Experts to discuss winners and losers in the globalization game Experts to discuss winners and losers in the globalization game David Skidmore, professor of politics and international relations and director of Drake's Center for Global Citizenship, will moderate the discussion, which is sponsored by the center and the University of Chicago Alumni Association. Three of the five panelists hold graduate degrees from the University of Chicago -- Wallace Huffman, the Charles F. Curtiss distinguished professor of agriculture at Iowa State University; Mark Kende, the James Madison chair of constitutional law and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Drake; and Guoping Shu, a research scientist at Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. Also serving on the panel are Sajeda Amin, senior associate at the Population Council; and Jimmy Senteza, associate professor of finance at Drake. For more information, call the Drake Center for Global Citizenship at 515-271-3843. "It is difficult to imagine this department operating without Scott Wood," said Steven Faux, chair of the Psychology Department. "We have suffered a great loss." "As deeply saddened as we are by the loss of our colleague and friend, it seems appropriate at this time to remember how he lived," Bill Klipec, associate professor of psychology wrote in a statement prepared by the department for the memorial service. "It is the job of a professor to profess," Klipec wrote. "To take positions, often extreme, and test their limits, and worth, by setting them forth for debate and discussion. Perhaps none of us did this as well as Scott. "As one of B.F. Skinner's most devoted advocates he not only professed the principles of behavior analysis, he lived by them and thus taught by example. In his earliest days in the department at Drake he developed an introductory psychology course based on programmed instruction and behavioral principles. He was a major force in the establishment of a graduate program in behavior analysis that put the Psychology Department at Drake on the map as one of the nation's best programs in that area of psychology. "Well over 200 graduate students trained in that program now hold positions in agencies for the developmentally disabled, business and industry and education all over the United States. He was a prime mover in the establishment of the Association for Behavior Analysis that quickly moved from a regional meeting to become the most influential international organization in the field of behavior analysis. If we can take pride in the accomplishment of our students, Scott must be most proud of the impact his teaching has had on them and his visions have had on the field." In addition to teaching courses on Principles of Behavior, Sports Psychology, Psychology of Gambling, and Skinner and Behaviorism, Wood conducted research on factors that lead to excessive gambling. He recently served on the Advisory Committee to the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program. Survivors include his wife, Dawn Moser of Urbandale; three stepchildren, Isaac, Oliver, and Claire Couture, of Iowa; and a brother, Al Wood, of Colorado. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Anthony Westerhof Scholarship Fund in the Drake Psychology Department. Huang transforms mundane, everyday items - such as household electronic devices and childhood toys - into dynamic, kinetic works of art. His robotic-but-organic installations are on display through Jan. 14 as part of the Des Moines Art Center's current exhibition, "Aisle 5." "I don't think our students have experienced working with an artist like CJ previously," said Phillip Chen, associate professor of art and design. "He's very focused on looking for things that can be combined for particular kinds of motion, sounds and emissions of light. They're quite sensational, what he makes out of these ordinary things." Huang organized the workshop "as an introduction to the process of deconstructing and reinventing the objects that surround us, where the final product serves as the beginning of future possibilities." Huang and the students started the week by going on a shopping spree - armed with $50 stipends each - for purchasing supplies at area discount stores like the Dollar Tree, Big Lots and Home Depot. The final creations feature pop cans, toy soldiers, pom-poms and various other odds and ends. Huang encouraged the students to explore electronics as an artist medium, challenging them to incorporate at least one electronic component to their work. Each of the students' final works spin, move or light up in some fashion. "I think that working with active artists is a great way to refresh your own ideas about art and art-making," said Tara Lange, a third-year art student participant. "I never knew how much you can learn from just taking things apart and rewiring them to make something unique and beautiful," said Ashley Machacek, a first-year art student participant. The students' sculptures and installations were on display in the Adrienne and Charles Herbert Galleries of the Des Moines Art Center from Nov. 14-27. Drake University Jazz Ensemble II, under the direction of James Romain, will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, in the Performing Arts Hall, Harmon Fine Arts Center, 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue. The Drake Wind Symphony, conducted by Robert Meunier, and the Drake Concert Band, conducted by John R. Dulaney, will present the opening concert for the 36th annual Drake University Honor Band Festival at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in the Performing Arts Hall, Harmon Fine Arts Center. The program features music by William Schuman, There will be a pre-concert dinner and TalkAbout hosted by Friends of Drake Arts at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in Levitt Hall in Old Main. After a gourmet dinner, Meunier will talk about the concert program for the evening and present a synopsis of the history of Drake University bands with Thompson Brandt and Don Marcouiller. The cost for dinner and concert is $20. For reservations, call 515-271-3147. The Drake University Honor Band Festival will continue as high school students from across Iowa perform as members of the Honors Wind Ensemble and Honors Concert Band at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in the Performing Arts Hall, Harmon Fine Arts Center. The Drake Choir, Drake University Community Chorus and Drake Chorale will join forces in a concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, in the Performing Arts Hall, Harmon Fine Arts Center. Randal Buikema will be the guest conductor of the Drake Choir and Drake University Community Chorus and Linda Vanderpool will conduct the Drake Chorale. The fall concert season will conclude with a Drake Symphony Orchestra performance at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 2507 University Avenue. The orchestra, under the direction of guest conductor Clarence Padilla, will perform works by Copland, Milhaud, Mayuzumi and Hanson. All of these performances are free and open to the public. For more information, call 515-271-3975. West draws from her ongoing book project about early American representations of landscape, memory and mound builders and their constructions along the banks of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, tentatively titled "Grounds for Authority: Where Literacy Meets Natural History." The project is built on the premise that early America deeply desired a "key" to the landscapes of the new nation. This purported "key" is often figured literally as a buried manuscript that reveals a landscape's history. Her talk this Friday will examine the role of authorship and authority in texts about the mounds. West will pay careful attention to various readers - rather than authors - of the mounds and discuss the construction of an environmental literacy. West received her BA in English and Environmental Studies from Williams College and a PhD in American Literature from Stanford University. She teaches Drake courses about early American literary culture, 18th and 19th century women writers and nature writing. Drake pharmacy students from the Drake Rx Unified Group of Students (DRxUGS), led by Renae Chesnut, associate dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, donated a spectacularly adorned tree that reaped more than $1,000 in the auction. A smaller tree, decorated by Drake Marketing and Communications student interns on behalf of Athletics and the President's Office, drew another $475 for the charity effort. Brooke Benschoter, director of marketing and communications, served as volunteer chair of the festival, which raises more than $300,000 each year. Xiao Yuan "Yolanda" Zhang and Shangfeng "Angel" Lu, both 21, are majoring in law as undergraduates in the Chinese educational system. They will complete their undergraduate degrees through their coursework at Drake Law School. "The United States is the place where every [Chinese] student wants to be," Lu said. "Law students in China don't have much opportunity to study abroad, so we feel very fortunate to be here." "I think Drake is the perfect place," Zhang said. "I really like the professors here. They are all friendly and approachable. When I first got here, my academic adviser [professor Cathy Lesser Mansfield] took a group of international students to the supermarket to help us do our shopping. Another professor records her lectures so we can listen to them later to make sure we understand everything she said. The students here are mature since law school is a graduate program. They study hard and encourage me to do my best." Zhang said she especially enjoys her class on international human rights and has volunteered to help the Red Cross in Des Moines promote a new program focused on human rights. Both students belong to the Drake chapter of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and Lu recently attended the national meeting of the association and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association in Philadelphia. "There was a lot of discussion about the war in Iraq and the issue of torture," Lu said. "I watched some moot court competitions and got to meet people from different law schools along with lawyers from around the country. It was a great experience." Law School faculty also have visited China and participated in exchanges with Chinese universities. Southwestern is one of the top law schools in China and is interested in developing opportunities for student and faculty exchanges in both directions. Southwestern has a particular interest in Drake's Agricultural Law Center, as its faculty are working with the state to develop the law relating to agriculture in ways that will allow the farming population, mostly poor peasants, to share in the economic development that is transforming Chinese cities. While at Southwestern, Strassberg delivered a lecture to law students about American legal education, including the Socratic Method and our emphasis on the application of law, client representation, and problem-solving. She described some of the different opportunities for foreign law students to study American law, and explained the Bar Exam and licensing system for lawyers in the United States. As a result of these meetings, Ellen Yee, assistant professor of law, visited Southwestern University for a week this past summer. She delivered three lectures: one on the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause, another on principles of criminal justice and a third on professional responsibility and legal ethics. "As a former exchange student myself," Yee added, "I am a strong advocate of the educational value of studying abroad. As a faculty member, I encourage students to be intellectually curious about the world they live in and to explore it through opportunities to study abroad." Place your order by contacting Jana Peterson at |
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