselves to such important work." Drake University has been a partner in the Activist Project since its inception in 2003. This year, United Way of Central Iowa is a corporate sponsor. The second program of the American Judicature Society and Drake Law School Series on the Justice System will focus on the emerging pro se litigation reform movement in Iowa. The recent Report of the Joint Iowa Judges Association and Iowa State Bar Association Task Force on Pro Se Litigation is the genesis of developing a statewide approach to the growing numbers of pro se litigants representing themselves in an already overburdened state court system. This program will highlight the recommendations of the Joint Task Force Report and how these recommendations might impact both lawyers and the courts. The program, "Pro Se Litigation in Iowa," will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the courtroom of the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center, which also houses the Drake Legal Clinic. The program is free of charge. Application is pending for two hours of CLE credit, including one hour of ethics credit. Representatives of both bench and bar, including members of the Joint Task Force, will present a panel discussion of the benefits, concerns, and ethical issues arising from the report's recommendations. Iowa District Court Judge Patrick Grady, co-chair, and Christine Luzzie, of Iowa Legal Aid, will participate as representatives of the Joint Task Force. Panelists Iowa District Court Judge Robert Blink and Drake law professor Robert Rigg will offer "frontline" perspectives to the discussion of the Task Force recommendations. Eve Ricaurte, pro se coordinator for Iowa Legal Aid, will provide information on pro se litigation efforts in other states. The Drake University Society for Human Resource Management will screen the film "Crash" and discuss diversity and prejudice from 5 to 8 p.m. in Parents Hall at Olmsted Center on Thursday, Nov. 17. DUSHRM President Cynthia Moe, a senior from Madison, Wis., and several society members took a summer class on managing diversity. As part of the course, students audited diversity in the College of Business and Public Administration. One of the students' recommendations was more diversity-centered programming. "We thought this would be an ideal way to discuss tolerance, prejudices and fears," Moe said. "These are conversations we need to have and issues we need to think about." In "Crash," a 2004 film, characters of various racial backgrounds collide in an incident and the characters' various roles in society and stereotypes cause problems for the group. After the film, a panel will discuss their reactions to the film and diversity issues that face them. Panelists will include Ruth Ann Gaines, a drama teacher at Des Moines East High School; Dolph Pulliam, director of community outreach at Drake; and Don Schumacher, of the Gay and Lesbian Resource Center. Charles Edwards, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration, is buying food and beverages for the event. Drake University Business Link will present an interactive workshop on improving the quality of projects beginning at 8:30 a.m., Friday, Nov. 11 in Room 112, Aliber Hall, 2847 University Ave. Targeted for program managers, project sponsors, and executives overseeing project teams, the workshop will demonstrate the warning signs of poor project management, how managers can ask the right questions (and follow-up questions) to obtain the information needed to truly manage project progress. The Standish Group estimates that less than one-third of all projects complete on time, under budget, and with all of the features originally promised; therefore, the statistics for project failure are less than encouraging. This workshop will use exercises and group discussion to help you identify your personal project challenges, what you can do to mitigate them, how you (unknowingly) might be contributing to them, and how you as a manager of project managers can build a strong project culture within your organization. Facilitator Timothy L Johnson has served as an adjunct professor at Drake for almost six years, teaching MBA courses in project management, creativity for business, operations management and organizational behavior. He is also president and chief solutions officer of Delta Project Solutions Inc. in Urbandale, leading clients in the field of accomplishment integration management. His first book - "Race Through the Forest, A Project Management Parable" - is expected to be released in 2006. This workshop is $40 and seating is limited. Registration and a continental breakfast will take place from 8:15 to 8:45 a.m. For more information or to complete early registration, visit www.cbpa.drake.edu/businesslink or contact Delaney J. Kirk, director of Drake Business Link, at (515) 271-3724 or The Drake Business Link was established in 2000 to foster discussions about issues of interest to local business people. Additional Drake Business Link workshops, taught by Drake faculty, on timely business topics will be offered throughout the 2005-06 academic year. |
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