Drake Blue Magazine - Fall 2005

Fall 2005

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DREAMERS, THINKERS, STARGAZERS AND WAR HEROES:THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO

FOUNDED DRAKE UNIVERSITY 125 YEARS AGO

Celebratinga great

birthday

D R A K E blue The Magazine of Drake University22

EVERY TEN YEARS, EACH ACCREDITED COLLEGEAND UNIVERSITY IN THE UNITED STATES UNDER-GOES A REACCREDITATION REVIEW, conductedby the appropriate regional accrediting body.A successful outcome is, of course, absolutelyessential to the continuing viability of the insti-tution. In 2008, Drake University will undergoits accreditation review by the Higher LearningCommission (HLC) of the North CentralAssociation of Schools & Colleges. Given theimportance, magnitude and complexity of theprocess, we have already begun to devote sub-stantial time and energy to our preparation.

The first of five criteria for HLC accredita-tion focuses on institutional mission: “Theorganization operates with integrity to ensurethe fulfillment of its mission through struc-tures and processes that involve the board,administration, faculty, staff, and students.”This emphasis on the primacy of mission isentirely consistent with the manner in whichDrake University’s mission — as articulated inthe University’s Mission Statement — hasdriven our major planning processes in recentyears, and every aspect of our decision-makingon campus:

Drake's mission is to provide an exceptionallearning environment that prepares students formeaningful personal lives, professional accom-plishments, and responsible global citizenship.The Drake experience is distinguished by collab-orative learning among students, faculty, andstaff, and by the integration of the liberal artsand sciences with professional preparation.

As we began our own review of this criteri-on, we suspected that we could not assumethat there was a shared and accurate under-standing of the statement’s critical terms —and thus of the mission itself. This realiza-tion led to a fascinating and challengingseries of discussions, culminating in a docu-ment that serves vitally important purposes,and which is already having important, long-term consequences for the University (the

Mission Explication, which can be found atwww.drake.edu/self_study/drakedocs/missionex-plic.html; I do hope that you’ll take a look atit — and that you’ll let me know what youthink of it.)

First, the document serves to clarify andelaborate on the meaning of the University’sMission Statement — ensuring that all of theUniversity’s constituencies have a completeand accurate appreciation of Drake’s missionand the implications of that mission. It isimportant for the campus community, ofcourse, for the mission forms the bond thatconnects students, faculty and staff in com-mon purpose. The Explication also providesa context for each member of the Drake fam-ily to fully understand the nature of his/herrole at the University. For external audiences(alumni, prospective students and their par-ents, donors, the community), it identifiesthe aspirations of the institution with which

we hope they will engage — and we mustfind effective means to communicate thoseconcepts in a manner that the various groupsfind meaningful and persuasive (somethingthat higher education as a whole has notdone particularly well on a national scale).

Second, as the document itself states, theMission Explication identifies those responsi-bilities that the University assumes in orderto ensure that our institutional goals areachieved, and identifies those areas of knowl-edge, skills, and habits of mind that weexpect Drake-educated students to havedeveloped in realization of the University’smission. In order to ensure our continuedexcellence as an institution, it is essentialthat we are able to demonstrate throughongoing, objective assessment that we aremeeting those goals — for ourselves and forour students.

Third, the University’s mission and itsexplication constitute a promise — a prom-ise that Drake faculty, staff, and Board ofTrustees make to students (current and

prospective) and their parents, to our alum-ni, to our supporters, and to the community.It is a statement of who we are, what we do,what we value, and what we aspire to. Thefuture health of the University depends ingreat part on our ability to communicate ourpromise effectively, and — most of all — togive people compelling and legitimate rea-son to believe that we are keeping thatpromise. I want you to know that the peopleof Drake University are doing everythingthat they can to ensure that we are.

From thePresident. . .

Mission and Promise

Dr. David E. Maxwell, president

The future health of the University depends in great part on our ability

to communicate our promise effectively,and — most of all — to give people compelling

and legitimate reason to believe that we arekeeping that promise.

The Magazine of Drake University D R A K E blue 33

contents

PresidentDr. David E. Maxwell

Vice President of Institutional Advancement

John H. Willey

Director of Marketing & Communications

Brooke Benschoter

EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor/Art DirectorCasey L. Gradischnig

Graphic DesignerAndrew Maahs

Classnotes EditorTracey L. Kelley

Contributing WritersDaniel P. Finney, JO’97

Tracey L. KelleyLisa LacherTim Schmitt

InternsElissa Koc

Bryan KlopeckErin Lain

Kristin McLaughlinStephanie Peterson

Drake Blue is published as a service to Drake alumni,parents and friends by the Drake University Office of Marketing and Communications. Views expressedin Drake Blue do not necessarily reflect opinions ofthe editors or the University. We welcome articles by and story ideas from and about Drake alumni.Send correspondence to Editor Casey L. Gradischnig,Drake University, 2507 University Ave., Des Moines, IA50311-4505. E-mail: [email protected].

Copyright Drake University 2005

To submit news or update your alumni file, contactDrake’s Office of Alumni and Parent Programs.

Call: 1-800-44-DRAKE, x3152E-mail: [email protected]

Surf: www.drakealumni.net

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Features

DepartmentsCAMPUS 4Science spruce-up begins with grant • Law teaches perils of slam dancing • Pharmacy fraternity explores the humanity behind the science • CBPA offers new master’s program • Fulbright winner toSouth Korea • SJMC projects win top honors

8 FACULTYPassionate professor, marvelous mentor earn top honors • Jazzing up a golf score • Pharm fac sweep awards • Teacher Tom Drakewins Double D honor • Busy biz profs • Law prof on jury duty

SPORTS 16Athletics Hall of Honor embodies the spirit of one man and many athletes • Spring sports recap

18 ALUMNIResearch from this Drake graduate could help restore sight to millions • Alumni honored at this year’s Achievers and Believers ceremony • Drake offers Alumni Career Network

GET YOUR HANDS ON THISSchool of Education professor’s

active approach creates a lasting impression

14 REACHING FOR THE PEAKDreamers, thinkers, stargazers and war heroes: the men and women who founded Drake University 125 years ago

23BUILDING BLOCKSCBPA alumnus and H&R BlockCEO brings humanity to moneymanagement


DRAKE RULES THE WORLD

Drake has developed relation-ships with universities around theworld in an effort to give studentsmore foreign education opportu-nities. The Universidad Nebrija inMadrid, Spain; the Universitéd’Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand,France; and Universität Tübingenin Tübingen, Germany are threeuniversities recently added toDrake’s list of institutions in morethan 60 different countries in thestudy abroad program.

The exchange programs withthese universities are differentfrom most study abroad pro-grams because the Drake stu-dents are directly enrolled inthe institutions; therefore, theytake classes in the native lan-guage and live with natives ofthe respective country.

SENIORS GO BACK TO SCHOOL

College-level learning isn’t justfor kids with iPod headphonebuds jammed in their ears who

are point-and-clicking away onwireless laptops.

The RaySociety of LifelongLearning at Drake Universityoffers courses on a variety of topicstargeted at retirement-age peopleinterested in learning in a collegeatmosphere. The courses aredesigned to accommodate thosereturning to school as well as indi-viduals setting foot on a universitycampus for the first time.

The society takes its namefrom a pair of distinguishedDrake alumni, former Iowa Gov.Robert D. Ray, BN’52, LW’54,who also served as theUniversity’s president, andBillie Ray, ED’50, former firstlady of Iowa and a formerschool teacher. Volunteerinstructors from among currentand former Drake Universityfaculty, from the society mem-bership and from the communi-ty teach classes.

Recent courses have included atour of Iowa’s historical buildings,

a course on technology and ananalysis of a daily newspaper.

SCIENCE SPRUCE-UPBEGINS WITH GRANT

The Roy J. Carver CharitableTrust awarded a $200,000grant to Drake University forthe renovation of science lab-oratories in Olin Hall.

The Carver grant providesthe foundation for a $2.9 mil-lion fundraising effort byDrake to reconfigure threebiology labs and remodel thesecond floor of Olin Hall,which houses Drake’s psy-chology, biology, neuro-science and environmentalscience departments. Drakehopes to begin constructionin May 2006.

The remodeled educationalspaces will help create a newscience-learning environmentthat diminishes the distinctionbetween lab work and class-room learning as studentspursue inquiry-based courses.

The Carver Trust is thelargest private philanthropicfoundation in the state of Iowawith assets totaling $300 mil-lion and annual grant distribu-tions of more than $13 million.The trust was created throughthe will of the late Roy J.Carver, a Muscatine, IA, indus-trialist and philanthropist.

LAW TEACHES PERILS OFSLAM DANCING

More than 175 first-yearDrake law students observedthe civil suit involving vio-lent slam dancing at a heavymetal bar as part of theannual Trial Practicum.

The trial took place in thecourtroom of the Neal and BeaSmith Law Center in the DrakeLegal Clinic. Students watchedthe actual Iowa district court casefrom jury selection through the

verdict and received exclusivedebriefings with the trial lawyers,the judge and an especially rarequestion-and-answer session withjurors after the closing.

Spring semester event highlightsincluded theatrical productions of“Crimes of the Heart,” “Pippin,”

and Sartre’s “No Exit.” The Drake

Opera performed Gian CarloMenotti’s comedic one-acts,“Amelia Goes to the Ball,” and“The Telephone.” The fourthThresholds Art Festival to a

Culture of Peace visited campus,along with Carbon, a student artexhibit featuring collaborativeworks by artists and randomlyselected students from outside theart world. National Geographicwriter/photographer JonBowermaster, JO’76, discussedhis globe-trotting adventures.Amsterdam’s celebrated world trav-eling Royal Concertgebouw Brass

Ensemble graced the Harmon FineArts Center stage. Drake choir andsymphony included performancesof Haydn’s “Creation Mass.” TheWriters and Critics Series

brought writers Cole Swensen,Peggy Orenstein, Rae Armantrout,Stephan Cope, Michelle Herman,and Nathaniel MacKey to campus.Scholar Eric Ehrenreich also paid avisit to deliver a lecture entitle,“Racial Scientific Ideology andMotivations for the Holocaust.”Black History Month was packedwith programs by the Coalition ofBlack Students, including aMulticultural Village Fishbowl andMamma’s Cookin’ — a night ofsharing traditional home-cookedmeals. The Center for GlobalCitizenship held events including“America: A View from Abroad.”

And campus groups encouragedwomen to “Take Back the Night,” arape awareness program includinga candlelight vigil.

theHOT list

SPEAKING OF: Tim Russert, host of "Meet the Press" and author of thebest-seller Big Russ and Me, presented “Washington From the InsideOut” to a crowd more than 3,000 people at Drake Knapp Center aspart of the spring Bucksbaum Distinguished Lectureship.Conservationist Jane Goodall will deliver the fall lecture on Sept. 22.

Renowned scholar Anita Allen (above far right) the Henry R. Silvermanprofessor of law and professor of philosophy at the University ofPennsylvania, presented "Law Floats on a Sea of Ethics" to a standing-room only crowd last April as part of the Constitutional Law Center'sDistinguished Lecture Series.

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campusbuzz

spotlight


MOST COLLEGE STUDENTS aren’t awake at day-break, let alone riding in the back of a flatbedtruck at the crack of dawn during winter,handing out eggs and milk to the homeless.But for members of Drake’s Phi Delta Chi(Phi Dex), a professional fraternity for phar-macy students, this is just one of many servicelearning projects they’re involved in to under-stand the life of a pharmacist.

“PHARMACY IS ALL ABOUT HAVING COMPASSION,”says Tara Loan, worthy chief counselor of thePsi chapter. “Students realize early on theyneed more than the ability to count little pillsand put them into big bottles.”

DEVELOPING A BEDSIDE MANNER: Phi Dexmembers often spend time with patients withjuvenile arthritis to hear their issues andanswer questions. “I think it’s less intimidatingfor them to meet us this way, and we get tounderstand the person with the condition,not just a clinical description,” explains Loan.

“The fraternity is comprised of true lead-ers,” says Chuck Phillips, faculty adviser andassociate professor of pharmacy, who says heis continually impressed with Phi Dex mem-bers. “These students are organized, havestructured committees and a strong profes-sional component. Working with children atRuby Van Meter School, the Haven at UrbanMinistries and Blank Children’s Hospital are

just some of the long-established connec-tions, and the community knows it can counton Phi Dex.”

SHINING NATIONALLY: The fraternity makes anotable mark among other chapters as well.Phi Delta Chi’s philanthropic focus is St.Jude’s Children’s Hospital; the 92 actives ofDrake’s chapter raised 60 percent of thenational fraternity’s fundraising goal for St.Jude’s last year.

“Our activities give us the opportunity towork with all types of people, so we canrelate to issues they face every day,” Loansays. “Knowing this makes us better peopleand stronger professionals.”

—Tracey L. Kelley

StudentsWho Serve

PHARMACY FRATERNITY EXPLORESTHE HUMANITY BEHIND THE SCIENCE

Members of Phi Dex Brenna Ferry,

Greg Bookensted and Casi

Sovereign volunteering at Des

Moines’ Blank Children’s Hospital.


A patron of a local bar, HairyMary’s, alleged that a broken wristand other injuries he suffered in2002 while slam dancing in amosh pit at the bar were due tothe negligence of the bar’s owners.

Coordinated by Drake lawprofessor Russell Lovell, thisobservation gave students theunique opportunity to see a trialinside and out in a way theycan't get through a half-dozenepisodes of “Law & Order” oreven other law schools.

The plaintiff ultimately won$1 in pain and suffering.

SCHOLARSHIP HELPSSTUDENTS FIGURE OUTWHO OWNS IDEAS

The Des Moines law firm ofMcKee, Voorhees & Sease hasmade a commitment to increasethe Drake University Law Schoolscholarship fund promoting thedevelopment and practice ofintellectual property law from

$35,000 to $100,000.McKee, Voorhees &

Sease has an 80-year his-tory of specializing inintellectual property law,including patents, trade-marks, copyrights, tradesecrets and intellectualproperty litigation. Theattorneys also have spenthours throughout thepast three decades teach-ing Drake students thefiner points of intellectualproperty law.

“Intellectual property is asubject of vital importanceto our profession and oursociety, and of great inter-est to our students,” saidDavid Walker, dean of theLaw School. “McKee,Voorhees & Sease has beena leader in this field in theMidwest, even nationally,and their $100,000 endowedscholarship commitment to sup-port outstanding students focus-

ing on intellectual property iswonderful news for the DrakeLaw School and our community.”

DARK FILMS SEE LIGHTAT COWLES

Rod Henshaw, dean of CowlesLibrary, has given a major bookand film collection to theUniversity. Consisting of nearly500 items, the research collectionchronicles the origins, develop-ment and evolution of film noir.

In the 1940s and ‘50s, film noirbecame a prominent genre in theHollywood stable of films. Noirfilms generally dealt with theunderside of American life andmore often than not dealt withcrime themes, wrapped in sub-plots of despair, betrayal andalienation. The genre had its ori-gins in popular crime fiction pio-neered by Dashiell Hammett, andrefined by Raymond Chandler.Chandler's novel, the “Big Sleep,”filmed by John Huston and star-ring Humphrey Bogart as privatedetective Phillip Marlowe, has

become an icon of Americanpopular culture.

The Henshaw collection con-tains this film and hundreds ofothers considered to be part offilm noir. In addition, the collec-tion has numerous editions ofHammett, Chandler, and otherbooks analyzing the genre as afilm movement, as well as mate-rial on such actors as Bogart andRobert Mitchum. This gift willbe entered into the Drakeonline catalog, and will behoused together as a researchcollection in Cowles Library.

BIG AWARD ON THE PRAIRIE

The Drake Prairie Rescue andRestoration Intern Programreceived the 2004 Governor'sIowa Environmental ExcellenceAward for its prairie conserva-tion and education efforts. Theprogram was created in 2004and has made great strides inmanaging ailing prairie habitatsand exposing students to newskills and information.

campusbuzz

THE FIRST CLASS OF DRAKE UNIVERSITY'S CERTIFICATE IN NONPROFITLEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION program graduated in special cer-emony April 22. Eighteen current and future leaders from the DesMoines’s nonprofit community were specially selected for the 12-month program with participants represented nonprofit organizationsincluding Recovery Village, Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa, PACEJuvenile Justice Center, Spectrum Resources, YMCA, Creative Visionsand Young Women’s Resource Center. Above, a graduate receives hiscertificate during the ceremony from Charles Edwards, dean of theCollege of Business and Public Administration.

BULLDOGS GO GREEN. A group of students from Assistant Professor ofSociology Darcie Vandegrift’s Globalization and Development course cel-ebrated Arbor Day by helping Des Moines elementary school kids plantedible perennials, fruit and trees at King Elementary School. The DesMoines Community Garden Program, directed by Drake graduate TevaDawson, AS’97, and Practical Farmers of Iowa, sponsored the project.

(continued from page 4)

NEW READER’S TALE ON TV

Karen Walker, a Des Moines resi-dent who learned to read at age44 with the help of DrakeUniversity’s Adult LiteracyCenter, was featured on “TheJane Pauley Show” in March. Aproducer for the show contactedWalker, now a volunteer tutor atDrake’s Adult Literacy Center,after a story about her appearedin The Des Moines Register on Feb.5. Walker and her husband,David, flew to New York City andwere interviewed by Pauley onFeb. 17 in front of a studio audi-ence in Rockefeller Center.

Since 1976, the Drake AdultLiteracy Center, which is housedin Drake’s School of Education,has offered free tutoring to adultswith such low literacy skills.


In 2004, 13 sites were selectedfor the restoration effort. Inorder to be selected, landownersare required to contact the pro-gram and then submit their landto an evaluation to determine ifa sizable prairie community, con-taining specific plants, insectsand animal life, was actually atrisk. When a site is chosen,Drake students travel there toremove trees and brush oradminister a prescribed burn inan effort to protect the prairie.The program already has 15 siteslined up.

CBPA OFFERS NEWMASTER’S PROGRAM

Drake’s College of Business andPublic Administration nowoffers a Master of FinancialManagement program.

The master’s degree programis an effort by the University tomeet the needs of the fast-grow-ing financial services industryand help working professionalsdevelop skills and gather knowl-edge that will be immediatelyuseful in the workplace.

Students with an academic orprofessional background relatedto financial management can

complete the program in 33credit hours, consisting of 24hours of required courses andnine hours of electives. Studentswithout this background willcomplete an additional six hoursof foundation courses.

The financial asset manage-ment area of emphasis will helpinterested students pursue theChartered Financial Analyst (CFA)designation. Passing a series ofthree exams and fulfilling the nec-essary professional experienceachieve this designation.

FULBRIGHT WINNERTO SOUTH KOREA

Recent graduate Lauren Derebeywon a Fulbright Award and plansto teach English as a foreign lan-guage in South Korea. Derebeyrecently completed her senioryear at Drake, majoring in inter-national relations, political sci-ence and French.

Derebey, who won Drake'sElsworth P. Woods Prize for out-standing seniors majoring ininternational relations, left forSouth Korea in early July.During her 13-month visit, shewill teach English languagecourses to high school students

and help them develop anunderstanding of American cul-ture, society and values.

PHARMACY STUDENTSMONITOR MEDSA $5,000 mini-grant from theWellmark Foundation is helpinga team of Drake University phar-macy students monitor theeffects of prescribed medicationon patients and how wellpatients take their meds.

The project, which is super-vised by Sandra Dirks, Drakeassistant professor of pharmacy,will create a mobile pharmacistpractice model in which 10 phar-macy students will rotatebetween a variety of communitylocations, including a traditionalpharmacy, a physician clinic andan activity center in a seniorapartment complex.

The students will providepharmaceutical consultation topatients with chronic diseasessuch as depression, asthma, dia-betes and cardiovascular disease.They will monitor the effective-ness of prescribed drugs, theseverity of any side effects andthe regularity with whichpatients take their medicines.

SJMC PROJECTS WIN TOP HONORS

The Drake University student-produced magazines DrakeMagazine, Drake Magazine Online and 515 won first in theircategories (magazines published twice a year, online maga-zines and magazines published once a year) in the Mark ofExcellence regional competition sponsored by the Society ofProfessional Journalists.

Drake Magazine also swept the feature-writing category.Winning first place was Sarah Schafman, a sophomore fromTaylor Ridge, IL; second place, Lynn Freehill, a senior fromChenoa, IL; and tying for third place was the trio of Drakestudents Alecia Pennington, a senior from Geneva, IL, JulieCollins, a senior from Hulett, WY, and Anna Dolezal, a seniorfrom Cedar Rapids, IA.

Pictured are students and visitors viewing student projectsat the SJMC’s annual award event held in April.

Jane Pauley with Karen and David Walker.

88

[Daniel Jordan] [Roger Williams] [Gwen Ifill] [Lawrence Fish]

99

Commencement 2005DRAKE MINTED MORE THAN 1,400 NEW ALUMNI in a series of commencement ceremonies heldon campus in May. A processional led by a bagpipe player ushered soon-to-be Drake LawSchool graduates into their ceremony where they were addressed by Kenneth M. Quinn,JO’66, president of the World Food Prize Foundation and former U.S. ambassador to theKingdom of Cambodia.

Journalist Gwen Ifill received an honorary degree at the 124th Commencement Ceremonyfor Graduate and Doctoral Degree Recipients. Drake alumnus Lawrence K. Fish, president,chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group Inc.; Daniel P. Jordan, president of theThomas Jefferson Foundation; and Drake alumnus Roger Williams, renowned pianist andmusician all received honorary degrees at the undergraduate ceremony.

rence Fish]


PASSIONATE PROFESSOR,MARVELOUS MENTOREARN TOP HONORS

Steven Faux, associate professorof psychology, and Jean Berger,assistant athletic director, earnedthe Levitt Teacher of the Yearand Mentor of the Year award-srespectively, in May.

Nominators for top teacherFaux cited his exuberance forhis field and his infectious pas-sion for his subject.

“Students regularly commenton how excited he gets in class,”said Maria Clapham, professor ofpsychology. “They enjoy the vari-ety of techniques he uses to com-municate with students, includ-ing sometimes acting things outor even singing a song to illus-trate a point.”

Top mentor Berger was laud-ed for helping student-athletesmake important career and lifedecisions while juggling theunique demands of Division Icompetition.

“Jean showed a genuine inter-est in my well-being and success.I’ve found that I can trust hernot only as an adviser, but also asa counselor and a friend,” saidone former student-athlete.

JAZZING UP A GOLF SCORE

In March, Drake University jazzprofessor Andrew Classendebuted, on the Jordan Stage inSheslow Auditorium, his series ofmusical sketches inspired by DesMoines’ Waveland Golf Course.

The series, titled “TheWaveland Suite,” follows an

imaginary journey through thecourse at 50th Street andUniversity Avenue. Founded in1901, Waveland Golf Course isthe oldest public golf coursewest of the Mississippi River.

Classen is a regular atWaveland. He and his golfinggroup have a tradition of singingthe theme from Johnny Carson’s“The Tonight Show” when oneof them muffs a shot and gets a“mulligan” or “do-over.”

An allusion to that theme “ishidden somewhere in the middleof this movement,” Classen says.

“I love this golf course,” headds. “My dogs and I know everyinch of it.”

PHARM FAC SWEEP AWARDS

A trio of Drake pharmacy pro-fessors earned national awardsin March.

Sandra Dirks, assistant profes-sor of pharmacy practice, earnedthe Annual Pharmacy PracticeAward from by the College ofPsychiatric and NeurologicPharmacists. Dirks was selectedfor the award when her casestudy “Lamotrigine-InducedLupus: A Case Report,” was rec-ognized as one of the best in thenation by the CPNP Awards andNominations Committee.

The APhA Academy ofPharmaceutical Research andScience selected Lon Larson,professor of pharmacy, as a2005 fellow of the AmericanPharmacists Association. Thedesignation of fellow honorsAcademy members who have aminimum of 10 years of exem-plary professional experienceand who have rendered out-standing service to the profes-sion through activities in APhAand other organizations.

Brad Tice, associate professorof pharmacy practice, won the2005 Leadership and EducationInstitute/GlaxoSmithKline

Albert B. Prescott LeadershipAward. The award, administeredby the Pharmacy Leadershipand Education Institute, wasestablished in 1987 to recognizeexcellence and leadershippotential among young leadersin pharmacy.

TEACHER TOM DRAKEWINS DOUBLE D HONOR

Tom Drake, visiting professor ofeducation, earned a Double DAward, the highest honorbestowed upon Drake student-athletes. Tom Drake, a two-yearletterman in baseball, graduat-ed with a bachelor’s in educa-tion from Drake in 1965 andearned a master’s in 1971. Heretired from Des Moines PublicSchools after more than 40years as a teacher, coach,administrator and activist in theDes Moines area.

BUSY BIZ PROFS

Phillip Houle, associate professorof information systems, won theOutstanding Graduate TeachingAward in the College of Businessand Public Administration at thisyear’s Drake Business Days.

Debra Bishop, assistant professorof information systems, receivedthe David Lawrence OutstandingUndergraduate Teaching awardat the same event.

LAW PROF ON JURY DUTY

David McCord, professor of law,is spending the year working ona jury project at the AmericanJudicature Society. The projectwill examine the basic right to ajury trial in the United States,who serves on juries, possibleways to improve the jury system,how juries make decisions, andways to protect the privacy ofjurors in public trials.

faculty focus

DAVID WRIGHT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ELECTRONIC JOURNALISM,WON THE DONALD V. ADAMS SPIRIT OF DRAKE AWARD. Nominatorspraised Wright for his exemplary work as a teacher, mentor, rolemodel and adviser as well as his efforts to assist Drake studentsin fulfilling their goals for professional and personal growth, careeraspirations and citizenship responsibilities.

spotlight


LIKE MOST AMERICAN KIDS, Dorothy Pisarski lovedto watch TV growing up. But for the Drake visit-ing professor of advertising, the highlight was notthe anvils falling on the head of Wile E. Coyoteduring Saturday morning Road Runner cartoons.She found the real fun in the commercials.

Pisarski grew up speaking primarily Polish ina New York City neighborhood. She credits thequick sound bites, repeated advertising jinglesand visual product flashes with helping herlearn English.

COMMERCIAL WATCHER: “A whole show was justtoo much to absorb,” she says. “I might pick outone or two words during a show, but it just movedtoo fast for me to get any kind of grip on the lan-guage. But commercials were small spoonfuls,and I usually had a visual reference — a product— so I could pick up more from them.”

On weekends, Pisarski’s parents loaded thefamily into the car and took road trips to impor-tant American historical landmarks across theEast Coast.

“We always had to have our homework doneon Friday night, because we never knew wherewe would be on Saturday,” she says. “We mightgo to Boston or Philadelphia or Washington, DC.These trips were so much fun and instilled in mea very deep sense of history and patriotism.”

Pisarski’s early interest in commercials andbillboards proved fortuitous. She grew up tospend nearly two decades in advertising in thefield – representing everyone from the tobaccoindustry to automotive parts makers — and as aprofessor, most recently in Drake’s School ofJournalism and Mass Communication.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Beyond teaching herEnglish, advertising has provided Pisarski with aplethora of experiences she never could haveimagined. For one of the automotive parts compa-nies she worked for, she was required to complete10 full brake jobs so that she would intimatelyknow the product she was going to market.

“When I finished, my instructor said, ‘You dida fine job, but don’t ever work on your ownbrakes,’” Pisarski laughs. “That’s advice I’vealways heeded.” – Daniel P. Finney, JO’97

Jingle jiveAD BIZ TAKES SJMC PROFESSOR FROM

LEARNING LANGUAGE TO CHANGING BRAKES


WHAT CAN YOU CREATE WITH 20 JUMBO PLASTIC STRAWS, 20STRAIGHT PINS AND 30 MINUTES? If you have enough tooth-picks and Elmer’s glue, what kind of bridge can you make?These are the types of action-oriented questions Dr. JackGerlovich, professor of education, prompts Drake educa-tion majors to use in their own teaching. Gerlovich, GR’77,believes that when instructors employ inquiry-based learn-ing techniques, students absorb more information than theywould by simply memorizing facts and figures.

Gerlovich’s lively classes could very well be theatre. Heappears before students dressed in a judge’s robe and whitewig to teach a lessons in laws and regulations, or tapes sci-ence safety rules to the ceiling to challenge his young learn-ers to find them.

“We want them to have fun and make science come to life,for themselves and for the children they teach,” says Gerlovichof the methods he employs both to teach youngsters and toinspire education majors who hope to become teachers.

“We’ve tried to make teaching inquiry-based, very hands-on. Kids learn so much more when you turn it into some-thing they can relate to. Their natural curiosity takes overand it becomes fun for them. It also gives them a level ofcontrol in their learning they might not have had before.”

Get yourhandson this

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PROFESSOR’S ACTIVE APPROACHCREATES A LASTING IMPRESSION

BY TRACEY L. KELLEY


“Science classrooms are safer now becauseof his attention,” Stallings emphasizes. “Jackhas always said the best safety device is aninformed teacher with a good support sys-tem.” Gerlovich and his team at JaKel collab-orate with state and government agencies todevelop informational CD-ROMs thatinclude everything from classroom safetychecklists and details on proper equipmentinstallation to the state and national guide-lines for chemical disposal and storage.Thousands of schools use his practices toimprove and design laboratories.

Gerlovich has co-authored three books onsafety, including Better Science through Safety,

Science Safety for Elementary Teachers and SchoolScience Safety Secondary. Chair of the NationalScience Safety Committee of the NationalScience Teachers Association, he is a muchsought-after speaker throughout the worldon the subject of classroom safety. He alsohas partnered with Rahul Parsa, associateprofessor of statistics at Drake, to conductresearch concerning the status of safety, suchas facilities, equipment and knowledge ofteacher obligations in Iowa secondary schoolscience programs.

Gerlovich remains humble. “It’s all aboutkeeping the kids safe. I never had a studenthave an accident in all these years. I get callsfrom former students all the time saying ‘Ican just hear you in the back of my head say-ing, “Don’t do that! Are your safety glasseson?”’ But in science, safety is the priority.”

That doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Ofteneducation students will entertain and trainthird and fourth graders by showing up inMen in Black costumes to review science rules.

“He’s taught us that almost anything outof the norm will keep a kid’s attention, espe-cially when you’re working with elementaryschool children,” says education majorNathan Essary.

“If we create a safe environment open toall ideas,” Gerlovich says, “children willalways learn.”

INFLUENTIAL IN THECLASSROOM AND BEYOND

A former elementary and secondary scienceteacher, Gerlovich has taught science throughinquiry from the start. He often spent sum-mers exploring Iowa fields with groups ofinquisitive high school students. When notin the field or the classroom, Gerlovich hasaccumulated an impressive list of accom-plishments. He collaborated with DennisO’Brien, Drake professor emeritus of geolo-gy, on “Earth Trails: Mississippi River,” aninteractive learning tool for students ingrades 6-8 that is now used by teachers andpublic libraries across the state. Gerlovichalso has served as the science consultant forthe Iowa Department of Education and co-authored Teaching Science for All Children, nowin its fourth edition.

“Dr. Gerlovich is a stabilizing force in theSchool of Education,” says Janet McMahill,ED’71, GR’76, dean of the School ofEducation. “He can be counted on to deliveran invigorating science lecture and return tohis office with an open door to students. Ona daily basis, he goes about the business ofteaching and researching best practices inscience education.”

Thanks in large part to his efforts, theSchool of Education has become a leader inthe areas of classroom technology, inquiry-based learning and science safety, and alsohas received hundreds of thousands of dol-lars in grants from corporations and founda-tions like Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.and NOVA.

INSPIRING UNCONVENTIONAL TEACHING

While guiding education majors to teachwith “no fear,” Gerlovich motivates them toprobe the world. This departure from text-book-only tedium convinced Kaitlyn Hood,ED’05, that not only could science be fun, itmight make an interesting career. Hoodcame to Drake to study teaching. When theself-proclaimed “hater of science” wasrequired to take Gerlovich’s ElementaryScience Methods class, she says, “I tried toget out of it.”

Hood credits Gerlovich for inspiring her totake chances and use the inquiry method toteach science “in such a way that I could givestudents two fans and a bucket of dry ice sothey could not only learn about tornadoes,

but actually create one in the classroom.” Thereformed science-phobe co-wrote an articlewith Gerlovich documenting her transforma-tion for a National Science TeachersAssociation edition of Science and Children.Hood is also a science ambassador at the newScience Center of Iowa and is “happily apply-ing for science teacher positions.”

Peers benefit from Gerlovich’s techniqueas well. Building off an existing partnershipwith Cattell Elementary and a $100,000 grantfrom the Iowa Academy of Science,Gerlovich is leading a team of Drake faculty,students, Des Moines educators and staff ofthe Iowa Department of Education to help

improve science teaching at the elementarylevel through the inquiry method. It’s a phi-losophy that applies to teaching and learn-ing in other disciplines as well.

CHAMPION OF SAFETY

While education majors and elementary stu-dents are inspired by Gerlovich’s inquiry-based activities, educators throughout theworld know him as the expert to call when itcomes to maintaining science safety in theclassroom. “I’d start a Jack fan club if Icould,” says Clara Stallings, middle schoolscience consultant for the North CarolinaDepartment of Public Instruction. “He hassingle-handedly — though he’d never saythat — transformed science safety in elemen-tary and secondary classrooms.”

As a father, Gerlovich worried about thesafety of his two daughters in science class-rooms cluttered with unmarked chemicals,outdated equipment and unclear or nonex-istent procedures for safety and accident pre-vention. Many schools around the nationwere simply not equipped to collect andstandardize safety information according tostate and industry specifications.

As a science educator, he decided to takeaction. Through his teachings at Drake andhis company JaKel, Inc., Gerlovich research-es and compiles requirements, guidelinesand operating procedures, state by state.

“We want them to have funand make science come to life,

for themselves and for the children they teach,”

R E AC H I N G F O R T H E PE A KDREAMERS, THINKERS, STARGAZERS AND WAR HEROES:

THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO FOUNDED DRAKE UNIVERSITY 125 YEARS AGO

BY DANIEL P. FINNEY, JO’97

HEIR NAMES APPEAR ON BUILDINGS AND ADORN AWARD CERTIFICATES. Their faces are seenrarely, and then only in dusty old portraits or the yellowed pages of college annualsdeep within the stacks of Cowles Library. Their stories are seldom told.

Distance in history makes it hard to remember that the founders of Drake University wereflesh and blood. They were men and women with great ambitions, tedious struggles andgrand accomplishments.

In that way, the people who helped build Drake through its 125-year history are very muchlike the students walking its campus today.

An old campus orientation tradition points to the elegant porch at the front of Old Main.The base is boulder-like stone that gradually changes to trademark red bricks and draws theeye upward toward the building’s grand steeple.

This, the tour guides would say, tells the story of a student’s journey. They begin as unrefinedrocks and slowly, as their education continues, their purpose in the world becomes more definedand their minds become more refined until eventually they reach their own peaks.

This, too, is how the leaders and luminaries throughout the University’s history have been.They arrived to uncertain futures. Yet at Drake, they found their purpose, their passion — theirpeaks — and helped the University reach for its own.

GEORGE CARPENTER, FOUNDERThe man who founded Drake University looked like something out of a Matthew Brady CivilWar photograph. A long, wiry beard came to a point about midway down his chest. His wavyhair was tucked back behind his ears. A kindly grin peaked out below his mustache andthoughtful eyes rested beneath thick eyebrows.

He was, in a way, Drake’s Abraham Lincoln. Like the 16th president, Carpenter was born inKentucky – though of considerable more means than Lincoln. Carpenter grew up in north-cen-tral Illinois in Bureau County and eventually came to Iowa as a teacher and preacher in Winterset.Also like Lincoln, Carpenter was a noted debater. He once held a debate on the issue of spiritu-alism vs. the Bible that lasted six days and was eventually transcribed into a book.

Carpenter’s first effort at creating a university was a desperate struggle. He and his brotherW.J. Carpenter founded Oskaloosa College in 1861 under the guidance of the Disciples of ChristChurch. For two decades, the Carpenters tried to keep the small school afloat. But it was diffi-cult to draw students and the donations necessary to keep the school solvent. As the years went

125 years of Drake History, Part 1: Leaders and Luminaries

T


on, it became increasingly clear that only amove to Des Moines, the state’s capital, wouldsave the school.

After conversations with a number ofchurch elders, Carpenter convinced the fac-ulty at Oskaloosa to resign and join him inbuilding a new school in Des Moines.

All joined him, save one, who stayedbehind to keep the school in Oskaloosaalive. There was, of course, the not-smallmatter of money. Carpenter, even with thechurch, did not have enough money to startthe school.

To that worthy goal, then, perhaps thesmartest thing George Carpenter ever didwas to marry Henrietta Drake of Drakesville,IA. Henrietta was the daughter of JudgeJohn Drake and sister of Civil War Gen.Francis Marion Drake. Carpenter’s friend-ship with his brother-in-law would prove afruitful union for thousands of futureUniversity students.

Drake, a successful businessman, pledged$20,000 to the founding of the school –equivalent to about $375,000 in today’smoney. In exchange, the trustees agreed toname the institution in Drake’s honor.

Carpenter picked a densely wooded tractof land in what was then rural Polk County.The first building, the Students’ Home, wasconstructed from a $6,000 donation in thespot where Howard Hall stands today. In thefall of 1881, Drake University opened with 77students, 60 men and 17 women.

Though a devout member of the Disciples,Carpenter sought more than a parochialschool. He pushed for what was then an

emerging new theory of broad-based educa-tion at the newly minted Drake University.He incorporated law and medical schoolsalongside traditional Bible, literary andmusic departments.

Carpenter worked tirelessly to ensureDrake’s success until his death in 1892, oftenthrough trying financial times and frustratingsocial changes. Yet seldom a semester passedthat he was not in front of a classroom, teach-ing, debating and coaxing young minds torefine, to define their purpose and reach fortheir peak.

FRANCIS MARION DRAKE, NAMESAKEThe man whose money helped theUniversity become a reality had little morethan a mid-level grade school education.The Drake family moved west from NorthCarolina and became early Iowa settlers,founding the town of Drakesville.

Francis Drake was one of 14 children andwas afforded only the minimum of schoolingthat pioneers were allowed. Still, a lack offormal education hardly limited the youngDrake’s adventures. He drove oxen teamsacross Nebraska to California in 1852 and1854, dangerous trips that included violentskirmishes with the natives.

He rode a steamer to Panama in the fall of1854 and was in a terrible shipwreck that killedseveral hundred aboard, but Drake managedto survive — a running theme in his life. Heand a small group floated upon the wreckageto a barren coast, where they were rescued fivedays after the shipwreck. Unflustered, Draketook the next steamer for Panama.

George Carpenter Class of 1882 Class of 1888 Francis Marion Drake

When the Civil War erupted in 1861, heorganized a company of men from his trad-ing and packing business in AppanooseCounty, IA, and immediately charged to theheat of the fighting in Allenville, MO. In abattle about a year later, Drake was shot inthe hip and thigh. The Confederates tookhim prisoner, but after inspecting hiswounds, left him for dead.

They just didn’t know Drake. He survived— after six months of severe suffering —and returned to the battlefield to lead histroops while on crutches.

After the war, Drake joined with a fewbusiness partners to help build railroad linesacross Iowa and added nicely to the Drakefamily fortune.

Sometime early in 1881, his old friend andbrother-in-law, George Carpenter, contactedhim by telegram about building a universityin Des Moines. Drake wired back pledging$20,000. The general was always proud thatthe school carried his name and took keeninterest in its founding and development,even after he was elected governor of Iowa in1895. By the time he died in 1903, Drake haddonated more than $215,000 to the University— about $4.5 million in 2005 dollars.

MARY CARPENTER, FOUNDING MOTHERBy 21st century standards, Mary Carpenterseems stodgy and conservative — after all,she banned women’s basketball in 1905. Butin her day, she was apparently the JuliaRoberts of Drake University.

The daughter of founder GeorgeCarpenter, Mary Carpenter was one of just


17 women in Drake’s inaugural class. Sheserved as an early librarian, where hersquare jaw, raven hair and sensitivedemeanor caught the fancy of many youngmen at the dawn of the 20th century.

“It was a part of every boy’s education atDrake to fall in love with Mary Carpenter,”wrote 1896 law alumna Bonnie JewettWelpton in a 1930 edition of the DrakeAlumnus. “If that was true it was part of thecurriculum that no young male student wasever guilty of trying to evade.”

Despite the unrequited lust for Carpenter,it was her virtue that shaped life for Drakewomen for decades. She served as dean ofwomen from 1905 to 1908 and again from1918 to 1930.

Carpenter initially consented to the forma-tion of a women’s basketball team in 1905 ifthe players wore blouses with puffy sleevesand full-length bloomers that snapped belowthe knee. But after watching the sweating,shouting and puffing players, Carpenterdeemed playing the game unladylike.

She wasn’t a big fan of women shouting. Sheencouraged Drake women to sing — ratherthan shout and cheer — at football games.

Still, students, especially women, reveredher. Carpenter was an early contributor tothe Drake Delphic, the forerunner to theTimes-Delphic campus newspaper. She oftenwrote about black suffrage in Iowa, andwhen she traveled with family and friends,she wrote long, lovely letters about then-exotic locations such as Portland, OR.

She was a noted counselor to all studentson campus who sought her advice. Though

Francis Marion Drake 1898 Football Team Mary Carpenter Drake Campus 1903 Daniel Morehouse

firm and often unyielding in her ideals, shenever judged those who stumbled, and shehelped many students stay the course duringtheir tribulations at Drake. She was known tosit up into the late hours listening to stu-dents’ troubles and to pray with waywardyouth until they found the spirit to carry for-ward in their ventures.

A 1919 sketch of Carpenter in the Delphicdescribed her as “a little woman with darkhair and eyes, kindly face and a pleasantsmile, a person who will help you in whatev-er way possible.”

DANIEL MOREHOUSE, SCHOLARBy the time he died in 1941, there were fewroles that Daniel Morehouse had not filledin his long association with Drake. He was atransfer student, a student-athlete, off-cam-pus worker, a professor, administrator andpresident of the University.

Morehouse transferred to Drake in 1897after attending a small Christian college inExcelsior, MN. He played center on the foot-ball team. As the legend goes, he found ahorseshoe that became the lucky charm forthe 1898 team that was called “TheChampions of the West” after beatingCentral College, 18-16, on Thanksgiving Day.

Long before the days of work-study pro-grams, Morehouse paid his tuition bills byworking as the steward of a boarding houseand at a local men’s clothing shop. The latterexperience earned him a reputation as animmaculate dresser for the rest of his days.

His career as an astronomer began, like somany discovered passions in college, as a

happy accident. A classmate asked Morehouseto translate some Latin passages in an astron-omy textbook. He ended up reading theentire textbook and becoming entranced bythe science.

Apparently he had a knack for it, too.Immediately upon his 1900 graduation fromDrake, the school asked him to begin teach-ing physics and astronomy the following fall.While studying for his graduate degree atthe University of Chicago in 1908, he discov-ered a comet that still carries his name.

He returned to Drake in 1914 as anastronomy professor after earning his Ph.D.from the University of California. Hebecame dean of men in 1919, dean of theCollege of Liberal Arts in 1920, and presi-dent of the University in 1922, serving untilhis death in 1941.

During his time as president, he workedon behalf of the institutions that benefitedhim as a young man. He was instrumental ingathering funding for Drake Stadium andthe Fieldhouse. The original wing of CowlesLibrary was built and, of course, his favoriteproject, the Drake Municipal Observatory inWaveland Park, was erected.

Morehouse kept a hectic schedule thatsome say ultimately doomed his health. Upuntil the final months of his life, he taught atleast one astronomy course and whittled awaythe wee hours of the night at the observatory.

After his death, his ashes were interred in asmall nook inside the observatory. In perhapsthe most fitting tribute, to this day, severalstreetlights along Interstate 235 — which runsthrough the heart of Des Moines — remain

In the dank recesses of a Drake University-rented warehouse on Martin LutherKing Jr. Parkway, Mark Hines discovered an old friend.

Hines, a Drake maintenance supervisor, was cleaning out the warehouseabout a year ago when, behind a set of battered old junk doors, he saw around wooden disc that looked awfully familiar.

He brushed off decades’ worth of dust and realized what he held in hishands was the last surviving memento of the founding of Drake – a sectionfrom the trunk of the Chancellor’s Elm.

“I knew right away what it was,” Hines said. “I was glad I found it beforesomebody who didn’t know what it was threw it out.”

According to University lore, George Carpenter, the University’s first chancel-lor, climbed an elm tree in the densely wooded area that became Drake andsaid, “Here we will build our university.”

That tree stood near the southeast corner of Old Main until 1969, whenDutch elm disease killed it and nearly every other elm west of the Mississippi.Hines started work in 1967 and the tree was already suffering the disease’seffect. He and other maintenance crew members injected turpentine into thebark – a remedy that was supposed to hold off the disease, alas to no avail.

Hines worked with the crew that finally cut the elm down two years later. Heused some of the wood for special gifts to University VIPs, such as fashioningfour gavels for Drake Law School graduates who became members of the IowaSupreme Court.

In 1969, Hines preserved a cross-section of the elm with a special resin toprevent wood decay. A biology professor at the time counted the rings anddated the tree’s origin to 1763, well before the Revolutionary War. Hinesadded markers for important moments in U.S. history, including GeorgeWashington’s election as president and the Civil War.

At the time, Hines had wanted to build a display case for the elm, but theUniversity didn’t want to spend the money. Eventually, after years of display invarious buildings, the tree section was shuffled off to the warehouse.

“It had probably been in storage at least 20 years,” Hines said. “There wasa big crack in the bottom of it that came from moisture and expansion. Butwe’ve got it back now.”

Hines spent a year cleaning up the disk. He got to build that display caseafter all with the help of Facilities Services workers Terry Barnes, KevinPendras and Steve Schlegel. A pair of Professor Tom Rosburg’s biology stu-dents, Ashley Wick and Lena Fox, counted the rings of the tree again, andHines reapplied the historical markers and mounted the entire piece inside ablonde wood case.

The wood section now hangs outside President David Maxwell’s office in OldMain, looking out an east-facing window about 30 yards from where the treestood for 206 years.

Said Hines, “It’s home now.”

turned off so that current students may look through thesame eyepiece Morehouse did and stare into the night skyto see what it might tell us about life in the universe.

JOHN GRIFFITH, FIRST BULLDOGThey once called members of Drake sports teams Ducks,Ducklings, Ganders and even Tigers. That changed whenJohn Griffith, a Drake physical education instructor andcoach of all teams except basketball, brought his two petbulldogs to the football field to observe practice. A DesMoines Register sports writer remarked on the similaritybetween the bulldogs and Drake’s style of play, and thename stuck.

Griffith’s influence on Drake athletics — and the historyof intercollegiate athletics as a whole — is more than thatnifty anecdote.

In 1909, Griffith raised enough money for a straightboard track to be built for Drake’s track teams to compete.The following spring — on the next to last Saturday in April— Griffith scheduled a small track meet. He decreed thatthe races would be only relays, and no team championshipwould be held in the meet.

What would become America’s Athletic Classic, the DrakeRelays, began humbly enough and, of course, in wildly unpre-dictable weather. In a blizzard, fewer than 100 athletes fromnearby colleges and high schools participated in the miserableweather. The following year, however, participation tripledand, by 1922, the Relays were expanded to a annual event.Today, more than 6,000 athletes participate and nearly 40,000people attend events throughout the weekend.

Griffith went on to become commissioner of the Big Tenand was one of the early founders of the NationalCollegiate Athletic Association governing body. A tirelesspromoter of fair play and competition, he died in 1944, justdays after signing a contract extension with the Big Ten.

John GriffithObservatory


Dusty rootsMAINTENANCE MAN RESTORES

REMNANT OF CHANCELLOR’S ELM

Drake Law School has long been a leader inblending law on the books with law inaction. Experiential learning at Drake is nota supplement at the conclusion of the lawschool experience, but an integral compo-nent throughout a student's education.

The Law School’s First-Year TrialPracticum — which was the focus of the“Innovative Education” feature in arecent issue of The Syllabus magazine —allows every member of the first-yearclass to observe an entire trial from juryselection through verdict in an educa-tional setting that includes small groupdiscussions led by seasoned judges andveteran attorneys and post-trial debrief-ings of trial counsel, judge, and jurors— all on the Drake campus.

Simulation courses such as Trial Advocacy,Pre-trial Advocacy, Negotiations, andMedication along with Drake’s highly suc-cessful moot court program are other exam-ples of the experiential learning opportuni-ties for students.

Most recently, Drake Law SchoolAssociate Dean Russell Lovell turned a callfor advice from an alum into a chance forstudents to help prepare an argument forthe Supreme Court.

AIDING AN ALUMNI ATTORNEYWhen Drake Law School graduate BrianReichel, LW’90, met Jessica Gonzales, henever suspected the tale she told would bringhim before the highest court in the nation.

Gonzales related to Reichel a heart-wrench-ing story about her ex-husband, Simon, whoviolated a court order by taking her threechildren without permission. The police inher hometown of Castle Rock, CO, took noaction until he drove his truck to the policestation and started a gun battle with officers.Simon was killed, and the bodies of Katheryn,Rebecca and Leslie Gonzales, Jessica’s daugh-ters, were found in the truck, murdered bytheir father.

Gonzales believes the police department, infailing to attempt to enforce the court order,violated her constitutional right to dueprocess. The major law firms in Denver

declined to represent Gonzales in litigation,but Reichel, a practitioner of commercial andenvironmental law in Broomfield, CO, wasmoved by Jessica’s story and agreed to takeher case pro bono.

But giving Gonzales a voice has been anuphill battle from the start. The lower courtrefused to hear the case, and, after winningon appeal, the city of Castle Rock asked theU.S. Supreme Court to determine if govern-ment agencies can be taken to court in casessuch as this.

Reichel has remained in contact with Lovellover the years, and when the possibility of aSupreme Court case arose last May he calledhim for advice. The two met in June to strate-gize, but the idea of the school's providingassistance did not come about until theSupreme Court agreed in September to hearthe case on March 21, 2005.

AN ASSIGNMENT WITH ACTUAL CONSEQUENCES“It occurred to me there might be a way toput together an educational experience forour students and provide real assistance forthis attorney who was basically functioning asa one-man law office,” says Lovell.

When Lovell contacted Professor MarkKende, the James Madison chair, professor,

1199The Magazine of Drake University D R A K E blue

TEACHING&LEARNING

and director of the Constitutional LawCenter, a plan was quickly put into place.

“The whole approach was to include stu-dents and use it as an educational experi-ence that helped them as well as Brian,”recalls Kende.

“At a more traditional institution, a facultymember may have simply spent some timehelping a graduate with the brief and that’s it.Here, we always pride ourselves on the ideathat the Drake Law School provides a balancebetween theory and practice, so we tookadvantage of this opportunity.”

Kende gathered students to research each ofthe nine Supreme Court justices and uncoverany information that might be useful toReichel. Second-year law student Erika Wilkinswas one of those who seized the opportunity togain some real-world experience.

“Generally when you look at a case, youreview the facts,” she says. “You read about it,but you never see the work that goes into it orsee the development of the case.”

The opportunity to let her students watchthe case unfold encouraged ProfessorAndrea Charlow to incorporate it into theChildren and the Law course she was teach-ing at the time.

“The students got to see the planning stagein this case,” she says. “They got to talk to thelawyer and ask questions about the strategieshe chose. They saw how he practiced andthen saw how he worked in real life.”

Charlow also used a class period to conducta moot court with several professors offeringdifferent perspectives for both Reichel andthe students watching the case.

“It was great practice,” says Reichel. “Ithelped to have the brightest constitutional lawminds there to pick and help give argumentsto present me with the best chance possible.”

The Supreme Court eventually ruledagainst Reichel, but the opportunity the casepresented was not lost on those who offeredtheir assistance.

“It gives you a wonderful sense of satisfac-tion, whether he ultimately wins or loses, thatyou played a role in a Supreme Court case,”says Charlow. “The average lawyer just doesn’tget to do that.” — Tim Schmitt

Trial runDRAKE LAW STUDENTS LEARN, FIRST HAND, THE PROCESS OF PREPARING TO ARGUE BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT –

AN EXPERIENCE THAT BECAME A TEAM EFFORT FOR LAW SCHOOL FACULTY, STUDENTS AND THE GRADUATE THEY ASSISTED.

Mark Kende Russell Lovell

Brian Reichel Andrea Charlow

MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK

Running a season-best 3 min-utes, 45.37 seconds, Drake sen-ior Brent Wilberts finished thirdin the 1,500-meter run at theNCAA Midwest Track and FieldChampionships in Norman, OK.That earned him a trip to theNCAA Championships inSacramento, CA, where he fin-ished 11th in a semifinal heat.

Drake placed fourth at theMissouri Valley ConferenceTrack and Field Championships,recording its highest finish inthe MVC Championships since2000. The Bulldogs accumulated91 points, matching the mostpoints they had scored in theMVC Track Championshipssince 1980.

Wilberts became the first run-ner to win both the 1,500- and5,000-meter runs at the MVCTrack Championships sinceBalazs Csillag of Northern Iowaaccomplished that feat in 2002.

Senior Theotto Lillard ran apersonal best 51.99 to win the400-meter hurdles, becoming thefirst Drake runner to win theevent at the MVC Championshipssince Dan Cleveland in 1983.

MEN’S INDOOR TRACK

Derek Johnson won the 60-meter hurdles at the Missouri

Invitational, and MattSanderson took both thetriple jump (48 feet, 4 inch-es) and the long jump (23feet, 8 inches).

At the UNI-Dome Open,Jaron Van Maanen won thehigh jump with a 6-foot-9 leap.

WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK

Drake posted season bests inboth the 4x100 and 4x400relays during the 96th run-ning of the Drake Relays.Shannon Patterson ran legson both relays. She joined jun-iors Tiffany Kennedy, DamarisParchment and Regina Hillon the 4x100 relay, which wasclocked in 46.37 seconds. Thesame foursome led the 4x200relay to an eighth-place finishin 1:38.31. Patterson, alongwith freshmen BreannaDumke and Amie Stewart and jun-ior Ayden Ollivier, ran the 4x400relay in 3:53.06.

Sophomore Jennifer Whitmanscored a career-best 4,174 points inthe heptathlon at the Drake Relays.

Junior Ayden Ollivier won the400 in 58 seconds at the MuscoTwilight meet in Iowa City, IA.

Hill, Patterson, Parchment andKennedy won the 4x100 relay in47.21 at the Missouri Relays.

Hill also won the long jump


and came back to run legs onDrake's 4x100 and 4x400 relays,which finished third at theLouisiana Classics in Lafayette,LA. Hill soared 19 feet, 5.25inches in the long jump, justone inch shy of reaching theNCAA Regional qualifying stan-dard of 19-6 1/4.

WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK

Kasey McDaniel won the 60-meter hurdles (8.63) at the UNI-Dome Open, while Jennifer Reffcaptured the mile in a season-best time of 5:10.39.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Drake earned a share of theMissouri Valley Conference cham-pionship with an 8-1 league recordand a 13-11 overall record.

Senior Zorana Stefanovicbreezed through the MVC sea-son at the No. 1 spot, posting a9-0 record for the secondstraight year. She won the sin-gles flight of the MinnesotaGopher Invitational and theNo. 1 singles title at the MVCIndividual Championships.

MEN’S TENNIS

Drake finished with an 8-9record, including a 3-4 MissouriValley Conference mark.

Sophomore Sergi Vila (No. 1singles) and junior JonathanTishler (No. 3 singles) werenamed All-MVC in their respec-tive flights, after posting 9-0MVC marks. Freshman DaliborPavic earned MVC All-Selecthonors at No. 2 singles.

Senior Jack Frankowicz wasnamed to the First Team All-MVCScholar-Athlete team, while sen-ior Chris Lueth earned honor-able mention.

Frankowicz and Vila represent-ed Drake at the ITA All-AmericanRegional meet.

SOFTBALL

Drake posted a 28-25 record,including a 14-13 sixth-place fin-ish in the MVC. The Bulldogsadvanced to the MVCTournament for the second con-secutive season for the first timesince 1997-98.

Sophomore shortstop LindsayLarry set the Drake career stolen

sports sideline

SPIKE GETS A FACE LIFT: Drake unveiled a new logo for both academicand athletic programs in July. The new look features an updated,more realistic Bulldog mascot and a sharp new typeface.

RUNNING MAN: Senior Brian Wilberts, right, finished third in the1,500-meter run at the NCAA Midwest Track and Field Championshipsin Norman, OK. He went on to finish 11th at the NCAA Championshipsin Sacramento, CA.


base record at 38. She set theschool single season stolen baserecord of 26 last season.

Junior pitcher Jessica Hicksbecame the second Drake pitch-er to record more than 200strikeouts in a season, finishingwith 209. With 525 career strike-outs, Hicks became just the sec-ond Drake pitcher to total 400strikeouts in her career. Shetossed a perfect game againstIndiana State April 10, whiletying her career high with 13strikeouts. It marked Hicks’ sec-ond career no-hitter.

Senior third baseman KatieWappler led Drake with a .333batting average and 50 hits.Wappler was named a repeatselection to the first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference andthe MVC scholar-athlete softballsquad. Larry was a first-time pickto the scholar-athlete team.

MEN’S GOLF

Drake finished third in theMissouri Valley ConferenceTournament for the thirdstraight season, finishing 14strokes behind champion IllinoisState at the TPC Deere Run inSilvis, IL.

Junior Jeff Berkshire placedthird at the MVC Tournamentwith just three strokes behindmedalist Kris Wildenradt ofIllinois State. Berkshire was tiedfor the lead after 36 holes.

Sophomore Ross Hamann alsoearned all-MVC honors by finish-ing in a four-way tie for fifth.

Jeff Berkshire led Drake to athird straight title in the BigFour Classic Oct. 25 at theElmcrest Country Club in CedarRapids, IA.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Drake posted a 13-15 record –the most wins since the 2001-02team won 14 – but its losses tellthe whole story. In the finalmonth of the season, Drake lost

three games by just one point,including a heart-breaker againstNorthern Iowa on Feb. 16 whenPanther Brooks McKowen sunk afree throw with no time left onthe clock.

Aliou Ketia, a 6-foot-8 centerand native of Dakar, Senegal, setDrake’s single-season blockedshot record of 54, surpassing theprevious mark posted by All-American Lewis Lloyd in 1979-80. He was named MissouriValley Conference Newcomer ofthe Week two weeks in a rowduring the season.

Senior Lonnie Randolphclosed out his career ranked sec-ond on Drake’s career steals listwith 190 and in assists with 382.He collected four or more stealsin six games during the season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Bulldogs finished with a 14-15 record, including an 8-10sixth-place finish in the MissouriValley Conference.

Sophomore Jill Martin earnedMVC All-Tournament honorsafter averaging 20.5 points, 8.5rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0steals in Drake’s two games. Sheled Drake with 14.3 points pergame and 7.8 rebounds pergame during the season, whichalso earned her MVC all-confer-ence honors.

Junior guard LindaSayavongchanh was named tothe honorable mention all-MVCteam after averaging 12.8 pointsper game, dishing out 129 assistsand grabbing 76 steals.

Lindsay Whorton drained 68three-pointers during the season— the fifth-best single seasontotal in Drake history. Shedropped six treys in atCreighton and another halfdozen against Southern Illinois.She made at least one three-pointer in 26 of 29 games andthree or more in 12 games.

IN 1949, DRAKE’S YOUNG SPORTS BUSINESS MANAGER, PAULMORRISON, JO’39, traveled by train with his new bride to SanFrancisco for a delayed honeymoon and a Drake footballgame. On the return home, however, Morrison’s wife rodealone. An injured student-athlete needed to stay behind, andMorrison volunteered to travel home with him. In 1986, thatDrake student-athlete, Tom Bienemann, ED’51, endowed ascholarship in Morrison’s name that benefits three student-athletes each year. “It wasn’t necessary, but that’s what makesbeing at Drake so wonderful,” Morrison says.

Morrison’s six decades at Drake and endearing supportof athletes greatly contributes to that “wonderful” qualityof Drake. His stats are impressive: attendance at 608 Drakefootball games, 67 years of Drake Relays, and 19 years ofpost-retirement, full-time volunteer work in the athleticsdepartment. Naming the Athletics Hall of Honor afterMorrison was a natural choice.

The Paul F. Morrison Athletics Hall of Honor in the lobbyof the Drake Knapp Center breathes life into Drake athleticsthrough dynamic displays of student-athletes, rows of memo-rabilia, and an interactive kiosk featuring historical clips andinterviews. It’s a true celebratory focal point of Drake’s athlet-ic accomplishments. The next phase in the project includesthe relocation of the ticket office. To date, alumni and friendshave contributed $135,000 to build the Hall.

“It’s a nice honor to be associated with it, but it’s notabout me,” Morrison says. “It’s about the great history ofDrake athletics and the promising future of the programs.Drake student-athletes are outstanding, and there are stillmany exciting achievements to come. That’s what the Hallrepresents to alumni and visitors alike.” —Tracey L. Kelley

champions

A Champion of AthletesATHLETICS HALL OF HONOR EMBODIES

THE SPIRIT OF ONE MAN AND MANY ATHLETES


125TH ANNIVERSARY BOOKCELEBRATES TRADITIONS,ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

The rich history of Drake unfoldsin a beautiful 125th anniversarybook, available for purchase laterthis fall.

More than 100 pages displaythe stories behind the names onDrake’s buildings, athletes andsuccesses on and beyond theDrake campus: visionaries of thepast who established the ground-work for our students to follow.

The 125th anniversary bookfeatures color imagery by award-winning photographer DavePeterson, as well as historical pho-tographs. Each page turnedunveils a new discovery for alum-ni, students, faculty and staff,marking the journey of traditions,culture and academic excellence

at Drake throughout the years.For updated information on howto order a book, visit Drake’salumni site www.drakealumni.net.

DRAKE OFFERS ALUMNICAREER NETWORKForget networking luncheons –the hottest ticket to careeradvancement is your alma mater.

The Drake Alumni CareerNetwork creates valuable connec-tions between students, alumniand friends of Drake. Professionalsfrom all areas volunteer as men-tors to provide information abouttheir Drake experiences and indi-vidual professions, offer job shad-owing and job search assistance,and also speak with student organ-izations. The Alumni CareerNetwork also links alumni toapproved employers who post jobs

and review resumes.Through the Career Network,

alumni can ask mentors aboutdifferent career paths, learnabout specific professions,

receive resume critique anddevelop a successful networkamong people who understandthat Drake’s influence can aid

alumniupdate

AWARD WINNERS

Drake alumni stepped out in stylethis spring to accept recognitionfor their leadership, achievementsand contributions to Drake.

COLLEGE OF PHARMACY ANDHEALTH SCIENCES

Advertising magnate MorganCline, PH’53, arrived at Drake asa student “with stars in my eyesand dreams of being a pharma-cist.” More than a half-centurylater, Cline received the LawrenceC. and Delores M. Weaver Medalof Honor – the highest award pre-sented annually by the College ofPharmacy and Health Sciences –during a reception at Terrace Hillin April.

As a poor college student attend-ing Drake, Cline kept a shoeboxfilled with sardines, crackers andpeanut butter for when he ran outof money at the end of the week.After working as a pharmacist inthe U.S. Army and in private sector,Cline embarked on an advertisingcareer. Cline is a founding partner

HONORED GUESTS AT THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY AND HEALTHSCIENCES’ ANNUAL WEAVER METAL OF HONOR LECTURELarry Weaver, PH’49, Dan Jorndt, PH’63, Dee Weaver, DonDavidson, PH’50, Dean and Professor Emeritus Boyd Granberg,Dar Williams, PH’49, and Morgan Cline, PH’53.

of Cline, Davis & Mann, a New Yorkagency that became the premierpharmaceutical advertiser, featuringtop client, Pfizer, Inc. A longtimechampion of Drake and a memberof the Drake Board of Trustees,Cline endowed a scholarship fundin 2001 for pharmacy students witha $5 million gift to CampaignDrake. In honor of Cline’s scholar-ship endowment, Drake renamedPharmacy and Science Hall theMorgan E. Cline Hall of Pharmacyand Science.

The president of a small-townfamily pharmacy is now president ofthe largest collective of professionalpharmacists in the United States.The College of Pharmacy and HealthSciences honored Eugene M. Lutz,PH’66, for his role as president ofthe American PharmacistsAssociation (APhA). Lutz is a com-munity pharmacist in Altoona, IAand president of Lutz Pharmacy. Hehas also served as president of theIowa Pharmacy Association and theAPhA Academy of Pharmacy Practiceand Management (APhA-APPM).

LAW

Drake Law School paid special trib-ute to retired Lt. Gen. Russell C.Davis, LW’69, with the honor of the

Alumni of the Year Award, presentedat the Supreme Court Banquet inMarch. Davis received the award inrecognition for his longtime contribu-tions to leadership and philanthropy.

Davis was the first African-American company officer forAmerican Republic InsuranceCompany, and the first African-American appointed to lead theUnited States force of nearly475,000 Army and Air ForceNational Guard members. He heldthis position from 1998 until hisretirement. Davis is a former

member of Drake’s Board ofTrustees and resigned only to takehis top-ranking appointment withthe Army and Air National Guard.

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Outstanding educators are influen-tial both inside and outside theclassroom. The School ofEducation honored five such indi-viduals at the Annual AlumniAwards Dinner in February.

They are Marsha Wilson Chall,ED’75, of Minnetonka, MN, a writerof children's books, including UpNorth at the Cabin and SugarbushSpring; Arlene DeVries, FA’62,GR’85, gifted and talented commu-nity resource consultant for the DesMoines Public Schools; Mike Gudka,GR’97, associate pastor of FaithChapel Ministries in Ankeny, IA;David Mitchell, GR’82, administra-tive consultant, Division ofVocational Rehabilitation Services,Iowa Department of Education; andElaine Smith-Bright, ED’72, directorof professional development forSchool Administrators of Iowa.

Lt. Gen. Russell C. Davis, LW’69

continued on page 24

spotlight


BuildingBlock

CBPA ALUMNUS AND H&R BLOCK CEOBRINGS HUMANITY TO MONEY MANAGEMENT

WHEN MARK ERNST, BN’80, was a senior, theDrake football team beat Colorado 13-9, atremendous upset that sparked a rare Drakemention in Sports Illustrated. Hoops star LewisLloyd was scoring baskets on the court, andErnst’s fellow students competed in a pie-eat-ing contest during Relays Week.

Please forgive Ernst if he doesn’t remem-ber any of it. He transferred to Drake fromthe University of Northern Iowa to completehis business and accounting degree. He tookan obscene 24 hours’ worth of courses ineach of his final two semesters. He alsoworked full-time at the Comptroller of theCurrency, a U.S. Treasury agency thatinspects federal banks. “That,” Ernst says,“was only a warm-up.”

INTERSTATE 80 REVISITED: After graduation,Ernst enrolled in graduate school at theUniversity of Chicago and continued work-ing in Des Moines. He drove the nearly 12-

hour round-trip between Chicago and DesMoines weekly.

His work ethic has served him well. Ernstis now president and chief executive officerof H&R Block, one of the largest financialservice providers in the world.

LIFE AND TAXES: While he might have missedsome “major chunks of college life activity,Ernst has spent his career producing and star-ring in a business highlight reel. He workedfor the prestigious PricewaterhouseCoopersand American Express, where, among a hostof accomplishments, he established thecompany’s retail financial services businessin Japan.

Yet after years of international travel andhigh-rolling deals, it was the lure of helpingordinary Americans manage their moneythat drew Ernst to H&R Block. Ernst hasbeen instrumental in helping the companybest known for tax preparation broaden its

expertise to offer a full range of tax, finan-cial and mortgage products and services.

“The vast majority of Americans — morethan 80 percent — don’t get financial adviceuntil the tax deadline and then are left totheir own devices as to how to manage theirmoney,” he says. “H&R Block already had arelationship with millions of customers. Wecould help them plan for their futures, andthey would do it with people they alreadyknew and trusted.”

For Ernst, a small-town kid from Bellevue,Iowa, the real reward in being a CEO isn’tthe paycheck; it’s knowing that everydayworking-class Americans get good financialadvice from his company.

“I think my background from small-townIowa, from Drake and UNI, really helps meappreciate what we do here,” he says. “We’rehelping people use their resources to maketheir dreams come true. That’s a great rea-son to keep working hard.”

—Daniel P. Finney, JO’97

jazz and pop of the current timewhile studying the classics. Aprofessor went so far as to kickWilliams out the practice roomafter hearing Williams entertaina girlfriend with a rendition of“When Smoke Gets in YourEyes.” Williams went on to trainat Julliard and has since record-ed 116 albums, with numeroustracks reaching the Top 10charts, including “AutumnLeaves,” a Billboard Number

One hit for Williams four yearsafter he left Drake.

He was the first pianist toreceive a star on the HollywoodWalk of Fame and Billboardmagazine named him the great-est-selling pianist in history. Heis also the only artist to havereceived the Steinway LifetimeAchievement Award.

your success after you leavecampus. “Our mentors includeAlumni Board members, ParentBoard members and other suc-cessful alumni,” says KatieOlson, assistant director ofalumni and parent programs,“In just the first year of opera-tion, we’ve had a good responseto the service by Drake alumni,and we encourage students touse the resources as well.”

Not only can any alum cantake advantage of the Network tosearch for employment, anyalum can become a professionalmentor. Visit www.drakealumni.netand click on “mentoring” formore information.

WILLIAMS HITS THE RIGHTNOTE AT COMMENCEMENT

Drake grad and renowned musi-cian Roger Williams, GR’51,received an honorary degree atDrake’s 124th commencementceremony. Williams also spoke atthe event, encouraging gradu-ates to “believe this is not all thatyou’ll accomplish in your life.”

In his early years, Williamsexperimented with much of the

calendar

* For more information and a full listing of all Drake events—including athletics and fine arts events—visit:

www.drake.edu/newsevents/calendar


OctoberWEDNESDAY, OCT. 5Let’s DU Lunch Iowa Event CenterDes Moines

FRIDAY, OCT. 7Alumni Tent LuncheonDes Moines

FRIDAY, OCT. 7Parent Board Meeting Drake Campus • Des Moines

SATURDAY, OCT. 8Alumni Board MeetingDrake Campus • Des Moines

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 THROUGHSUNDAY, OCT. 9Homecoming/Parents &Family WeekendDrake Campus • Des Moines

SATURDAY, OCT.22Drake vs. San Diego FootballTailgate/Party • San Diego

NovemberWEDNESDAY, NOV. 2Let’s DU LunchIowa Event CenterDes Moines

FRIDAY, NOV. 11Drake 125 on the RoadChicago

FebruaryWEDNESDAY, FEB. 1Let’s DU LunchIowa Event CenterDes Moines

MarchWEDNESDAY, MARCH 1Let’s DU LunchIowa Event CenterDes Moines

AprilWEDNESDAY, APRIL 5Let’s DU LunchIowa Event CenterDes Moines

FRIDAY, APRIL 28Parent Board MeetingDes Moines

FRIDAY, APRIL 28Alumni Tent LuncheonDes Moines

Law School ReunionClasses of 1955, 1956, 1965,1966, 1975, 1976, 1985,1986, 1995, 1996, 2000 & 2001Des Moines

SATURDAY, APRIL 2910-Year Cluster ReunionClasses of 1995, 1996, &1997Des Moines

SATURDAY, APRIL 2940-Year Cluster ReunionClasses of 1965, 1966, &1967Des Moines

MayFRIDAY, MAY 12Alumni Awards DinnerDes Moines

SATURDAY, MAY 13Alumni Board MeetingDes Moines

SATURDAY, MAY 1350-Year Reunion DinnerClass of 1956Glen Oaks Golf & Country ClubDes Moines

SUNDAY, MAY 14125th Undergraduate Commencement CeremonyDes Moines

THE ALUMNI HONORED AT THIS YEAR’S ACHIEVERS AND BELIEVERSCEREMONY MAY 14 are stellar examples of leadership within Drakeand throughout industry and communities worldwide. Pictured herewith Drake President David Maxwell the award winners are BenjaminUllem, LA’66, LW’69; Jack Watson, LW’42; Craig Donohue, AS’83;and Eric Shimp, AS’93; and James Cohill, AS’92. Award winner AnneHilton, BN’78, was not able to attend.

alumniupdate

Roger Williams, GR’51

continued from page 22

spotlight


A YOUNG INNOVATOR: Last September, at theage of 29, Albena Ivanisevic was named oneof the Top 100 Young Innovators in the worldby the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.The award, presented Sept. 29 during the2004 Emerging Technologies Conference atMIT in Cambridge, is the latest in a long listof honors bestowed upon the 1996 DrakeUniversity graduate, and acknowledges herresearch that could ultimately mean the giftof sight for millions of people.

LIFE FOR IVANISEVIC HAS BEEN A WHIRLWIND ofactivity since she left her home country ofBulgaria while still a teenager. She completedhigh school in Colorado and graduated fromDrake University in 1996 with a BS in chem-istry and biology. She earned her Ph.D. at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000,

spent two years in a National Institutes ofHealth Fellowship at Northwestern University,and then moved on to Purdue University,where she is currently an assistant professor ofbiomedical engineering and chemistry.

EYE ON THE PRIZE: Ivanisevic received the Dr.E. Hirsch Felder Award for Women inChemistry, Math and Physics and the BelleCrowe Fellowship, both from the Universityof Wisconsin, in 2000, and a Dr. WilliamCoppock Chemistry Research Award fromDrake University in 1996. Though herresume is impressive, Ivanisevic’s recentaward was a result of work she completedon a pig’s eye.

Ivanisevic has developed a method of lay-ing down lines of peptides measuring only100 billionths of a meter wide in a process

known as dip-pen nanolithography. Theresulting pattern is attached permanently toa dime-size piece of retina extracted from apig’s eye.

“We demonstrated that we could performlithography, or patterning, on something otherthan a metal, semiconductor or insulator sur-face,” Ivanisevic has explained of her work.“We are interested in making surfaces that caneventually be used for transplant strategies.”

In other words, Ivanisevic has developed atechnique that could promote the growth oftransplanted healthy cells. The process couldultimately benefit more than 10 millionAmericans who suffer from age-related mac-ular degeneration, an incurable eye diseasethat is the leading cause of blindness forpeople over the age of 55.

—Tim Schmitt

Hope froma pig’s eye

RESEARCH FROM THIS DRAKE GRADUATECOULD HELP RESTORE SIGHT TO MILLIONS


1 32

4

5

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Picture 1: Drake Legal Clinic Director Suzanne Levitt greets Gov.Robert Ray, BN’42, LW’54, and Billie Ray, ED’50, at the LawSchool’s fundraising event which featured a performance of theawarding-winning play The Exonerated. Picture 2: Don Adams, spe-cial counsel in institutional advancement is presented with aplaque by National Alumni Board President Julie Fitzpatrick,AS’89 at his retirement party last spring. Picture 3: School ofEducation Dean Jan McMahill with SOE alumni award winnersElaine Smith Bright, ED’72, GR’99, Marsha Wilson Chall, ED’75,Arlene Devries, FA’62, GR’85, and David Mitchell, GR’82, at theSOE’s Feb. alumni award dinner. Award winner Mike Gudka,GR’97, is not pictured. Picture 4: Tammy Perkins, LA’81, visitswith family at the Chicago Cubs training game in Arizona – oneof Drake’s City Outreach events last spring. Picture 5: Drakegrads share the good cheer at the 30-year cluster reunion heldduring Relays. Picture 6: June Sackett, Dr. John Sackett, ED’55,GR’61, Ernie Williams, AS’56, Barbara Williams, FA’55, FayeKottke, AS’55, and Bill Kottke, BN’55 at the 50-year reunion din-ner. Picture 7: Gene Lutz, PH’66, (second from left) visits withDean and Professor Emeritus Boyd Granberg, and professors JohnRovers and Brad Tice at a reception honoring Lutz’ appointmentas president of the American Pharmacists Association.

alumniupdate

“A strong, well funded, independentacademic environment is critical tothe educational and social develop-ment of responsible future leaders.We’re proud that we have been ableto utilize our Drake experiences toprovide a foundation for our economicand social commitments. Since wehave become able to direct resourceswhere they can do the most good forthe future, an investment in theDrake experience is one of those vitalcommitments that can truly impactthose things that are worthwhile inour society.”

Thomas, BN’70, LW’74& Barbara, GR’90, Zurek

“As a student athlete I was able tohave a variety of experiences atDrake. I learned valuable lessonsfrom my Drake coaches and profes-sors & classes that I still rely upontoday. Drake gave me opportunitiesso I could go on and have a success-ful career. I am proud that I can giveback to the University that gave me agreat education. And, If you thinkabout it, it’s only $84 per month.”

Laura A. Leonard, ED’83, PH’87

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE MEMBERS SHARE A COMMON BOND.They have made Drake and its students their priority. When you jointhe President's Circle, you help ensure that Drake can fulfill its criticalmission: offering individuals a truly outstanding education and numerousopportunities to use it in research, professional internships, artisticperformance, community service and future careers.

“The value of a Drake degree is, inpart, a result of the successes of allalums. Our dreams have beenreached only through the kindness ofmany people who helped us along ourway. While we cannot always repaythe generosity of those who helpedus, we are fortunate to be able todedicate our time and resources tohelping this generation's dreamscome true. If each and every gradu-ate would join the President’s Circle,we would collectively ensure thefuture of the University and thedreams of future Drake students.”

Michael, LA’65, LW’67 & Janet, LW’83,Galloway Huston

The President’s CircleA Philanthropic Tradition

For more information or to make a contribution, contact Director of Development John Smithat 1-800-44-Drake, x2969 or go to www.drakealumni.net and click “Support Drake.”

pictorial

Office of Institutional Advancement2507 University AvenueDes Moines, Iowa 50311-4505

Nonprofit Organization

U.S.POSTAGE PAIDDes Moines, Iowa

Permit No. 2217

SHOVELS WERE THE BATON OF CHOICE forthe team of Drake friends and supporterson hand to break ground for the $12.6million stadium revitalization project.Participants in the festivities, which tookplace during the Drake Relays openingceremonies, included generous contribu-tors and enthusiastic supporters Daniel,PH’63, and Patricia, LA’64 Jorndt, JamesCownie, William Knapp, William KnappII, LW’76, Jack Taylor, Don Lamberti,Gerald Neugent, LW’75, and DwayneMcAninch. Also joining the celebrationwere representatives from the many cor-porate and community groups whosedonations and passion helped make thisproject possible.

Stadium revitalizationbegins

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Drake Blue Magazine - Fall 2005

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