Drake University Blue Magazine Spring 2017

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THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF DRAKE UNIVERSITY | SPRING 2017

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MR. DRAKE 30 | BULLDOG VOLUNTEERS 34 | DOGS OF CHICAGO 46

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THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF DRAKE UNIVERSITY | SPRING 2017

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Layered Lives

We are works-in-progress. We need not be—nor rarely are we­—only one thing when we grow up. Education (of the Drake variety) continues to be the ticket to reinvention.

By Mark Sheehy

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editor Beth Wilson art director Kristin Dunn, jo’92

Fan of the Century

A fixture, an icon, a legacy. Paul Morrison, jo’39, has carried on a nearly eight-decade love affair with Drake, and his devotion has transformed the lives of student-athletes.

By Ann Hinga Klein, jo’86, gr’86

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Peace by Piece

In 2016, Drake was recognized by the Peace Corps as a top producer of volunteers. Bulldogs abroad have discovered that cultural differences can be bridged with common gestures that build powerful connections.

By Alyssa Young, gr’15

contributors Jarad Bernstein; Bob Blanchard Photography; Jill Brimeyer; Canoe There; Bob Croslin; Ashley Gieseking; Dylan Huey; Aaron Jaco, as’07, jo’07, gr’14; Erik Kabik; Ann Hinga Klein, jo’86, gr’86; Ellen Koester, Class of 2019; Tim Schmitt, gr’08, ’10; Mark Sheehy; Niki Smith, jo’08, gr’15; Alyssa Young, gr’15 executive director, university communications Dave Remund, jo’91, gr’08 president Marty Martin vice president, university advancement John Smith, as’92, gr’00

departments

associate vice president, university advancement Diane Caldbeck, ed’72 Blue is published twice a year and mailed to alumni, parents, and other friends of Drake.

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welcome inbox said & done along the avenues school notes scoreboard then & now class acts the b-side

The views expressed in Blue do not necessarily reflect those of the staff or the University.

Send correspondence to: Blue, University Communications Drake University 2507 University Ave. Des Moines, IA 50311-4505 e bluemag@drake.edu Submit news or update your alumni profile: t 1-800-44-drake, x3152 e alumni.update@drake.edu w alumni.drake.edu © 2017

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| welcome The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The familiar adage seems fitting as Drake approaches the culmination of another academic year.

If you’re joining other Bulldogs for the annual pilgrimage to the Blue Oval this spring, you can’t miss the transformation of the northeast edge of campus. More than 100,000 square feet of nearly finished space has risen just across Forest Avenue from the Field House. CollierScripps Hall and the Science Connector Building—part of the emerging STEM@DRAKE complex that is integrating learning in science, technology, education, and math at the University—are the physical manifestations of bold vision.

Imagining the potential of Drake, however, is business as usual. Regardless of any steel beams or brickwork, the real infrastructure of the University is the deep-rooted tenacity that defines this place. Most everyone reading these words is part of this institution’s doggedness.

Steeped in the traditions and memories of today’s 74,000 alumni, Drake University remains relevant in a world that’s producing the next 74,000.

Caps and gowns will be ordered in the coming weeks, and architectural renderings will come to life. The newest programs will advance, and the latest chapter will commence. It’s the same dynamism that’s always defined this place, because where stories happen has everything to do with what happens.

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Redesign Reactions It’s just too much effort for me to read most of Blue. What’s with the light gray blotches of copy (the worst example, interestingly, on p. 1 listing Blue’s staff). The combination of wide columns for features and small type create a reading struggle not worth my effort.

Carol E. DeChant, la’60, Sarasota, Fla.

Just went thru the new Blue. Didn’t much care for it. Maybe because I’m 74? The use of colored type was overdone.

Olive green, light red, etc. is hard to read. Too cutesy. Way too much copy. Most of us are interested in our college and general news. I believe that most of us could care less about rural pharmacies, think about eating, Ken’s office. My opinion is take another look at format.

Tom Will, jo’64, Lafayette, La. I really enjoyed the Fall 2016 Blue. The new format and style is especially appreciated. Keep up your good work!

Carl Marsh, ph’74, Makawao, Hawaii

I enjoyed the new Blue, even down to the paper it was printed on. I’m in the printing business and have been since I graduated in 1981 with a BA in journalism. In my world, recognizing the details and understanding the painstaking work that obviously goes into putting out a project like Blue is pretty easy to spot.

Keep up the good work!

Bob Nankivell, jo’81, Keller, Texas

From the Editor: We know we can’t please all alumni all the time, but we’ll keep striving to keep you connected to Drake and each other with a magazine that has something for everyone. (By the way, Bob, that paper is not only good looking and feeling; it’s 100 percent post-consumer waste and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council).

Help Them Dream The “Pint-Size Pipeline” article (Fall 2016, p. 4) indicated more first-grade students will be hosted next spring. Could you advise if there would be any volunteer opportunities to help out?

Bethany Bachman, ed’15, gr’15, Bondurant, Iowa

Beth Wilson, Editor bluemag@drake.edu

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From the Editor: Yes, Bethany! Area alumni interested in getting involved can visit desmoinesdreams.org/our-projects to learn more and reach out to the Dreamer Academy.

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Unbalanced

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I was looking forward to reading the new Blue. Eagerly paging through the many new topics—and then it hit me with shame and utter disgust and amazement. In “United State” (Fall 2016, p. 7) you start out by saying, “It’s been a tumultuous time for race relations in the nation. High-profile shootings of young, unarmed African American men in Ferguson and Baltimore that sparked protests and national debates.” It is interesting that nothing was mentioned about the ambush of the many law enforcement officers. Nothing was mentioned about the looting and destruction carried on during “protests.”

Nothing was mentioned about African American men killing each other. What this paragraph sounded like was the police went out and decided they had nothing better to do that day but shoot African American men. You may also recall that all the officers were completely exonerated in those cases. I would think that a publication like Blue would be smart enough to publish both sides.

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF DRAKE UNIVERSITY | FALL 2016

The Strength in Our Abilities Inclusion is a powerful thing.

ALUMNI FOODIES | ATHLETICS ROUNDUP | DOGS OF D.C.

“Somehow a room full of teenagers in their first year of college had a better grip of intellectual discourse than nearly everyone on social media during the 2016 election cycle and many of the candidates for high office.”

—Daniel Finney, jo’97, Metro Voice columnist for The Des Moines Register, reflecting on his interaction with students in Drake’s “Ethics & Star Trek” first-year seminar

“It would be akin to saying, ‘Did you grow up wanting to be the King of England or the President of the United States?’”

— Blake Boldon, hired in October as the new director of the Drake Relays, on whether he’d ever envisioned himself at the helm of America’s Athletic Classic

Sherri Loeb, la’80, Buffalo Grove, Ill.

From the Editor: I regret that a story highlighting dialogue aimed at unity has been interpreted by more than one reader as division. The situation facing our nation is far too complex to cover in 150 words, and events continued to unfold after the February 2016 forums described in the article. Perhaps our attempt at context erred on the side of simplification, but in no way was this intended as a vilification of law enforcement. Nonetheless, I am grateful to readers like Sherri who share their perspective so we may continue a necessary conversation.

To The Point I was on campus in 1972 (“The Year Was,” Fall 2016, p. 41). One of my favorite memories was working late at night on work study at “The Point.” This was the Student Union at the time, and I was lucky enough to sit behind a high desk and play whatever music was requested. I also loved seeing all kinds of people and handing out the pool cues. I want to shout out to three professors who taught me much and well: professors [Francis “Frank” Marion] Wilhoit, [C. Walter] Clark, and [Tsung-Kuang] Lin. Good days.

“He gets made fun of a lot because he has feelings … but that’s one of the things I love about him. His music is re-defining how we see masculinity.” ” —Drake senior Kenia Calderon on Grammy-winning rapper Aubrey “Drake” Graham, who was soon to surprise Bulldogs with an overnight visit to campus last fall

“Reviews of the medical literature indicate that over-the-counter drug ingredients are actually ineffective in reducing cold symptoms in children.”

—Ed Bell, professor of pharmacy practice, on why parents shouldn’t turn to common treatments for mild maladies among children under the age of 12

James L. Brusatte, la’74, Ottawa, Ill.

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The Size of Ourselves

BRAGGING RIGHTS

“Politics don’t define us.”

Your alma mater is getting noticed.

One week after the November 2016 elections, Krista Tippett—Drake’s 37th Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecturer—addressed the assembled Knapp Center crowd and, seemingly, the nation. She underscored how the impact of our collective life is far bigger than politics.

The host of On Being, a Peabody Award-winning public radio program and podcast, and author of Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living suggested better navigation of the human condition requires purposeful words, generous listening, and love—even for those who drive us crazy.

“The well-being of those beyond our tribe are linked to our own well-being.”

Worth It, Part 1 Drake is one of 200 schools profiled in The Princeton Review’s new book Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck, 2017 Edition.

Student Leadership Sophomore Lauren Oreto was selected for the first class of the Principal Community Scholars Program, designed to inspire students to address community needs. The accounting major from St. Louis, with minors in data analytics and computer science, will work with local elementary school children to build their confidence in math and science.

Next Stop: China President Trump selected Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, lw’74, to serve as U.S. ambassador to China. Branstad has decades-long history with the country, enhancing cultural, educational, and business relationships between Iowa and China and fostering numerous partnerships between Drake University, Drake Law School, and numerous individuals and organizations in China.

Worth It, Part 2 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance placed Drake at number 39 on its list of the 100 best values in private universities for 2017.

Earning Recognition The inaugural Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education ranking of U.S. colleges placed Drake University at 149 in a list that includes more than 1,000 schools nationwide. Drake performed exceptionally well in the measurement of value added to salaries for graduates, scoring 93.5 out of 100.

Very Accomplished Ninety-nine percent of 2015–2016 academic year graduates had a job, were enrolled in graduate or professional school, or were engaged in internships or other activities related to their professional goals within six months of completing their studies.

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Cycle of Change Ten shiny bikes are lined up in new metal racks outside of Olmsted Center. Pinned under the seat of each is a laminated sign identifying the small fleet as the newly established Drake Bike Library—a tangible representation of a student-led initiative to encourage Bulldogs to explore Des Moines.

The project grew out of a partnership between two groups of students, a Fall 2015 First Year Seminar and a Spring 2016 Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) class.

Students applied for and received a $10,000 grant from Wellmark and launched the library last October. During its first month of operation, nearly 80 students used their Drake ID Card to check out a bicycle and hit the town.

Bikes are free to use and available during the fall and spring.

While they must be returned by Olmsted’s closing time, the only boundary is how far the student can pedal.

Smart Move Drake University is now home to one of the world’s leading sources of non-partisan political information. Vote Smart—started by presidents Ford, Carter, and 38 other political leaders—recently moved its operation from Montana to a Universityowned office space near campus. Drake expects the partnership to generate internship opportunities for students studying political science, strategic political communications, sociology, and rhetoric, as well as data analytics, computer science, and graphic design, which will help the organization analyze and visualize information. The move will strengthen Des Moines’ economy (bringing 23 full-time jobs) and the University’s reputation as a center for political study and thought leadership.

Grassroots Effort Professor of Biology Thomas R. Rosburg spearheads research on an array of topics within plant ecology, most notably studies to better understand the factors that affect plant communities in prairie, forest, and wetland ecosystems. His work—including 1,350 hours of research aimed at restoring private prairie land in Iowa—was recognized by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation with its 2016 Lawrence and Eula Hagie Heritage Award.

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Full-Spectrum Scientists Today’s scientists thrive when they’re as savvy in a boardroom as they are in front of a Bunsen burner.

That’s why The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University recently introduced a set of online professional development tools that help k–12 teachers statewide integrate essential employability skills—communication, collaboration, negotiation, literacy, leadership, and integrity—with STEM curricula.

The Ray Center plans to make the free tools—developed in collaboration with Iowa education officials with financial support from Hy-Vee, Inc.—available to teachers in other states. Its program benefitted more than 250 Des Moines Area Community College students last year in classes like welding, chemistry, and accounting. The center hopes to launch a program for employers this year.

Promenade Takes Shape As the University prepares to open the STEM@DRAKE buildings this fall, a $2-million gift from the Stine Family Foundation will turn the surrounding outdoor space into the Robert D. and Billie Ray Promenade. Early renderings show the transformation of 27th Street into a pedestrian plaza complemented by a park-like green space perfect for sunny study breaks and student events. Learn more at drake.edu/buildingstem.

10th Anniversary 1

In January, alumni, faculty, and administrators from Drake gathered in Uganda with their counterparts at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) to reflect on 10 years of landmark collaboration. More than 200 Drake students have traveled to the country since 2007, engaging with Ugandan students for three weeks—and in many cases for years after—on sustainable service projects, including the creation of a health clinic; a school computer lab; and Dream On, a club aimed at empowering young girls. In return, MUBS students and faculty have visited Drake’s campus three times to explore leadership, business, and teaching methods. along the avenues | spring 2017 | blue

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Animal Attraction Amanda Muir remembers clearly the moment she discovered the path of her life’s work.

Next stop: London The work of Associate Professor of Management and International Business Radostina Purvanova has attracted the attention of our friends across the pond.

Purvanova co-authored a paper examining the effect of relationships in the workplace, finding that strong friendships with coworkers create a more positive work environment. Published in the Academy of Management Journal in August, the research was highlighted by the London School of Economics, featured on the institution’s website, and noted for its potential to impact the field. Blimey!

STAFF PICK

Ella at 100 She worked with all the jazz greats— from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman.

Ella Fitzgerald’s legend lives on with the Turner Center Jazz Orchestra as part of an international year-long celebration of the First Lady of Song.

Vocalist Tina Haase Findlay joins the band to celebrate the 100th birthday of the jazz icon on Thursday, May 11th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Patty and Fred Turner Jazz Center.

Tickets: turnercenterjazzorchestra.org

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blue | spring 2017 | along the avenues

“My family had a membership at [Chicago’s] Brookfield Zoo, where I would watch the animals for hours. One day a female lion was close to the glass, her amber eyes fixated on me as I stared back in awe. I knew there and then that I wanted to work with animals.”

Muir, a junior environmental science major, has a unique opportunity to make this dream a reality at Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo, where she is one of more than 30 Drake students working under the supervision of Professor of Biology and Psychology Michael Renner as part of the University’s new academic concentration in zoo and conservation science.

The program includes a sophomore practicum and a junior-year internship that provide real-world experience, connecting students with ongoing projects at both the zoo and the nearby Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative.

Magnetic Appeal Drake’s new 500-megahertz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer is expected to be quite a pull for prospective students pursuing STEM-related majors. It’s unusual for a university of Drake’s size to have such a valuable research tool. The instrument uses a powerful superconducting magnet, cooled by liquid helium, to determine the structure, purity, and stability of compounds.

The spectrometer, a gift from R.W. (la’50) and Mary Nelson, will be available to all students and faculty for scientific research, as well as to outside researchers and even high school students.

Classic Love: It’s Back!

Iowa native Blake Boldon sees the Drake Relays as a homecoming— not only for himself (he’s rounded the Blue Oval a few times), not only for Drake alumni, but also for the athletes and fans who love the American classic.

As the 12th Franklin ‘Pitch’ Johnson Director of the Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee, Boldon will oversee the return of Pole Vault at Capital Square and, for the first time ever, a Grand Blue Mile that plays host to the 2017 USA Track and Field Road Mile Championships.

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Big Deal Every year, millions place bets without ever walking into a casino. For a fee, daily fantasy sports providers allow players to draft teams and compete online, with results determined and prizes paid on a daily or weekly basis. These games entertain sports fans, says Drake’s Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professor of Law Keith Miller, even as they confound regulators with legal and ethical questions, including distinctions between games of chance and skill; procedures for preventing and treating gambling addiction; and consumer privacy protection.

Miller is a national expert in the laws governing this complex multibillion-dollar subset of the gaming industry. He’s shared his insight with not only law students but also reporters at national news outlets including ESPN, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, and with audiences at national gaming industry conferences.

Proprietary Ink The skin you live in may not be your own. At least for the 20 percent of Americans (and 40 percent of Millennials) who have one or more tattoos.

Shontavia Johnson, Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law and director of Drake Law’s Intellectual Property Law Center, has researched legal matters surrounding skin-and-ink art, and her work has garnered national attention.

“What could be more intimately a part of you than a work of body art permanently inked into your skin?” asks Johnson in an article published in Time magazine online, begging the question “Who owns your tattoo?”

If recent lawsuits and other actions are any indication, the answer might be “Not you.”

Artists who have inked high-profile athletes, including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, sued the creators of a popular video game for depicting original designs without permission. The artist who created Mike Tyson’s iconic face tattoo sued Warner Bros. and eventually settled out of court over the unauthorized replication of his work in The Hangover II. Read more about Johnson’s research into this and other areas of interest that lie at the intersection of law, innovation, and popular culture at shontavia.com/blog.

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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Is it just us?

Social justice-oriented living spaces have been created on a number of college campuses across the nation.

Drake’s Social Justice Living Learning Community—the members of which learn together (in a one-credit class, Leadership for Social Change) and live together (in reserved housing inside Goodwin-Kirk)—is now in its second year.

The endowed Slay Fund for Social Justice at Drake has since 2012 supported students, staff, and faculty engaged in the work of social justice. The University’s official statement on diversity and inclusion, adopted last summer, underscores Drake’s commitment to inclusivity “ as necessitated by social justice.”

But what does social justice mean to different people in different contexts, and how does it—and why should it—contribute to student learning?

Sally Haack

Matthew Mitchell

Darcie Vandegrift

Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice

Associate Professor of International Business

Associate Professor of Sociology /Department Chair

Health disparities are significant in the United States. Age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, language, literacy, and more can create obstacles to good health. A more mindful use of resources can help members of our community live healthy lives—physically, spiritually, and socially. By teaching Drake pharmacy students how to assess a patient as a whole person, rather than just simply dispensing a medication or evaluating a disease, we can help serve as a collaborator with others in the health care team to match resources with patient needs.

If there is one lesson I want students to experience in Drake’s international business program, it’s the difference between the Golden Rule and the Platinum Rule. We all know the former, but the latter states: Do unto others as they would like to have done unto them. Simply, we cannot assume our preferences are the same as other’s. This subtle difference encourages listening, empathizing, and feeling the world through someone else’s perspective.

The distinction between “us” and “them” vanishes. We are left with the transformative realization that we are all inextricably bound together across time and space.

In the discipline of sociology, we examine how social structures, social interaction, and individual consciousness affect issues of historical and contemporary inequality— how, for example, 20thcentury laws restricting home ownership affect today’s access to wealth, or how modern building design facilitates relations to welcome people across physical ability levels. By examining their own circumstances and the things they experience—often unaware—each day, Drake students gain new tools to think about how inequality detracts from their workplaces, their personal lives, and the wider society.

Have your own ideas about or experience with social justice?

Tell us about it: bluemag@drake.edu

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New Digs for OTD The former home of the Drake University Bookstore at 3003 Forest Ave. is the new home of the Occupational Therapy Educational Center, part of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Completed in February, the center is the hub of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program and its activities. It houses flexible classrooms, student collaboration areas, a conference room, faculty offices, and the Lifestyle Redesign Center and Lab where students train to assist those in their care who may face mobility and/or cognitive challenges. Daily capabilities can be assessed in in a variety of settings, including a streetscape (complete with traffic light, cash machine, and what’s been dubbed the “OT Cruiser”), a small grocery store, an ergonomic office, and a one-bedroom apartment with adaptive technology.

Cautionary Tales The rise of National Socialism in Germany. U.S. government radiation experiments. The space shuttle Challenger. All began with people and policy. All ended in disaster. Such infamous incidents are the focus of a graduate course at Drake— Administrative Evil, taught by Allen Zagoren, gr’04, an associate professor of Public Administration, as well as a surgeon and administrator with UnityPoint Health.

Such cautionary tales, he says, provide important lessons for students who will be part of creating or administering policy.

“In some cases, the policies were actually logical and seemed reasonable, but the implementation failed or went awry,” says Zagoren.

“They resulted, in part, from a failure of the culture.”

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WORKPLACE

225 Howard Hall Associate Professor of English Beth Younger surrounds herself with reminders of her students and the topics they explore together.

1 Welcome—Younger avoids barriers when students visit her office. There are comfy seating options, and conversations happen in a cozy space warmed by a rich purple wall. “It makes me feel like an IRS audit agent if I’m behind a desk.”

4 Scare Tactics—Cinema’s storylines and

depictions of women and minorities are also valuable learning tools for students, says Younger. Even horror films reveal changing attitudes in our society.

2 All Dolled Up—Younger often uses Barbies when

discussing the representation of ideal beauty in Western culture. Her collection includes a Tippi Hedren (Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds) version, a Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) version, the pregnant Midge doll, and one traditional Barbie from students who all signed its box.

5 Gift Exchange—Younger’s office is peppered

with gifts from students. “My students are the most important aspect of my job—and since they always leave me, their gifts and my memories of them are what remains after they have gone.”

3 Maternal Motivation—A photo of her mother

and dissertation director taken on the day of Younger’s graduation transports her back to that hot August day in Louisiana. Younger’s mom is her greatest inspiration.

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| school notes College of Arts & Sciences Joseph Lenz, Dean drake.edu/artsci

This year we made a commitment to provide Drake students with more opportunities for the high impact learning experiences—internships, practicums, community-engaged learning, and research—that translate classroom knowledge into application.

While it was an easy commitment to make (92 percent of our seniors already report such an experience by the time they graduate) it was also important to verbalize our dedication to providing these experiences. Our graduates have a phenomenal accomplishment rate, with 99 percent of our May graduates getting a job or graduate school placement within six months of commencement. To maintain that success, we need to provide the learning experiences that help them transition from campus to careers.

Multiplier Effect Opportunities for our students have just expanded, with Vote Smart recently moving its operations from Montana to the Drake campus. A leading source of non-partisan political information, Vote Smart conducts research on candidates’ biographies, voting record, speeches, campaign financing sources, and special interest group ratings. We expect the partnership to generate internship opportunities—up to 70 annually—for students not only in areas traditionally associated with politics, including political science, strategic political communications, sociology, and rhetoric, but also in fields such as data analytics, computer science, and graphic design, which help the organization to analyze and visualize information. This will strengthen Drake’s reputation as a center

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for political and policy study, adding yet another resource to those such as The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement; Principal Center for Global Citizenship; Agricultural Law Center; and the Drake University Archives, which house the archival papers of former Iowa Gov. Robert D. Ray and retired U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin.

The 2016 election may be over, but the 2020 campaign is just beginning.

Applause, Applause Thomas Rosburg, professor and chair of biology, received the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s 2016 Lawrence and Eula Hagie Heritage Award in recognition of his exceptional commitment to conservation in Iowa. One of Rosburg’s most remarkable achievements has been the Drake Prairie Rescue and Restoration Program, through which he organized 165 events in 22 counties between 2004 and 2016. He involves Drake students in his projects, providing them with valuable field experiences.

Joan Faber McAlister, associate professor of rhetoric, media, and social change, was selected to receive the Francine Merritt Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Lives of Women in Communication. McAlister is editor of Women’s Studies in Communication, an international, peer-reviewed quarterly academic journal created by the Organization for Research on Women and Communication (ORWAC).

Numerous Drake undergraduates have worked with her as editorial assistants on the publication.

Diplomacy and International Affairs, co-authored a new international relations textbook (Routledge).

Karla Kash, associate professor of theatre, directed and choreographed a production of West Side Story at the Des Moines Playhouse with Drake students Chris Bernard, Erin Besser, Mitch Donohue, Nick Black, Brent Neary, and Elliott Newman in the production, as well as Associate Professor of Theatre John Graham.

Megan Brown, associate professor of English, published American Autobiography after 9/11 (University of Wisconsin Press). The book explores the myriad developments in American autobiography and memoir since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Student Achievement International relations major Emma Muth received a U.S. Department of State Gilman Scholarship for summer 2017 study in Switzerland.

Four musical theatre majors have taken their shows on the road. Nathan Smith and Hank “Henry” Fisher are studying at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Dariya Kimmes and Kathleen Gabriel are even further afield, participating in the National Theatre Institute’s Moscow Art Theatre semester in Russia.

Psychology major Alyssa Wilkinson received the Laraine Masters Glidden Undergraduate Travel Award to attend the 50th annual Gatlinburg Conference on Intellectual and Developmental Disorders.

Scholarly Endeavors Deborah Kent, associate professor of mathematics, has a co-authored book titled Game Theory: A Playful Introduction (American Mathematical Society).

David Skidmore, professor of political science and the director of the Principal Center for Global Citizenship and the Rolland and Mary Nelson Institute for

blue | spring 2017 | school notes

a supplement from the six colleges and schools

College of Business & Public Administration

• Our juniors participated in mock interviews in October. More than 20 companies, with 42 interviewers total, attended to conduct 273 student interviews.

Terri Vaughan, Dean drake.edu/cbpa

• We hosted a number of career fairs, including fairs for accounting, finance, and actuarial science, as well as a separate Finance Career Night.

We’re having a tremendous academic year in the CBPA. Our students never fail to impress us with their energy and engagement, and our faculty and staff continue their great work to create a powerful learning environment.

We hope to see you at this year’s Drake Relays. Please plan to join us at the CBPA Alumni BBQ (Friday, April 28, 5–7 p.m., Aliber Overhang), where we’ll share more about our activities!

AACSB Accreditation The CBPA has always been accredited through Drake’s institutional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. The college now has programmatic accreditation through the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), meaning that CBPA’s undergraduate programs and MBA, MAcc, and MFM programs have passed rigorous standards for quality. AACSB accreditation has been earned by less than five percent of the world’s business schools.

Career Preparation In its report, the AACSB Peer Review Team praised the CBPA’s CareerNOW program, calling it a “highly successful and ‘best-in-class’ program.” Our goal is for every student to achieve the best start to their long-term career goals when they graduate, whether that be graduate school or their dream job in their ideal city. As usual, we had a steady stream of career-related activities this fall: • Connect 2016 was held in November.

This “speed dating” style event is held annually for first-year students and is a great way for them to learn more about companies, careers, and how to engage with employers. This fall, 115 employer representatives participated.

Student Activities The AACSB Peer Review Team was particularly impressed by the engagement of our students, calling them “remarkable in their commitment to lead and self-manage student organizations and activities.” The CBPA has 14 very active student organizations that facilitate events, invite speakers, and create other opportunities to support student professional development. This work allows them to make connections and hone their organizational and leadership skills outside the classroom. Last fall, the Drake chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma (an actuarial science/risk management organization), was again recognized as a superior chapter at its national conference. Thirty students attended the event, which was held in Columbus, Ohio.

Backpack Project The CBPA Leadership Council, a student organization, sponsored a backpack service event for interested students this fall. Students took backpacks home over Thanksgiving break to be filled with items such as school supplies, diapers, board games, blankets, hygiene products, and more. Nearly 150 backpacks were donated to two organizations, Amanda the Panda and Visiting Nurse Services.

The Murphy Cup Drake CBPA and Creighton Heider College of Business again joined forces for the Murphy Cup Marketing Competition. This year’s client was the Solheim Cup, a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United

States. The 2017 tournament will be held in West Des Moines, and 24 students spent a weekend working in six teams to develop strategies to increase awareness of the tournament among those living in the Midwest. Teams were made up of representatives of both Drake and Creighton, a fun change from typical student competitions. Tournament Director Chris Garrett was impressed by the outstanding ideas, many of which he promised to implement. The winning team targeted its advertising budget on social media and proposed a marketing campaign aimed at fathers and daughters who share a love of golf.

Update on the New Hybrid MBA Our first courses in the newly designed MBA began last fall. The initial reaction has been tremendous, with the 53 enrolled students sharing their appreciation of both the quality and the flexibility in the program. This innovative offering is provided in a hybrid classroom model—the only one of its kind in central Iowa—that blends the convenience of online coursework with the benefits of intensive classroom experience. This flexibility allows working adults to earn a degree without sacrificing quality for convenience or personal life for professional development.

Faculty News We are fortunate to have exceptional professors deeply committed to student success and continue to strengthen our faculty with outstanding new hires.

• This fall, we welcomed five new assistant professors: Lynn McCool (business communications), Brian Vander Naald (economics), Yu-Hsiang “John” Huang (information systems), Heidi Mannetter (marketing), and Marcia Laugerman (statistics).

• Associate professors Deb Bishop and Brad Meyer created a classroom simulation/game to teach inventory

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College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

control concepts. Their article was selected by the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education as the Best Teaching Brief for 2016.

• Research by Associate Professor Radostina “Ina” Purvanova and co-authors highlighted the importance of positive work relationships for successful organizations. They found that positive work relationships are strongly associated with a high sense of well-being, a strong desire to thrive and grow in the workplace, and increased employee altruism. The paper, published in the Academy of Management Journal, was also featured by the London School of Economics.

• Steve Gara, associate professor and director of the School of Accounting, authored two op-ed pieces on tax issues that appeared in Fortune. The October op-ed contrasted the tax philosophies of billionaires Donald Trump and Warren Buffet, while the November op-ed explored legal and ethical issues around tax avoidance.

• Associate Professor Natalie Ross Adkins co-authored a paper that explored how stakeholders in the marketplace can be the source and target of stigma. The paper appeared in the fall 2016 issue of the American Marketing Association’s Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

Thank You, Professor Bowers Faculty excellence is a tradition at Drake, as evidenced by former professor Newton Bowers, who passed away this fall.

Professor Bowers joined Drake in 1969 and was a longtime leader of our actuarial science program; many alumni benefited from his mentorship. He served Drake for more than 25 years and was named Iowa Professor of the Year in 1992. A scholarship is being established in his name.

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Renae Chesnut, Dean drake.edu/cphs

As I reflect on my first year as dean, I am humbled by the support I have received. I have gained a new appreciation for the components that when combined make the CPHS special, including: • Alumni and friends who have supported the college through scholarships, white-coat sponsorships, capital campaign donations, mentorships, and many other examples of generosity.

• Faculty and staff who continually raise the bar for what it means to be excellent. The faculty’s talent and commitment to our students, the staff’s consistent support and dedication, and the leadership team’s vision and energy serve as constant reminders of why I am so proud to be part of this college.

• Outstanding learners who have a quest for knowledge and new experiences. The future of health care is in good hands.

• Collaborative partnerships that have led to combined degree programs and team-based interprofessional learning.

The Des Moines Area Interprofessional Education Collaborative has created learning experiences and activities that will make a difference in the future of health care.

Thanks to all of this and all of you, the college is well-poised for future success.

Wall Named Health-System Pharmacist of the Year Geoff Wall, professor of pharmacy practice, has been named the NextGeneration Pharmacist Health-System Pharmacist of the Year.

Wall is an innovative and effective health-system pharmacist. He founded

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and directs the Drug Information Center at Drake, and has served as a coach for the University’s ACCP Student Clinical Challenge team.

Wall also serves as a clinical pharmacist for internal medicine and critical care at Iowa Methodist Medical Center (IMMC). In that role, he helped to establish multiple clinical pharmacy services and the IMMC pharmacy practice residency.

Wall received his undergraduate pharmacy degree from the University of Utah, and a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from Idaho State University.

He joined the Drake faculty in 1999.

Rovers Receives Global Citizenship Award John Rovers, professor of practice, was recently honored with the second annual Drake University Principal Financial Group Global Citizenship Award.

The award recognizes one Drake faculty or staff member who has made “outstanding contributions to global engagement and internationalization of the campus and curriculum.”

Rovers has been at Drake since 1991 and has a long track record of furthering internationalization of the University through teaching, research, consulting, and fundraising with a wide variety of partners.

His research focuses on global health issues and has resulted in many peer-reviewed publications with student researchers as co-investigators on all projects. He serves as a peer reviewer for the Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice and the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (a World Health Organization publication).

Rovers fosters internationalization through his fundraising efforts for McCord Hospital in Durban, South Africa, which is a partner for the Drake CPHS South Africa P4 rotation. He has also advanced internationalization through his successful nomination and hosting of Fatima Suleman from the University of

KwaZulu-Natal as a global practitioner at Drake in fall 2015. Rovers assisted Suleman in teaching a new course on drug policy and medication availability, a major concern in the developing world.

In spring 2017, Rovers will continue his internationalization efforts as he spends a sabbatical leave in Belize creating partnerships in global health. His work will create future opportunities for Drake faculty and students to collaborate with Belizeans on identifying, prioritizing, and resolving public health problems in Belize.

Meyer Receives Senior Care Award The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists honored Kristin Meyer, ph’00, associate professor of pharmacy practice, on Nov. 3 with the 2016 Armon Neel Senior Care Pharmacist Award for significantly improving the life of the senior population through the practice of senior care pharmacy.

At Drake, Meyer teaches geriatric topics such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in a variety of courses in the professional pharmacy degree program.

She also consults at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, where she supervises Drake pharmacy students completing geriatric-specialty Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences prior to graduation from the PharmD program.

Opioid Summit Explores Severity and Treatment The CPHS co-hosted a summit on Aug. 2 to help Iowa health care, regulatory, insurance, and other professionals understand the severity of the nation’s opioid epidemic and begin a coordinated discussion on prevention and treatment.

The “Prescription Pain Killers and the Heroin Epidemic” forum was hosted by the CPHS and the U.S. Attorney’s offices for both the Northern and Southern districts of Iowa. Nearly 100 professionals attended the event, discussing prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies for prescription painkillers, opioid abuse, and the nation’s heroin epidemic.

The CPHS also held an evening community event to help educate the media, parents, and other community members. The college continues to be involved in making a difference by participating in additional educational efforts on- and off-campus with the U.S. Attorney’s offices, the Iowa Department of Public Health, practitioner groups, student organizations, and area high schools.

OTD & Lifestyle Redesign Center Construction is complete on the new home of Drake’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program! Faculty, staff, and students moved into their new space in February. (The former occupant, the University Bookstore, has relocated to Olmsted.)

The first class of 26 OTD students, who are nearing completion of their third semester of studies, and future OTD students will do most of their coursework in this location. The space also serves a vital community need. In the Lifestyle Redesign Center, people with mobility challenges can schedule an appointment with OTD faculty and students to test out a variety of assistive equipment and devices through a simulated bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, grocery store, automobile, and streetscape.

Drake Law School

Jerry Anderson, Dean drake.edu/law

The spring semester has been busy as we continue to develop new programs and initiatives; recognize the successes of our students, alumni, and faculty; and plan events at the Law School. I enjoyed celebrating my first Supreme Court Celebration as dean. This year was especially meaningful as we commemorated the 80th annual Supreme Court Celebration, recognizing academic excellence, leadership, and service at Drake Law School, and honoring our close relationship with the Iowa Supreme Court.

At the Supreme Court Celebration Banquet and Awards Ceremony, we welcomed as keynote speaker the Hon. Solomon Oliver Jr., chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, who among his many accomplishments is currently overseeing Cleveland’s police reform efforts. We also recognized our award winners, including the Law School’s Alumni of the Year and—new this year—Recent Alumni of the Year.

Welcoming alumni back to campus for the Supreme Court Celebration reminded me how proud I am to be part of the Drake Law family.

New Compliance and Risk Management Program Drake Law School and Drake’s College of Business and Public Administration are introducing a new Compliance and Risk Management program beginning in fall 2017. The program will include a 12-credit professional certificate, a 24-credit Master of Jurisprudence (MJ) degree, and a 24-credit Master of Laws (LLM) degree.

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Compliance is one of the fastest growing legal fields today. With a combination of law and business courses, Drake’s new program will equip employees in a variety of fields with the skill set to ensure that their companies are meeting government regulations and adhering to ethical standards.

Applications are now being accepted at drake.edu/law.

Competition Teams Triumph Drake Law School’s National Moot Court team of James Duff, Christopher Kreuder, and Julia Steggerda-Corey placed first at the regional competition, advancing to the National Moot Court Competition finals in New York City earlier this semester. A Drake Law team has competed in the national finals 21 times in the past 26 years, a remarkable accomplishment that can be attributed not only to the talent of our students, but also to the efforts of faculty coach and Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professor of Law Laurie Doré, the Drake Moot Court Board, and alumni volunteers.

A special thanks to those who volunteered to judge the regional National Moot Court Competition at Drake Law School. This was the first time in six years Drake was selected to host the tournament. The event was a great success thanks to the tremendous support of alumni and the Iowa legal community.

In addition, Drake’s two arbitration teams placed second and third at the regional ABA Law Student Division Arbitration Competition. The secondplace team of Manuel Cornell, Jordan Garrison-Nickerson, Nicholas Rauch, and Monika Sehic advanced to the national finals in Chicago. Drake’s arbitration teams are coached by Ana Dixit, lw’16, La’Cee Groekten, as’11, lw’14, lw’15, and Ronald Forsell, lw’15.

Faculty Awards Professor Melissa Weresh was selected to receive the 2017 Thomas F. Blackwell

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Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Legal Writing. The prestigious award is presented annually by the Association of Legal Writing Directors and the Legal Writing Institute to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to improve the legal writing field. Weresh was honored at the Blackwell Award Reception in San Francisco on Jan. 4.

Professor Jonathan Rosenbloom was named a Distinguished Environmental Scholar by Vermont Law School. This summer, Rosenbloom will collaborate on a research project with Professor Keith Hirokawa of Albany Law School, and join other leaders in the fields of energy, agriculture, and environmental law in residency at Vermont Law School. The scholars will also deliver public lectures and participate in events on campus.

Cartwright Hall Renovations Planned Drake Law School is planning major renovations for the first floor of Cartwright Hall, which has not changed significantly since the building opened 40 years ago. The plans include creating more functional space for faculty, staff, and students as well as updates to furnishings, computers, and carpets in the Drake Law Review’s office, the West and East Bays, Student Services, and the Dean’s Office.

The renovation project is expected to begin this summer. Those who wish to make room dedications or other donations should contact the Drake Law School Dean’s Office.

New Faculty and Staff Erin Lee Schneider joined Drake Law School as director of the Academic Success Program in fall 2016. Schneider, a 2012 Drake Law alumna, is working to assist students and graduates in bar exam preparation and organize academic success programs within the Law School.

Alicia Hilligas became Drake Law School’s new assistant director of admission and diversity initiatives in

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January. Hilligas, who previously worked in admissions at American University, the University of Central Florida, and the College of Idaho, will assist in recruiting new Drake Law students with an emphasis on diversity, MJ, and LLM enrollment, and international students.

Thomas Smith started as Drake Law School’s new major gift officer in early April. Smith brings considerable fundraising experience in the world of opera in Des Moines, Cincinnati, and Naples, Fla. He will be working to strengthen the Law School’s alumni relations and external resources.

Natalie Banta will join the Law School’s faculty in fall 2017 as associate professor of law. Banta is currently an assistant professor at Valparaiso University Law School and specializes in trusts and estates and property.

Her recent publications include “Property Interests in Digital Assets: The Rise of Digital Feudalism” in the Cardozo Law Review and “Death and Privacy in the Digital Age” in the North Carolina Law Review.

Upcoming CLE Events Drake Law School is offering two Continuing Legal Education (CLE) webinars taught by Professor Anthony Gaughan. “Lessons in Election Law” is scheduled for May 5, noon–1 p.m. “World War II and the Laws of War: Five Law of War Case Studies from History’s Deadliest Conflict” is scheduled for June 9, noon–1 p.m. Visit drakecle.law for more information.

School of Education

Jan McMahill, Dean drake.edu/soe

Over the past several months, we’ve had much to celebrate in the School of Education (SOE). From our increasing emphasis on international experiences for our students and faculty to awardwinning work and notable achievements for many in our Drake family, we are continuously improving the work we do and the education we provide.

The World as Classroom From 2004 to 2006, only two SOE faculty traveled outside of the country. Since then, 22 of our 26 faculty have experienced education in places and spaces different from their own.

In January, Trent Grundmeyer, Matt Bruinekool, and Matthew Hayden taught seminars for Drake undergraduate and graduate students in Finland, Hawaii, and Cuba, respectively. In June, teachers from the Des Moines Public Schools will fly to Ghana, where Jill Johnson will immerse them in the developing country’s education and culture. That same month, students preparing to be school principals will spend a week in Toronto observing highly successful teaching strategies in the most diverse schools in North America.

Professors Todd Hodgkinson and Michael Couvillon spent a week in November in Santiago, Chile, at Universidad de los Andes (UANDES) visiting area schools and coordinating projects. During the Fall 2016 semester, five UANDES students took classes here at Drake and completed practicum hours in the Des Moines Public Schools.

In the last three years, others have traveled to South Africa, China, Chile, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, Canada, Belize, Iceland, and Brazil. As a result of our international work, we have students

enrolling from other countries, faculty opportunities for research partnerships, and new locales for student teaching.

Literacy at Work We recently celebrated the 40th year of the Adult Literacy Center. More than 2,500 people age 18 to 80 have been served by this all-volunteer effort since its inception. Those who are able pay a one-time fee of $50 for their tutorial service, which lasts anywhere from two to five years as participants reach the stage of independent reading. An army of more than 90 Drake students and community volunteers currently serve as tutors.

Workplace Literacy Instructor Terri Morrow, a new addition to the team, is focused on a new emphasis: workplace literacy. Morrow is currently helping Drake’s Sodexo food service employees with reading skills by hosting small, onsite group sessions and assignments, which are embedded into their current jobs.

Newest Online Course Cultural Awareness: Seeing Past the Stereotypes is live. The first course instructor is Drake’s Director of Athletic Academic Services Shanna Fountain.

Other curriculum writers and teachers include Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert and SOE professors Kevin Lam and Bengu Erguner-Tekinalp. Those who enroll in the online or live event sessions will hear voices from other cultures, while developing tools to successfully apply concepts of cultural awareness in their work.

Student News December was a month of celebration.

Forty-six teacher education candidates marked the completion of a successful student teaching semester, and Drake’s mid-year commencement celebrated students who earned four doctoral degrees, 37 master’s and specialist degrees, and 16 bachelor’s degrees.

Counseling alumnae Nyla Mowery and Stacey Haylett presented at the Iowa

School Counseling Association conference in December. Current counseling students Brittany Swanson, Ayla Leopold, and Emily James also gave presentations, and nine others volunteered.

The first University-wide Catalyst Scholarship, created by a group of faculty committed to advancing the goals of diversity and inclusion at Drake, was awarded to Kelli Carter, a secondary education major. Scheduled to graduate in December 2017, Carter is pursuing endorsements in special education and reading, and her plans include teaching special education in Des Moines.

The Iowa Educational Research & Evaluation Association held its annual conference, which brings together practitioners, faculty, and students from around the state to collaborate on innovative educational practices and share current research. Drake was well represented: Four doctoral candidates partnered with Robyn Cooper, director of the doctoral program, to present research posters and lead discussion. Among these, two research posters analyzing standards-based grading won top awards.

Faculty News Sally Beisser, professor of education and 2016–2017 Troyer Research Fellow recipient, was selected to serve a four-year term on the Teaching For High Potential Editorial Advisory Board as one of 15 educators in gifted education.

Kevin Lam, assistant professor of urban and diversity education, received a 2016 Critics’ Choice book award for Youth Gangs, Racism, and Schooling: Vietnamese American Youth in a Postcolonial Context.

The Iowa Department of Education invited Michael Couvillon, associate professor of education, to serve as a special education mediator for the state of Iowa.

Matt Bruinekool, assistant professor of counseling education, has been elected to a four-year term on the National Council on Rehabilitation Education. For nearly a decade, Robert Stensrud, professor of education, served in that capacity.

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Tomorrow’s Teachers Drake’s first teacher education visit day was held for prospective undergraduates, who visited a class, met faculty and students, toured campus, and enjoyed lunch. This is just one example of the innovative approaches to student recruitment we are undertaking as we seek to grow our entering first-year class.

Legally Speaking A one-day Legal Development in Special Education conference was held at Drake on Feb. 16. Topics included early dispute resolution, error avoidance in Individualized Education Program development, a review of recent court findings, and summaries of topical “Dear Colleague” letters from the U.S. Department of Education.

On the Move On Jan. 1, 2005, I officially stepped into the role of dean of the School of Education.

Twelve years have passed quickly, and starting next fall, I will do my work in Collier-Scripps Hall in the heart of campus. We will move teacher education, leadership, and counseling degree programs into the new building, where classrooms, conference rooms, offices, and collaboration spaces are designed for innovative teaching and working.

For the last seven years, one of my mottos has been “Momentum Is Building.” At last, thanks to the more than 200 alumni and business partners, I can change that to “Transformation: Preparing You Here for There.”

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School of Journalism & Mass Communication

country were produced by Drake students: Drake Magazine won first place for magazine of the year and The Annual won third place. Drake students also won the top two awards for general news story and Kathleen Richardson, Dean first-place awards for podcast, photo drake.edu/sjmc portrait, and profile story.

Cole Norum, jo’16, finished second and The fall awards contests were very, very Longman placed 10th in December’s good to Drake SJMC! Student work in national Hearst feature-writing contest. multimedia journalism, design, writing, There were 140 entries submitted from 74 photography, advertising, and public JMC programs nationwide. The only other relations hit it out of the park in local and institution with two top-10 winners was national competitions. From August to Indiana University; Drake was the only December 2016, SJMC students won private institution in the top 10. some three dozen awards—recognizing In February, Urban Plains won first not only the extraordinary power of the place in the Broadcast Education creative collaboration between our Association Festival of Media Arts students and faculty, but the wisdom of interactive multimedia competition for the changes we’ve made to our the second year in a row. Advertising curriculum over the past few years. The students took home gold and silver SJMC has always emphasized real-world awards, including Student Best in Show, learning and current technologies. But we in the local American Advertising are also increasingly focusing on Federation contest. multidisciplinary projects that require our students to learn the vocabulary of other PR Faculty, Students, Alumni Shine communication disciplines; work in PRIME cooperatively as part of a team; and Drake students, alumni and faculty were practice planning, organizing, managing, among the stars of the annual Central executing, promoting, and analyzing a Iowa Public Relations Society of America complex project. These assignments PRIME Awards. ensure our graduates have the skills PRSA honored Associate Professor and necessary to obtain their first jobs and Associate Dean Kelly Bruhn as the ability to adapt and lead in a outstanding public relations professional. demanding professional environment.

Senior Madison McConnell was named Booyah! outstanding student member, and Taylor Drake student publications in October Rookaird, jo’15, was named outstanding won three Associated Collegiate Press new member. Three teams from the Pacemaker awards, the top honors in spring 2016 senior class won PRIME college journalism. Drake Magazine won a awards for their capstone campaigns for magazine Pacemaker; DrakeMagazine.com the community of Manning, Iowa. and Urban Plains, the senior capstone Kevin Waetke, jo’86, gr’93, vice website, won online Pacemakers. Susanna president for strategic communications at Hayward, jo’16, won third place for design the National Pork Board, and his team won of the year, and senior Molly Longman Best in Show and an excellence award for won fifth place for diversity story. special event. Emily Reis Abbas, jo’97, Drake student work was honored with gr’09, chief marketing and 10 Pinnacle awards, including six communications officer for Bankers Trust, first-place honors, at the College Media and her team also won two awards.

Association contest in October. Two of the At the PRSA International Conference top three student magazines in the in Indianapolis, the Drake Public Relations

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Student Society of America chapter was named a Star Chapter for the third year in a row.

Public relations senior McConnell is a finalist for PR News Student of the Year, and senior Tom Scearce is a finalist for Intern of the Year.

Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez The annual SJMC alumni reception will be held during Drake Relays on Saturday, April 29, 5-7 p.m. in the back lobby of Meredith Hall. Catch up with old friends and former faculty members, and make new acquaintances over drinks and snacks. Friends of the late Larry Vint, jo’75, co-founder of the Des Moines alternative newspaper The Planet, will also gather to lift a glass in his memory.

See alumni.drake.edu/SJMCRelays for more information and to RSVP. Drake Joins Worldwide Google News Lab Network Google selected Drake SJMC as one of 48 universities for the initial cohort of the Google News Lab University network. The partnership will offer SJMC students and faculty on-campus and online training in Google tools and techniques, such as data journalism, data visualization, mapping, and immersive storytelling.

On the (Senior) Campaign Trail The public relations seniors have been working this year with the Young Women’s Resource Center, a local nonprofit that provides pregnancy, health and self-esteem programming. The advertising senior capstone client is the National Pork Board.

Odds and Ends Krista Tippett, host of NPR’s On Being, met with SJMC and other students before her Bucksbaum lecture in November…SJMC hosted a post-election discussion on “The Press, the Polls and the Presidential Campaign 2016.” Panelists were nationally recognized public opinion researcher Ann Selzer and political expert David Yepsen…

In December, Drake faculty and students

took a networking bus trip to Minneapolis to tour area agencies and businesses and meet with SJMC alumni and other professionals. Stops included Olson Engage (Korrie Merley, jo’16, and Maria Opatz, jo’14), space150 (Greg Swan, jo’03), Target Corporation, and Mall of America (Kim Hennen (jo’16)…The SJMC hosted a group of international journalists, citizen activists, and professionals from Latin America in October.

In the Know and on the Go Keep up with Drake SJMC news in real time during the academic year through the school’s Monday Memo. If you’d like to get on the mailing list for this weekly electronic newsletter, email Assistant Professor Chris Snider at chris.snider@drake.edu SJMC alumni looking for jobs, or to hire Drake students or alumni, can also check out the Drake Media Gigs blog (drakemediagigs.wordpress.com), or join the SJMC, advertising, or PR and MCL Facebook pages.

Scholarship Honoring Lytle Electronic media alumnus Bob Gillies, jo’89, last year announced the creation of the John Lytle Endowed Scholarship, honoring the Levitt Distinguished Professor of Broadcast News. Gillies said he was inspired to create the scholarship because of the values Lytle imparted to his students: excellence, hard work, and upstanding character. To contribute to the scholarship, contact major gift officer Doug Lampe at Doug.Lampe@drake.edu.

Mark Your Calendars!

The 2017 SJMC Reunion is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, April 29.

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Hoops History For more than three decades, the names of the three top-scoring Drake women’s basketball players have been set in stone. Lorri Bauman (3,115), Wanda Ford (2,636), Sharon Upshaw (2,513).

A six-foot-tall elementary education major broke into the ranks during the Bulldogs’ recent 22-game

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winning streak. Senior Lizzy Wendell scored 2,551 career points, allowing her to snag the third-place spot. With her impressive shooting skills (21.1 points per game that ranked her 13th in the nation), Wendell helped lead the team to a perfect 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference—a first!

SCOREBOARD FALL AND WINTER SPORTS WRAP-UP

CROSS COUNTRY (m) MVC: 7th Senior Reed Fischer had one of the top seasons in Drake history as he became the 13th Bulldog to win the MVC Cross Country Championship. Additionally, Fischer was awarded the MVC Elite 18 Award, given annually to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at a championship finals site. Fischer also finished 50th at the NCAA Championship to narrowly miss earning All-America honors.

Fischer was named MVC Athlete of the Week three times and MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week four times during the regular season.

(w) MVC: 9th Junior Bailee Cofer led the Bulldogs in every race this season as she helped lead a young Bulldog roster. The team’s roster was comprised almost entirely of first-years and sophomores who gained valuable racing experience throughout the year. All but one member of the roster is set to return next year after a season full of multiple personal best performances.

VOLLEYBALL 17–15, 8–10, MVC: 7th The Bulldogs recorded their most successful and first winning season since 2010 with

a 17–15 record under fourth-year head coach Darrin McBroom. The Bulldogs narrowly missed earning a berth in the MVC Tournament but closed out the season with a road win at Illinois State to sweep the season series from the Redbirds for the first time since 2009. Junior Kyla Inderski became just the fourth player to record 1,000 career kills and digs while senior Michelle Thommi finished her career second in all-time digs at Drake with 1,597.

FOOTBALL 7–4, 6–2, PFL: 3rd The Bulldogs ended the 2016 season winning their final four games to finish with a 7–4 overall record and a 6–2 mark in the Pioneer Football League. Senior punter and placekicker Josh Lee was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Year, becoming the sixth Bulldog to earn one of the league’s major awards. Lee was also one of four Bulldogs selected first-team All-PFL along with offensive lineman Aaron Melton, tight end Eric Saubert, and running back Conley Wilkins. Wilkins became the fifth Bulldog since 1987 to rush more than

1,000 yards, while Saubert became the fifth Bulldog since 1987 to surpass 775 receiving yards. Senior Nathan Clayberg garnered College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors for his effort in the classroom and on the field.

SOCCER (m) 6–12-1 2–5–1, MVC: 6th The Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament this past season. Five Drake student-athletes earned MVC honors for their on-field performances led by senior James Wypych, who was selected to the All-MVC First Team for the third-straight season. Joining him on the All-MVC First Team was senior Mueng Sunday who was picked to the first team for the second-straight year.

Rounding out the award winners were junior Steven Enna and senior Darrin MacLeod who each collected All-MVC honorable mention honors and freshman Antonio Sanchez who was named to the MVC All-Freshman team.

James Grunert, Ben LeMay, Sunday, and Wypych were selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team for the second-straight season while Enna and MacLeod

earned honorable mention scholar-athlete accolades for the first time in their careers.

Wypych was named to the CoSIDA Academic AllAmerica Second Team. He is the first Bulldog to be named a CoSIDA Academic AllAmerican since 2013.

(w) 12–4–3, 2–3–1, MVC: 5th The Bulldogs finished with the most wins in a season since 2012, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Drake’s defense recorded a program-record 11 shutouts.

Eight Bulldogs were recognized by the MVC for their on-field performances.

Seniors Kayla Armstrong and Sarah Grace Nicholson were each tabbed to the All-MVC First Team while sophomore Alyssa Brand was picked to the All-MVC Second Team.

Senior Brooke Dennis and juniors Brooke Salisbury and Ali Smith garnered All-MVC honorable mentions. Cassie Rohan and Annie Schmitz were named to the MVC All-Freshman team.

Armstrong, sophomore Linda Fiorito and Smith were each selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team.

All Athletics, all the time: GoDrakeBulldogs.com

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“ My professors worked with me to balance assignments and class time around my first legislative session.�

Jack Whitver

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Layered Lives CAREER CHANGE CAN BE A MATTER OF DEGREES, AS DRAKE HELPS THESE ALUMNI BUILD WHAT’S NEXT.

By Mark Sheehy / Alumni Portraits by Bob Blanchard

LIFE IS A PROCESS OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL REINVENTION. OUR INTERESTS CHANGE. THE ECONOMY, THE JOB MARKET, OUR FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE. SUCCESS IS PREDICATED IN LARGE PART ON HOW CREATIVELY AND EFFECTIVELY WE RESPOND. According to a 2013 Harris Poll survey, more than half of working adults want to change careers. And a 2014 analysis conducted by Indeed Hiring Lab found that more than 80 percent of currently employed jobseekers are looking for work outside of their current industries.

Adults in transition throughout the region have used a Drake degree as their engine of reinvention, writing rewarding second, third, and even fourth chapters of their lives.

Fit to Serve Effective reinvention often requires letting go of past failures—and successes. Iowa State Senate President Jack Whitver, lw’12, has done both in his life. “My first love wasn’t politics,” he says. “It was football. But when I realized in college that I wasn’t going to go pro, I had to find something else to do.”

Whitver set his sights on business. “I went straight from undergrad into an MBA program and wrote a plan for a gym and fitness training business as part of my entrepreneurship class. When I finished the plan, I

thought, ‘Hey, I think I can actually do this,’ and launched Acceleration Iowa Sports Training the next year.” That was success from a kind of failure.

Whitver’s next reinvention grew from his success. “After five years or so, the business was running on its own, and I started to become interested in politics. I thought a law degree would maximize my options. I liked the experiential learning opportunities Drake had to offer. Working with real clients in the Neal and Bea Smith Legal Clinic let me see how the law affects real people, and the Legislative Practice Center gave me a firsthand look into how the state legislature conducts its business.”

During the Christmas break of his second year in Drake Law’s JD program, Whitver won a special election for the State Senate. “It wasn’t even on my radar to run when I started law school, but some friends suggested I throw my hat in the ring. My professors worked with me to balance assignments and class time around my first legislative session.”

The dynamic mix of people at Drake also proved important.

“The senate is full of people from different fields—doctors, teachers, business people—and you need those different perspectives to make good laws. Having to work together with different kinds of people in law school really helped prepare me for that.”

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Inspiration by Design As artist Beth Ann Edwards, as’99, found out, reinvention is sometimes inspired by an “aha” moment later in life.

“I got a teaching degree in the 1970s because I thought it would offer job security,” she says. “But then I married an academic, and we moved around a lot. I earned my MBA and then taught business and worked on my PhD. But I just didn’t love it enough to finish.”

When Edwards’ husband joined the Drake Law faculty, she started thinking about taking some journalism classes as preparation for launching her own writing business.

“Much to my surprise, the J-school dean told me I should go to art school. Since I already knew how to write, and I already knew business, he thought graphic design would round out my skill set to allow me to be a full service creative marketer.”

The suggestion, and Edwards’ decision to pursue it, proved to be eye-opening. “I had no experience in art. I didn’t even doodle when I talked on the phone. But I loved the whole process. Studying the history of art made me feel like I was part of something eternal. And I was fascinated to learn that artistic ability isn’t a free gift; it is a skill and a sensibility that you develop through hard work. That might be the most important thing I learned— that I can do something difficult if I just keep at it.”

After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999, Edwards launched her own graphic design business. Yet her professional evolution continued. Today, with a master’s degree in church music, she is also director of Arts, Handbells and Youth Choirs at St. John’s Lutheran Church.

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s dward E n n A Beth “ That might be the most important thing I learned —that I can do something difficult if I just keep at it.”

Necessity Primes Opportunity Of course, reinvention isn’t always a choice, as Mary Challender, as’11, found out when she was laid off from The Des Moines Register after 24 years as a feature writer.

“Like a lot of newspapers, The Register went through rounds of lay-offs in the 2000s, so I was already thinking about Plan B.” While browsing college catalogs and considering alternative interests, Challender saw that Drake offered a biochemistry, cell and molecular biology major. A couple of things immediately clicked. “I liked the medical and health aspects of biochemistry and how much the field was growing. And I knew DuPont Pioneer hired technical writers, so I already had a job in mind. I applied to Drake the day I got laid off.”

The University accepted as many credits as possible from Challender’s earlier journalism degree so she

er Mary Challend

Allen Zago ren “ So I guess I never really slowed down.”

“ I applied to Drake the day I got laid off.”

could finish her new degree in two years. “Drake’s flexibility was great, but its commitment to students was even greater. Office hours didn’t end until every student lined up outside was helped.”

Challender landed the technical writing job at DuPont Pioneer a few months after her 2011 graduation, launching a career that now takes her into the pages of scientific journals, the inboxes of the seed giant’s visionaries and decision makers, and the cyberspace of online communities. “As a newspaper reporter, I felt my work mattered. I feel the same way at DuPont Pioneer. Government agencies around the world use the research I write about to shape agricultural and environmental policy.”

Keeping Ahead of Your Own Curve The key to reinvention, at least according to Allen Zagoren, bn’04, gr’04, is to always be learning something new. “Constantly educating yourself and sharing what you learn is the essence of a fulfilling life,” says Zagoren, who has reinvented himself several times.

“As a kid, I wanted to be an architect. Then I taught high school biology for a year or two before discovering a passion for medicine.”

After finishing his residency in general surgery, Zagoren developed a second specialty in interventional nutrition and a third in the treatment of non-healing wounds.

In 1999, he had been a practicing trauma surgeon for 18 years, was chair of the department of surgery at Des Moines University, and had just launched a comprehensive wound care clinic in partnership with Drake’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and what was then Des Moines General Hospital.

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Michae l Coltr ain

Mark Adam s

erts d n Le ela g n A “Then my cardiologist told me I needed to slow down.”

So Zagoren “semi-retired” to an assistant deanship for research at Western University of Health Science in Pomona, California. Funding for the position only lasted two years, but the experience catalyzed Zagoren’s next reinvention.

“One of my frustrations as assistant dean was that it revealed a gap in my education,” says Zagoren. “I had run medical practices and academic departments, but the science of business was foreign to me.” He wanted to stay in academic administration, preferably in medical education, and was looking at public health programs.

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A colleague familiar with Zagoren’s dilemma suggested a Master of Public Administration instead.

“While I was still a student in the program, they asked me to teach a health policy course. I was only going to school full time and working part time at the UnityPoint’s Wound Healing Center, so I thought, ‘why not?’ That was in 2005.

Now I’m chairman of the department and still working at UnityPoint. So I guess I never really slowed down.”

With the right combination of ambition and education, there’s no limit to the ways we can transform our work and our lives. Drake remains committed to ensuring every student can maximize their opportunities for reinvention and fulfillment.

Second Callings in First Person Good Business Sense

Energy + Science

Heart of the Matter

I was married with two kids and had been running my own furniture repair business since high school.

Some friends had returned to school later in life and inspired me to do the same. I wanted to see what I could learn and maybe find out how half-baked my self-made business practices were.

During my first college experience, I failed everything. I was a good student in high school. But at that time, I was doing construction and trying to catch on with the Des Moines fire department, and I just liked going to work better than I liked going to class.

I’m the classic story of an aptitude in search of a vocation. I was very good at math in high school and majored in math and economics as an undergraduate, but I never had a clear idea of what I’d do with it.

I drifted into financial analysis and worked for a company that paid for me to get my MBA, but my heart was never in it. Then I started volunteering at my kids’ school and a lightbulb went off. Drake’s Master of Science in Teaching program, which is specifically designed for professionals who already have an undergraduate degree in another subject, was perfect for me.

I was impressed with the engagement of the faculty and their ability to teach new ideas in a way that made sense to my world.

That, combined with the business experience I already had, made me realize I’d only scratched the surface of what I could do in business.

In fact, with the help of Drake’s Lorentzen Student Hatchery, I’m already starting a new one—a craft accounting firm that makes getting your taxes done a lot more civilized.

In our pop-up locations, customers meet with us in private, and we make a draft. Then, while we package it all up nice and pretty, e-file, and get IRS confirmation, they retire to the front of the bar for a free craft brew. I actually consider myself more of an anti-accountant Michael Coltrain Class of 2017, Bachelor of Science, Accounting & Entrepreneurial Management

A lot of firefighters do construction on their off days, but as a paramedic, I liked the medical stuff.

I even thought about med school or becoming a physician’s assistant.

My wife was a pharmacist, and I thought the combination of responsibility and flexibility she had would be a good fit with my job at the fire department.

The faculty and staff have been fantastic. I don’t ask for special treatment, but I talk to them about my goals, and they do everything they can to help me. They helped me land a rotation working with an ER pharmacist, and I really liked it.

It combined the energy of being a paramedic with the science of being a pharmacist. The experience changed pharmacy from a cool second job into a compelling second calling.

Mark Adams Class of 2017, Doctor of Pharmacy

I definitely made the right choice.

I like being in the classes. I like doing the homework. I feel connected to the people I’m studying with. And the School of Education professors are such wonderful people. I’ve never met instructors who care as much about their students as they do. I want to teach, and they are showing me how to be a good teacher.

Angela Lenderts Class of 2018, Master of Science in Teaching

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Fan of the Century AS PAUL MORRISON COUNTS DOWN TO HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY, SOME OF DRAKE’S BEST-KNOWN ALUMNI DESCRIBE THE MAN WHO CHANGED THEIR LIVES.

By Ann Hinga Klein, jo‘86, gr‘86 / Photography by CanoeThere

DOLPH PULLIAM REMEMBERS HOW IT FELT TO STEP INTO THE ARENA AT VETS AUDITORIUM AS A FORWARD FOR THE DRAKE MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM.

personal notes to alumni and clips newspaper articles for the thick files he’s amassed on the thousands of athletes who have worn Drake blue.

There were jitters, of course. And with anxiety came a need to see familiar faces in the crowd. For a young man who had lost both of his parents, it mattered.

In the 1950s, with Drake alumnus and local journalist Bob Spiegel, la’43, he began a newsletter that noted marriages, births, career changes, and achievements within the athletics alumni community. Later, longtime Administrative Assistant Joleen Ostbloom helped produce it. When she retired, others in the department stepped in to assist. Today, Morrison continues to contribute items about former letter winners and coaches.

Today he recalls the names of the people he looked for in those moments: then-Gov. Bob Ray and his wife, Billie; Drake trustee Bill Knapp; and the most steadfast of them all, Drake Sports Information Director Paul Morrison.

“Paul was always there, always behind the scoring table,” says Pulliam (fa’69). “And to me, that was my comfort.”

Morrison’s steadfastness has been so powerful among generations of Drake athletes that mere mention of his name releases a flood of stories from people who knew him during his career in the Drake Sports Information office, from 1945 to 1986, and have continued to count on him as volunteer Bulldogs historian.

At 99, Morrison, jo’39, is still a fixture at Drake scoring tables. His daughter, Holly Dierks, takes him to games (last season, every home football game, every home men’s and women’s basketball game, and three volleyball games) and to the Athletics office three days a week, where he writes

“I’ve been around the largest athletics programs in the country,” says Bob Holliday, la’65, jd’68, who played football for Drake in the 1960s and went on to officiate Big-8 and Big-12 football and serve as president of the National Football Foundation.

“Nobody else I’ve seen has anyone like Paul Morrison.

If I don’t know where somebody is or what they’re doing now, I can call Paul Morrison or Joleen and get it in a heartbeat. He is the glue that has held all of us former Drake athletes together.”

Somewhere along the way, Morrison was nicknamed “Mr. Drake,” but even that moniker fails to capture his unwavering support for the University.

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Dolph Pulliam needed Paul Morrison as much as maybe any Drake student ever has. Born in the pre-Civil Rights South, he moved with his parents and nine siblings from Mississippi to southern Missouri in the 1950s. Not long after the move, Pulliam’s mother and father, who had taken jobs picking cotton for a local farmer, were killed in a crime that the family would come to believe had been committed by local residents.

Still, Jackson, ed’70; gr’74, was surprised when Morrison approached him in the Fieldhouse on his first day at Drake.

He remembers the gracious words: We’re lucky to have you at our University. You’ll be great.

From there, Pulliam and his siblings moved to Gary, Indiana, to live with an aunt. And while he excelled in high school sports, the loss of his parents shook him deeply. He arrived in Des Moines by bus in 1965 feeling—at 6’4”—like a “shy, lonely little kid.”

At a home basketball game that winter, Jackson watched as former Drake athletes stepped out onto the court at halftime to receive the coveted Double D Award. “How do I get one of those?” he later asked Morrison, who told him to be a student first, an athlete second, and a good citizen always.

When Pulliam went to purchase a ticket for a varsity basketball game that winter, Morrison was behind the ticket counter, and recognized him. “I’m expecting great things from you,” he said.

For the next four years, Jackson stopped by the Athletics office often for doses of Morrison motivation. He went on to excel as anchor of the Drake Mile Relay team and earn a master’s degree, later working as a principal in urban school districts in Cleveland, Seattle, and Philadelphia.

The words gave Pulliam what he needed most: acknowledgment that he belonged.

In the four years that followed, Morrison showed Pulliam what belonging meant: working hard in the classroom and on the court, and staying out of trouble. “He also passed on his love of Drake,” recalls Pulliam. “He told me about his parents and other people who had come before me. He helped lay that foundation for me.”

Michael J. Jackson arrived on campus with more of a sprinter’s swagger. He’d grown up in Pittsburgh but transferred to Boys Town High School near Omaha his senior year of high school, he says, to get away from gangs.

As anchor of the Boys Town Mile Relay team, he’d won a Nebraska State Gold Medal in 1966. Drake track coach Bob Karnes recruited him the following year.

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Even now, Jackson describes the moment with wonder.

“He made me feel like I was the most special person who had ever come to Drake University.”

In 1993 he returned to campus as a Double D Award winner.

“When I walked off the court after the ceremony that day the first hand held out to me was Paul Morrison’s.”

“ When you needed that smile, you knew where to look. When you needed that pick-me-up, you knew where to look.

And when you needed that faith that people were good and kind and positive, you knew where to look.”

—Jan Jensen

Are you a fan?

Wish Paul “Happy Birthday,” and share a good story about Mr. Drake: alumni.drake.edu.

Jan Jensen came to Drake from Kimballton, a community in West Central Iowa that was so into girls’ basketball that business owners closed up shop and headed to Des Moines —along with pretty much everyone else in town—whenever the Elk Horn-Kimballton Lady Danes made the finals in the Iowa High School Girls Basketball State Tournament.

In her senior year of high school—Iowa’s final season of six-on-six women’s basketball—she’d averaged 66 points per game.

Jersey number 13 now hangs in the Knapp Center, one of just three that have been retired for women’s basketball players here. But it wasn’t only the successes that taught Jensen to appreciate Paul Morrison, first as a student and later as an assistant coach for the Drake women’s basketball team.

“If you’d lost at the buzzer, he would be the first to say, ‘We’re gonna get back at it tomorrow,’” recalls Jensen, jo‘91, gr‘96. “When you needed that smile, you knew where to look. When you needed that pick-me-up, you knew where to look. And when you needed that faith that people were good and kind and positive, you knew where to look.

He was everybody’s biggest fan.”

Late last year, her 16th with the University of Iowa women’s basketball program, Jensen received word that her high school coach was in a Des Moines hospital, nearing the end of his life. She arrived in time to say goodbye but left the hospital knowing she would never see him again.

In a moment of reflection, she took the westbound entrance onto i-235 instead of looping east toward Iowa City. And when Paul Morrison opened his door, Jensen’s world began to balance again. For the next hour, the two shared memories and news.

“It was warm, it was positive, and it was happy,” says Jensen.

“It felt good to see an old, familiar face that I’d known for a long, long time.”

Now retired and living 20 minutes from the Gary home he once shared with family, Dolph Pulliam takes an eightmile power walk every morning. His inspiration, he says, is Paul Morrison, who he so often saw making the walk from his Drake neighborhood home to his campus office.

Recently, a student Pulliam often passes on his walks asked his name. The next day, the young man, who wrestles on his high school team, stopped Pulliam again. “I Googled your name,” he said, bringing up the Bulldogs’ historic near-upset of UCLA in the 1969 NCAA National Semifinals.

“You’re a celebrity!”

But for Pulliam, it has never been about the accolades.

It’s been about being part of something that’s bigger than himself, just like his mentor.

It’s the reason Pulliam worked as Drake’s director of Community Outreach and Development for 24 years, and why he broke down, body shaking, after his halftime retirement ceremony when Morrison looked up from the scoring table and said, “Dolph, don’t forget Drake.”

“So many people go to a university, and all they see is the brick and mortar,” says Pulliam. “But who are the people who have kept that place alive and vibrant and growing, ready to meet the future?”

For Drake, assures Pulliam, that is Paul Morrison.

“He is one of those people who allowed other people to step on his shoulders to get height, to get where they are.

“He showed me what loyalty was all about.”

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Peace by Piece A CORPS OF BULLDOG VOLUNTEERS CONNECTS WITH THE UNFAMILIAR ALONG FAMILIAR THREADS.

By Alyssa Young, gr’15 / Photography by Dylan Huey

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FOOD SECURITY, EDUCATION, DISEASE PREVENTION, HEALTH CARE. A CARD GAME, FRESH FLOWERS, KNEE SOCKS, PING PONG. Complex issues and simple shared interests define the Peace Corps. Since its inception in 1960, thousands of Americans have traveled to all corners of the globe to tackle the pressing concerns of the day, and have found connection and meaning in the basic activities of everyday life.

Hundreds of Drake alumni are among the Peace Corps ranks of the past 50-plus years. In spring 2016, Drake was named to the Peace Corps’ annual Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list, coming in at No. 23 among small universities. A total of 269 Drake alumni have served overseas, including eight currently completing their two years of service. For these alumni, the Peace Corps is an intentional, practical step in their post-graduation lives, as well as an experience that defies all expectations.

“The World Is Flattening” “I guess Peace Corps was like this massive sneeze after the monotony of school for 16 years. It disrupts everything in your life, but it also feels really, really good.”

After completing a degree in international relations, Lukas Olynk, as’12, spent his Peace Corps service in Togué, Senegal, pop. 150, as a sustainable agriculture extension agent. He worked with farmers in their fields to test improved seed varieties—rice, sorghum, millet, corn, and more.

When he wasn’t working, Olynk lived in a small, circular hut without electricity or running water, showering with a bucket of water and utilizing an outdoor latrine. He spent his nights playing a complicated card game, “Mariage,” with his host brother “in a hut underneath a flashlight dangling from a piece of string, drinking attaya (green tea with a whole lot of sugar.)” He was known by the name given by his host family, Mawdo Maliki Kamara—Maliki or Lik for short.

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Today Olynk goes by his American name in Washington, D.C., where he works as an international relations officer in the Bureau of International Labor Affairs. He works to eliminate child labor in sub-Saharan Africa.

“I’m passionate about international relations and international development because the world is flattening.

We can see across the globe with a click of our mouse, but the only way to truly understand people, culture, or language is to go there, wherever that may be.”

“I’m a Firm Believer” American boy, are you cold? was a common refrain called after Crist Chensvold, as’97, an international relations and German double major, during his time in Vladivostok, a port city on Russia’s southeastern boarder—about as close to San Francisco as Moscow. While he felt safe and mostly welcome, Chensvold had been prepared in training for the suspicion that followed him—both figuratively and literally in the form of an FBS (formerly KGB) agent.

But on Sept. 11, 2001, the teasing immediately ceased.

Chensvold was in-country, teaching English to 6th, 10th, and 11th graders on that calamitous day. Information was scarce—he saw videos of the planes hitting the World Trade Center's twin towers only after he returned to the states months later.

“Any discipline issues I had with students stopped overnight,” Chensvold remembers of the cultural shift he experienced. “Students wanted to bring me flowers, a traditional sign of showing sympathy. It was really touching.”

“ I guess Peace Corps was like this massive sneeze after the monotony of school for 16 years. It disrupts everything in your life, but it also feels really, really good.”

—Lukas Olynk, as’12

Chensvold, now working in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Department of the Interior says the emotional experience reinforced the value of the Peace Corps and its mission.

“I’m a firm believer in the [premise that the] more connections we have with people around the world, the less likely a conflict is to happen. The Peace Corps is practically free diplomacy.”

“Everybody Can Do More Than They know” Sharon Wegner’s, as’06, lw’14, journey to South Africa for her Peace Corps service was not her first to the continent. While majoring in politics and history as a Drake undergraduate, she studied abroad in Uganda, living in Kampala and also spending a month and a half in refugee camps.

“There’s some kind of pull about Africa,” says Wegner, who completed her Peace Corps service between her two stints at Drake. “You never really know what you’re going to get or how your day’s going to go. But I have that kind of adventurous spirit. I always knew I wanted to do the Peace Corps.”

Wegner volunteered with a community health outreach program, primarily focused on HIV/AIDS education.

The region she served was considered to have the highest HIV rate in the world at the time at 40 percent. But despite the millions of dollars coming into the country for this very reason, Wegner found most still did not understand the virus. One stark memory from her first weeks in the country were the condom wrappers that littered the ground.

“I thought, ‘Great! Clearly these efforts are making an impact,'” recalls Wegner. “But then I found out that teen girls were actually cutting the condoms up and using them to keep their socks up.”

“ It’s truly an amazing experience.

I always asked my students ‘what is your dream?’ And when they asked me what mine was, I said, ‘This is my dream. I’m living it.’”

—Lexy Huber, as’12 young women in the area. This work prepared her well for one of her current roles, serving as an attorney with Too Good To Lose, a Polk County court program aimed at supporting female juvenile offenders.

“You get a lot more than you give,” Wegner says of her time in the Peace Corps. “You realize how much you can handle; everybody can do more than they know they can.”

“What Is Your Dream?”

Lexy Huber, as’12, an international relations and politics double major, determined the Peace Corps would be part of her future during her first year at Drake, when a former volunteer spoke to her comparative politics class.

Huber served in Morocco, teaching English, running a girls’ ping pong club, and providing health care education.

But it was the connections, culture, and everyday living that she remembers the most: Experiencing Islamic traditions; sitting on the roof of her apartment; playing with her host brothers, ages 18-months to seven; learning how to eat only with her right hand—“I had to sit on my left hand for months when I ate.”

“It’s truly an amazing experience," says Huber, now a contract specialist with the U.S. General Services Administration in Washington, D.C. "I always asked my students ‘what is your dream?’ And when they asked me what mine was, I said, ‘This is my dream. I’m living it.’”

Seeing that more education was needed, she started an informal girls’ group to encourage discussion and education about HIV/AIDS and other issues affecting

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then Between 1946 and 1966, 13 new buildings—designed by distinguished architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; Harry Weese & Associates; and Brooks Borg Skiles—were constructed on Drake’s campus.

Look closely at this circa 1960 master plan (crafted by Harry Weese & Associates and built on the earlier vision of Eero Saarinen & Associates) and you’ll see landmark buildings that anchor today’s campus—as well as several that never made their way past the concept stage.

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What’s that?

Find the building key online at alumni.drake.edu.

& now In 2014 the Drake University Board of Trustees launched the $65-million STEM@DRAKE initiative. Along with new academic programs and renovations to existing buildings, the bold vision paved the way for the construction of two new academic buildings that will house science, technology, education, and math programs, as well as The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center. The north side of campus will be transformed when these buildings open in fall 2017.

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| class acts

As published in dsm magazine, Nov/Dev 2016

1950s Elaine (Graham) Estes, bn’53, Des Moines, was honored as one of dsm magazine’s “Sages Over 70.” The former library director and race/gender groundbreaker was recognized for making a meaningful difference in the lives of others and in the strength of Greater Des Moines.

Ethelee (Strong) Dixon, ’54, Valatie, N.Y., is a professional piano accompanist.

1960s Glenn Holtz, bn’61, Naples, Fla., was recently inducted into the Naples Chapter of SAR (Sons of the American Revolution), which requires a member to document their lineage to a relative who served in the war.

Bruce Leinbach, bn’64, gr’69, West Covina, Calif., was named Citizen of the Year in this city of 110,000 that lies 20 miles east of Los Angeles. Bruce has lived there since 1974.

Loretta (Tursi) Sieman, la’66, gr’72, Clive, Iowa, was honored as one of dsm magazine’s “Sages Over 70.” The business and community leader was honored for making a meaningful difference in the lives of others and in the strength of Greater Des Moines.

THE YEAR WAS

1970s Robert Yahr, bn’70, Elmhurst, Ill., retired from Marquette University on December 31, 2015.

Robert Kelley, la’71, Pittsburgh, Pa., was named a distinguished service professor at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University in honor of his contributions to the field of management and to the business school.

1957

• The Billboard top single of the year is “All Shook Up”

by Elvis Presley, which spent eight weeks at No. 1.

• Wham-O throws out the first Frisbees.

• USSR launches Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, the latter with canine cosmonaut Laika on board.

Were you on campus in 1957?

Share your favorite memories: #DURemember or bluemag@drake.edu

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SHADES OF BLUE

Fit to be Pro

(Left to right) Elaine (Graham) Estes, bn’53; Loretta (Tursi) Sieman, la’66, gr’72; and Ray Lipovac, jo’73, gr’85

Joseph Marquart, jo’71, Cedar Falls, Iowa, became an AARP/ Iowa Executive Council volunteer. He testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on “Protecting Older Americans from Financial Exploitation.”

Natalie Graziano was paging through a fitness magazine in 2002 when she came across an article that brought her to a stop. A Drake senior at the time, she’d grown up competing in a national program that combines high-flying gymnastics with cheerleading. Now, she scanned photos of women leaping and flipping in the Ms. Fitness Olympia competition.

“All I could see was stuff I already knew how to do,” she recalled recently. And based on results she’d achieved in the Drake weight room as a cheerleader, she was pretty sure she could build the lean muscle she saw on the competitors. “I thought, Where do I sign up for this?”

Graziano, as’02, put the dream on hold while she earned advanced degrees in both occupational therapy and physical therapy at the University of St. Augustine.

She circled back in 2011, after establishing a career as a physical therapist in Tampa.

Within two years, she had won her way to the International Federation of Bodybuilding’s professional level.

In the weeks before a show, Graziano dedicates roughly three hours per day, seven days a week, to weightlifting and practicing a choreographed routine that demonstrates strength and stamina.

She also measures her food—fish, lean steak, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, broccoli, cauliflower, quinoa, and rice—down to the gram. Like all competitors, she minimizes body fat and fluids to maximize the appearance of muscle striation, or “feathering.”

The rest of the year, she practices a more sustainable routine of diet and workouts— about an hour and a half to two hours in the gym four or five times a week. “When people look at competitors, they don’t realize that you don’t look like that year-round.”

As a pro, Graziano can teach, choreograph, and gain product-based sponsors. Most meaningfully, though, she can compete alongside the world’s best. “I had watched those ladies in the back of the magazines for years,” she says. “When I stepped onstage with them, they were my peers.”

L. David Patterson, fa’72, Dubuque, Iowa, retired from teaching after a 42-year career in music education.

Photography by Bob Croslin

Ray Lipovac, jo’73, gr’85, Kansas City, Kan., was chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs as “Chiefs Kingdom Champion” and a “Hometown Hero.” He not only shook hands with former running back Christian Okoye but also threw out the first pass at Arrowhead Stadium before September’s Chiefs vs. NY Jets game. Lipovac was honored for his work with the NFL Play 60 program as well as his 42 years of teaching and 28 years of coaching high school football.

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’76

Michael Pierce was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2017.

Holli (Ewoldt) Safley, fa’74, Peterson, Iowa, retired after a 42-year career in public school music education.

Lloyd Fry, jo’75, Chicago, Ill., has been elected chairman of the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, a Chicago-based philanthropic organization founded by his grandfather. The foundation dedicates its grant-making to strong nonprofit organizations in the areas of education, arts learning, employment, and health.

Michael Pierce, bn’76, Houston, Texas, has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2017, and was named for specific expertise in the 2016 edition of The Legal 500 directory published

by Legalease.

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Gerald Yost, jo’76, Minneapolis, Minn., is a senior partner at Yost & Baill, LLP. He also serves on five boards of directors.

1980s Leslie Richards-Yellen, fa’80, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was named president of the National Association of Women Lawyers for 2016–2017. She is also a member of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms Board of Directors and the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession’s Advisory Board.

Tammy Perkins, la’81, Phoenix, Ariz., became a faculty associate with Bob Ramsey Executive Education, School of Public Affairs, College of Public Service & Community Solutions, Arizona State University.

Jill J. Johnson, bn’82, gr’83, president of Johnson Consulting Services, has received the first-ever Mentor of the Year Award from the Women’s Health Leadership Trust. Jill is a mentor to many current Drake students and recent graduates.

Christopher Thomas, la’82, Phoenix, Ariz., joined Perkins Coie as a partner in the firm’s Environment, Energy & Resources practice.

Beverly (Caro) Duréus, la’83, lw’86, Cedar Hill, Texas, wrote the book Holiday Island, the first volume of a six-part book series for children. She also completed her doctorate degree in theology at Southern Methodist University.

Susan Shields, ph’83, Des Moines, has been elected to the Advisory Board of MMCAP, the group purchasing organization for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies used by government facilities in 49 states.

SHADES OF BLUE

Behind the Spotlight

(Left to right) Michael Pierce, bn’76, Leslie Richards-Yellen, fa’80, Jill J. Johnson, bn’82, gr’83, Robert Kirschbaum, gr’84

Robert Kirschbaum, gr’84, Sheldon, Iowa, has been selected as the next executive director of the Pearson Lakes Art Center.

Elizabeth Davy, la’86, Aurora, Ill., a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Illinois, opened a private practice in Sugar Grove, Ill. Catherine (Oliphant) Bonnema, as’87, Eagle, Idaho, was promoted from associate professor to professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Idaho State University.

If you’re one of the millions worldwide who’s seen a Cirque du Soleil show, you’ve experienced the brand’s breathtaking mix of color, sound, and movement. If you’re a Drake Bulldog, here’s your exclusive peek behind the scenes.

As lead lighting technician for the “Michael Jackson ONE” show at Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, Matt Avery, as’09, manages daily maintenance on 250-plus moving lights as well as the computerized system that takes them through 10,000 cues for each 90-minute performance.

Growing up in Milwaukee, Avery got to know the entertainment industry through his dad, a photographer whose clients included the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.

Avery also participated in high school theatre, preferring design and technical roles to performance. “At concerts with friends, when everyone else was watching the band, I was looking at the lights.”

When Avery visited Drake as a prospective student, theatre design and technology students told him they’d worked concerts and Broadway shows that came through Des Moines. “I remember thinking ‘Really? How much of this is real?’”

A few weeks into his first semester, he got his answer when Associate Professor of Theatre Arts John Pomeroy asked if he wanted a job loading out a Green Day concert at Wells Fargo Arena. During the next four years, he worked local shows, sometimes until 5 a.m. before grabbing a few hours’ sleep and hurrying to class at 8. After Drake, he worked car shows and concert tours in Southern California and earned a master’s degree in project management from Penn State before landing a position running a spotlight with Cirque du Soleil in 2013.

He now describes himself as a jack-of-all-trades, handling electrical work and circuit board maintenance so that light fixtures and set pieces seamlessly receive data transmitted from the console. The technology is constantly evolving, but Avery credits Drake for skills that got him and keep him here, including starting-point expertise, trouble-shooting procedures, and professional relationship-building skills.

They’re critical for a world-class show that must go on, night after night. The pace is one he got to know well in his years at Drake. “Deadline pressure?” he says, “I thrive on that.”

James Elsey, gr’88, Bettendorf, Iowa, retired from John Deere after 34 years of service.

Adam Gerol, lw’88, Port Washington, Wis., was appointed to the Wisconsin Bar Association Board of Governors.

Photography by Erik Kabik

Steve Warnstadt, as’89, Sioux City, Iowa, was promoted to brigadier general, serving as the Iowa National Guard’s deputy commanding general for operations.

class acts | spring 2017 | blue

43

SHADES OF BLUE

A League of Her Own Carrie Muskat, jo’78, was a high school junior in suburban Chicago when Title IX broke open interscholastic sports to girls. She went out for basketball, but a stint on the school paper revealed what she really loved: writing about the team.

Sports journalism was new to women, and with that sea change came skeptics. “I spent a lot of time arguing with the guys on the newspaper staff about the merits of women covering sports,” she recalls. “But as my mother will tell you, when people tell me not to do something, I usually go ahead and do it.”

Muskat followed a cousin to Drake, where she gained experience covering women’s athletics for The Times-Delphic and gathering prep scores for The Des Moines Register.

After graduating, she covered sports for newspapers throughout the Midwest and United Press International. She penned a series of baseball-themed books before being tapped in 2001 by MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, to cover the Chicago Cubs.

As a beat writer, she’s at Wrigley Field hours before a game starts in the regular season to interview players and Manager Joe Maddon and develop pregame articles on injuries, lineups, and trends. She covers nearly all of the team’s 162 games, home and on the road, making her own travel arrangements and developing a steady stream of articles about each contest.

The job’s intensity rose last year with playoffs capped by the World Series. When the Cubs stepped up to the plate for Game 1 in Cleveland, Muskat was among the most experienced of the 2,500 sportswriters credentialed for the event.

Later, friends asked if the press box cheered when the Cubs clinched Game 7, stunning skeptics and ending the team’s historic 108-year championship drought. “It’s not like that at all,” she told them, describing the pressure of tracking plays and stats and putting them into words as a game unfolds. “We’re working.”

It wasn’t until after Game 7, when she returned to Chicago and stopped by Wrigley Field, that she understood the impact of the championship. Wiping tears, she watched fans writing with chalk on the ballpark’s brick walls, posting messages like, “Grandpa, I wish you were here. We did it.”

Asked about her own historic climb, she changes the subject back to the Cubs.

She’s not one to dwell on skeptics.

(Left to right) Steve Schwarze, as’92; Anissa

(Meyers) Lightner, ed’94; Emily (Reis) Abbas, jo’97, gr’09; Kristin (Summers) Meyer, ph’00

1990s Scott Koeneman, jo’90, Champaign, Ill., is the assistant dean of libraries for advancement at the University of Illinois.

Katherine Massier, lw’91, Des Moines, entered into a partnership with Branstad Law, PLLC. Richard (Rik) Nemanick, as’91, bn’91, St. Louis, Mo., published his first book, The Mentor’s Way. The book is based on more than a decade of experience teaching mentors his eight rules for developing others.

Photography courtesy of Carrie Muskat

Steve Schwarze, as’92, Missoula, Mont., co-authored Under Pressure: Coal Industry Rhetoric and Neoliberalism, a book identifying five rhetorical strategies that the coal industry uses to advance its interests in the face of mounting economic and environmental pressures.

44 blue | spring 2017 | class acts

Business Record

John Bentley, ph’93, gr’93, Oxford, Miss., won the 2016 University of Mississippi Faculty Achievement Award.

Kari (Kapteina) Palutis, jo’96, Wentzville, Mo., became the VP of account management at Sandboxx Ad Agency.

Charlie Donlea, as’94, has published his first novel, Summit Lake. His second novel, The Girl Who Was Taken, is scheduled to publish in 2017.

Emily (Reis) Abbas, jo’97, gr’09, Des Moines, was selected by the Des Moines Business Record as a 2016 Emerging Woman of Influence, which celebrates the work of women who have made a difference. Abbas serves on Drake’s board of trustees.

Anissa (Meyers) Lightner, ed’94, was awarded the University of Minnesota Career Development Network’s Golden Achievement Award, recognizing her work with Gopher student-athletes and the local community.

Timothy Coonan, as’96, lw’02, Des Moines, joined the Davis Brown Law Firm as special counsel in the Government Relations Department.

Jenny (Copeland) Goddard, fa’96, Escondido, Calif., became the senior art director at Greenhaus Advertising Agency.

Heather (Stockmann) Bachman, as’97, St. Louis, Mo., became the executive director for The Camp Rainbow Foundation.

’00

Kristin Meyer has been recognized for exemplifying the practice of pharmaceutical care to the senior population.

2000s Kristin (Summers) Meyer, ph’00, Marshalltown, Iowa, received the 2016 Armon Neel Senior Care Pharmacist Award from the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists for exemplifying the practice of pharmaceutical care to the senior population.

David Lane, lw’97, San Antonio, Texas, was promoted to property and casualty counsel at USAA home office in San Antonio, Texas, after spending the last nine years as USAA staff counsel in the San Francisco office.

Casey Prince, bn’00, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been hired as downtown executive director by the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance. In his new role, he will execute on the priorities, goals, and strategies of the Downtown Self-Supporting Municipal Improvement District.

Susan (Atkinson) Johnson, as’99, Las Vegas, Nev., wrote Some Dreams Are Worth Keeping, a memoir of her bipolar journey.

Kristin Wells, jo’00, Peoria, Ill., was promoted to field support manager of Maxim Healthcare Services.

class acts | spring 2017 | blue

45

G

PL

A

T BUL LD O

NE

C

I

OI

CH

S

SPRING 2017

AG

O, ILL

IN

CHICAGO ’DOGS There are more than 5,900 alumni living and working in the Chicago/Rockford area—the largest concentration outside Central Iowa. A dedicated, enthusiastic group of these proud Bulldogs keep in touch via social media, locally organized events, and Drake-sponsored gatherings.

Some, like Bonnie Collins, la’83, are involved on many levels. Collins, an IT contract manager with McDonald’s Corporation, mobilized Chicago alums in the western suburbs to join in on DU Good Day last September, holding a garage sale to benefit Teen Parent Connection in Glen Ellyn. She also serves on the Drake Regional Advisory Board, which collaborates with the University and works as its ambassador to the Windy City.

“When you attend the Regional Advisory board, you are at ground zero of making (projects) happen,” says Collins. “The group is diverse in every way—color, age, and other areas. We come together with the agreed goal: to give back as a unified group. A Drake family doing good where we live.”

How do Bulldogs run with the pack in your place on the planet?

bluemag@drake.edu

46 blue | spring 2017 | class acts

Young alumni in Chicago also gather for networking, service, camaraderie, and to cheer on Bulldog athletics, much of this facilitated by the Drake Alumni of the Chicago Area Facebook page. Tisleen Singh, jo’10, gr’14, an account executive with Cappex, is at the forefront of a local effort to bring together alumni from both city and suburbs for monthly downtown happy hours.

“Connecting with other Bulldogs takes me back to my roots, the type of bold, motivated, and intelligent people I was surrounded by all the time at Drake,” says Singh. “It reminds me why I’ve gotten where I am today—because of everything I learned on that campus, and because of what all my fellow friends and mentors taught me.”

Other alumni enjoy mentoring the next generation of Chicago Bulldogs.

David Golder, fa’79, managing partner of Golder Investment Management and chairman of the Drake University Board of Trustees, together with his wife, Carol, open their Winnetka home to admitted students for dessert receptions. It’s something they’ve been doing, in partnership with Drake’s Office of Admission, for more than a decade.

“It’s a lot of fun to talk to them about what they’re interested in and see where they are in the decision process,” says Golder. “Then four years later, they connect with me on LinkedIn as professionals.”

(Left to right) Jessica Whitfield, fa’02; a total of 10 (10!) Bulldogs recognized in Des Moines’ Business Record

Samantha (Kirner) Fett, jo’01, Carlisle, Iowa, was promoted to sales and marketing director at the Iowa Newspaper Association and Customized Newspaper Advertising in Des Moines.

Carolyn (Henson) Gunkel, bn’01, lw’06, Clive, Iowa, has rejoined Faegre Baker Daniels as an associate in the product liability and environmental group.

Jill (Aldrich) Niswander, bn’02, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Jessica Whitfield, fa’02, Kansas City, Mo., wrote the play Dr. Deranged and the Super Villain Reunion, which was produced by the City Theatre of Independence.

Teresa (Tobin) Beenblossom, gr’03, gr’11, Washington, Iowa, became the principal at Lincoln Upper Elementary.

As published in Business Record, March 17, 2017

Nathan Olson, bn’04, Des Moines, entered into a partnership with Branstad Law, PLLC.

Gary Glick, as’06, Oxford, Miss., became an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi.

Kim Wall, gr’04, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Maggie White, as’06, lw’13, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Nathan Boulton, lw’05, gr’05, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Sarah (Twinem) Roeder, as’07, Minneapolis, Minn., was named to the 2016 Minnesota Super Lawyers & Rising Stars list. This selection is based on a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, and peer review of candidates.

Matt Fuller, bn’06, Denver, Colo., became the director of development at the University of Denver.

Beth Shelton, gr’07, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Karen Karr, lw’08, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Danielle Rogers, as’08, jo’08, Newton, Iowa, was selected by the Newton Daily News as one of this year’s 20 Under 40.

This award honors the accomplishments and achievements of young men and women under the age of 40 who have demonstrated excellence in their professions and commitment to community service.

Build History with Stories An upcoming Anderson Gallery exhibit will explore campus architecture and connected stories. What are your memories of G-K, Ross, Meredith, FAC, and Olmsted? Submit your comments, scanned photos, or short video about living and working in the Mies van der Rohe and Harry Weese buildings to DrakeUniversityArchitecture@gmail.com. class acts | spring 2017 | blue

47

SHADES OF BLUE

Adding Value As a high school junior, Julie Stackhouse questioned whether she was a good enough student to go to college. She had grown up in a tiny three-bedroom house, sharing one bathroom with her parents and five siblings in small-town Minnesota. The family’s meager means—her mom worked as a hospital housekeeper, her dad, a farm machinery mechanic—meant they rarely saw a doctor. She hadn’t yet graduated when her dad died suddenly of a heart attack.

Stackhouse, bn’80, applied and was accepted to Drake. Calculating her student loan, work-study package, and Social Security survivors’ income, she made her first big financial decision. It turned out to be a good one. She thrived as a finance major, and with the support and challenge of Drake faculty went on to graduate summa cum laude and accept a position as an assistant bank examiner with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

During a time of severe financial stress in several parts of the country, and when gender politics maintained heavy sway in many sectors, the Fed recognized Stackhouse’s hard work, she says, promoting her to officer in 1986 and senior vice president in 1993—the first woman to reach these levels for the organization.

In the years since, she’s assisted the Federal Reserve in addressing even bigger challenges, including the implementation of short-term loans that helped stabilize banks in the weeks after September 11, 2001 (she was at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that day, just two blocks from the Twin Towers) and during the U.S. financial crisis in 2008.

She now serves as executive vice president and a managing officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. And last year, when professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi awarded her its Deltasig Career Achievement Award, Janet Yellen, chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, was among those who paid tribute.

For Stackhouse, success was never a given. Rather, she credits her accomplishments to self-discipline, organization, and the values her parents modeled: hard work and pride in being part of a team.

No matter what the challenge, she says, her response is the same: “There’s an opportunity here to do something that really matters.”

Editor’s Note: Information listed was submitted prior to Dec. 1, 2016, and may be edited for clarity and space.

Class Codes as* Arts & Sciences bn Business & Public Administration dv Divinity ed Education fa* Fine Arts

gr Graduate Studies jo Journalism & Mass Communication la* Liberal Arts ph Pharmacy &

Health Sciences *The reorganization of Drake’s colleges and schools in 1987 combined liberal arts and fine arts. Pre-1987 alumni are identified with la or fa; post-1987 with as.

48 blue | spring 2017 | class acts

Photography by Ashley Gieseking

lw Law

(Left to right) Shelley (Russell) Skuster, jo’08, Olga Reding, bn’16

’08

Shelley Skuster received the Hope Award for Best Blog for shining light on infertility with ShelleySkuster.com.

Shelley (Russell) Skuster, jo’08, Windsor Heights, Iowa, was awarded the Hope Award at the RESOLVE’s Night of Hope Gala in New York City. Shelley received the Best Blog award for her blog, ShelleySkuster.com, which raises awareness about infertility and sheds light on living with the disease.

2010s Crystal (Nance) Everett, as’10, jo’10, Kansas City, Mo., became the program director for 20/20 Leadership, a program named with the idea of keeping 20/20 eyesight on a bright future full

of opportunity, community connection, and a joyful career. Her work with 20/20 Leadership was featured in Kansas City’s 435 Magazine.

Corey Watt, gr’10, Oxford, Ohio, became the assistant director for employer relations at Miami University.

Melissa Grant, lw’11, Sioux City, Iowa, became an attorney at Heidman Law Firm.

William Scales, lw’11, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Alyssa (Cashman)Young, gr’15, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

Lucas Draisey, lw’16, Adel, Iowa, joined the Litigation Division of the Davis Brown Law Firm.

Olga (Beglet) Reding, bn’16, New Castle, Colo., created a USDA Certified Organic makeup and body care company. She developed the first USDA Certified Organic loose face powder in the country.

Got News?

Share what’s happening in your life—professional and personal—by submitting a class note and photo: Visit alumni.drake.edu/update.

Join fellow Bulldogs online! alumni.drake.edu /socialmedia

Brianne Sanchez, gr’13, was named a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree.

class acts | spring 2017 | blue

49

IN MEMORIAM

1930s

Dorothy (Mattheis) Ross, ed’38,

San Diego, Calif.

1940s Carl Hoffman, ’42, Escondido, Calif. •

William Brobst, la’57, Englewood, Colo. • Norris Olney, lw’57,

Charles Stroud, bn’42, Panora, Iowa • Marlys (Read) Cook, fa’44, gr’46, Clive, Iowa • Jack Dewey, ’44, Council Bluffs, Iowa • Norma (Cagley) Kramer, fa’44, Clarinda, Iowa • Betty Jean (Campbell) Lindquist, ’44, Des Moines • Ruth (Maniece) Brown, fa’46, gr’70, Granger, Iowa • Robert Newberg, bn’48, Des Moines • Eleanor (Ragan) Rowley, fa’48, Boise, Idaho • Richard Strickler, la’48, lw’50, Des Moines • Philip Ballou, ed’49, gr’52, Marco Island, Fla. Norman Barman, bn’49, gr’69, Edina, Minn. • Bill Freimuth, la’49, gr’55, Des Moines • William Lightfoot, la’49, lw’51, Nashville, Tenn. • William Recknor, bn’49, Floyd Knobs, Ind. • William Tegeler, la’49, Urbandale, Iowa

1950s

James Baer, ed’50, Venice, Fla. • Joseph Bell,

’50, Ames, Iowa • James Boyt, bn’50, Des Moines Frank Chmelik, ’50, Okatie, S.C. • Charles Griffin, ed’50, Newton, Iowa • Thomas Jones, ph’50, Clarinda, Iowa

50

Grovier, fa’55, Des Moines • Mary (George) Kemper, ’55, Springfield, Mo. • Jay Roy, bn’55, Des Moines • Margaret (Lilly) Welsh, ed’56, gr’59, Des Moines • Arthur Brne, ph’57, Lisle, Ill. • Marathon, Iowa • Rodney Rhoads, ed’57, Johnston, Iowa • Robert Schnarr, ph’57, Peoria, Ill. • Lois (Gooder) Smith, ’57, Urbandale, Iowa • Glenn Wiesner, fa’57, fa’61, Ballwin, Mo. • Thomas Goodwin, jo’58, Des Moines • Aletha (Shore) Feight, ed’59, Chariton, Iowa • Jay Flynn, ph’59, Clive, Iowa • John Ward, lw’59, Beaverdale, Iowa

1960s

Patricia Riehm, ed’60, Edelstein, Ill. • Paul Rohwer,

la’60, Oak Ridge, Tenn. • Kenneth Schaper, la’61, Ankeny, Iowa • Ellen (Westergaard) Jackson, gr’62, ’72, Saint Cloud, Minn. • Helen Kopp Daume, ed’62, Marysville, Ohio • Anna Marie LeMaster, ed’62, Norwalk, Iowa • Berniece (O’Neil) Wright, ed’62, gr’80, Des Moines • Joseph Bertroche Sr., lw’63, Hiawatha, Iowa • Bonnie (Johnson) Pestotnik, ed’63, Boone, Iowa • Thelma (Davidson) Westerly, ed’63, Liberty Center, Iowa • John Alukos, la’64, Evanston, Ill. • Robert Bowman, la’64, gr’71, Johnston, Iowa • Paul Jones, gr’64, ’67, Adel, Iowa • Marjory Little, ed’64, Des Moines • Velta (Smiltnieks) Goodwin, fa’65,

James Kirkpatrick, ’50, Des Moines • Beatrix (Havens)

Des Moines • Robert Hall, lw’65, Sun Lakes, Ariz. • Steven

Smith, lw’50, Des Moines • Anne (Walters) Amend, fa’51,

Kirkham, bn’65, lw’67, Knoxville, Tenn. • Richard Tomlin, gr’65,

gr’77, Des Moines • Genevieve Brown, ed’51, ed’59, Des

Runnells, Iowa • Elizabeth (Holm) Kline, ed’66, Des Moines •

Moines • Geneva (Devine) Carman, fa’51, Des Moines

Marian (Kouba) Otta, ed’66, McCallsburg, Iowa • Dorothy (Peer)

Betty (Hedberg) Culp, ed’51, Grimes, Iowa • George

Zehr, fa’66, gr’72, Fort Dodge, Iowa • George Arvidson, la’67,

Daniels, jo’51, New York, N.Y. • Dan DeRuyter, bn’52, Sioux

lw’70, Des Moines • Allen Edwards, ed’67, gr’71, Mason City,

Center, Iowa • Richard Johnson, ed’52, gr’66, Urbandale,

Iowa • Anthony Hoekstra, gr’67, Pella, Iowa • Helen (Boege)

Iowa • Alice (Karlen) Bowling, la’53, gr’65, Omaha, Neb. •

Hummel, ed’67, gr’92, Oakland, Iowa • Luellen “Kaye” (West)

Charles Mahaffey, fa’53, gr’58, Peoria, Ariz. • Colette

Trim, ph’67, Runnels, Iowa • Keith Markow, ed’68, Ankeny, Iowa •

(Moeller) Orcutt, ed’53, Clear Lake, Iowa • Gerald Randolph,

Georgene (Morrison) Shank, gr’68, Ames, Iowa • Velva

la’53, Rice Lake, Wis. • Jerry Carnahan, bn’54, Hayesville,

(Hullinger) Owen, ed’69, gr’72, West Des Moines • Delores

N.C. • James McLuen, ph’54, Panora, Iowa • Roger

(Flaugh) Schakel, ed’69, Oak Park Heights, Minn. • Gerhard

Puterbaugh, bn’54, Oconomowoc, Wis. • Dolores (Novonty)

Sheldon, bn’69, Des Moines

blue | spring 2017 | class acts

NEW ACTS

1970s Lila Britson, ed’70, Newton, Iowa • Lavada (Ford) Duffy, ed’70, Des Moines • Margaret (Humeston) Goldsmith, gr’70, Des Moines • Arlene (Steward) Hertz, ed’70, Johnston, Iowa • Barbara Larsen, fa’70, Martinez, Calif. • Esther (Wesack) Sandhorst, ed’70, Madrid, Iowa • William Cruzen, la’71, O’Fallon, Ill. • James Harbolt, lw’71, Beaverton, Ore. • Steven Albers, la’72, Des Moines • Bruce Christensen, la’72, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. • Richard Eggers, bn’72, Des Moines • Darrell Viola, jo’72, Pleasant Prairie, Wis. • William Barnes, ed’73, Littleton, Colo. • Gloria (Mosbach) Thomas, jo’73, Des Moines • Eileen (Miehe) Behrens, gr’74, Waverly, Iowa • Edward Dante, bn’74, Clive, Iowa • Douglas Luebke, lw’74, Corsica, S.D. • Edith (Boldridge) Sharp, ed’74, Indianola, Iowa • Laurence Vint, jo’74, Glendale, Ariz. • Phyllis (Berge) Hanson, gr’75, Des Moines • Ivalyn Faris, la’76, Des Moines • Sally (McClure) Rhoads, ed’76, Johnston, Iowa • Gail Dunning, jo’77, Vail, Colo. • Richard Richards, lw’77, Des Moines • Richard Stickler, la’77, Winterset, Iowa • Phyllis (Vaudt) Behnke, la’78, Clive, Iowa • Eleanor (Bellamy) Hopkins, gr’78, Minneapolis, Minn.

1980s John Mrkvicka, la’80, Frederick, Colo. • David Grombacher, ’81, Northbrook, Ill. • Paul Jennett, la’86, gr’89, Des Moines • Dennis Ridgway, la’86, West Des Moines • Kelly (Channell) Maigaard, jo’89, Urbandale, Iowa

1990s

Jason Peppers, as’99, Norwalk, Iowa • Jean

(Mason) Burt, ed’06, Des Moines • Jordan Burger, ph’12, gr’12, Coralville, Iowa

weddings Doug Bend, as’99, to Joanne Zhong, March 19, 2016 David Gonzalez, jo’04, to Itzavana Marvillas, June 18, 2016 Stephanie Slowinski, bn’07, to Timothy Akroyd, June 2015 Lydia Metzger, jo’11, as’11, to Tim Nevins, July 30, 2016 Ellen O’Byrne, bn’11, to Logan Brinn, ph’13, Sept. 24, 2016 Elizabeth Pace, ph’12, to David Sillence, Oct. 8, 2016 Emma Sorensen, ed’12, to Matthew Lucht, ph’14, July 10, 2016 Jessica McMillan, as’15, to Graham Isaacson, Aug. 6, 2016

births Kristin (Adamson) Gallet de St Aurin, as’07, and Jack Gallet de St Aurin, Arvada, Colo., a son, Jack Phillip Elizabeth Kuhr-Bailey, ph’08, and Matthew Bailey, Park Ridge, Ill., a son Maxwell Fritz Kristin (Holsker) Alt, as’09, and Jeremy Alt, Algonquin, Ill., a daughter, Charlotte Ann Donna (Dubuisson) Dzievit, as’09 and Matthew Dzievit, as’09, Ames, Iowa, a daughter, Cecelia Catherine Lindsey (Purificato) Harrington, jo’09, and Brandon Harrington, Bondurant, Iowa, a son, Cooper Anthony Paige (Pillischafske) Black, ph’10, Whitefish Bay, Wis., a son, Calvin James Margaret (Kigin) Sullivan, ed’10, gr’13, and Timothy Sullivan, ph’10, Downers Grove, Ill., a son, Wyatt Daniel Brittany (Provence) Brady, ph’11, and Ben Brady, Dwight, Ill., a son, William Watson Ellen (Stolz) Walter, ph’11, and Alex Walter, bn’09, Golden Valley, Minn., a son, Riley Bracken Jessica (McMillan) Isaacson, as’15, and Graham Isaacson, Aurora Ill., a daughter, Kate A. Isaacson

class acts | spring 2017 | blue

51

| the b-side

This journalism, history, and public administration grad helps “campers” dive into the past.

Danny Akright AS’10, JO’10, GR’14

They pass around the Taliban radio captured in Afghanistan while the speaker, a retired Army major, gives his account of the Battle of Bulac Kalay. They soak up accounts of Iowa’s one-room schoolhouses and the history of spinning yarn. They are Iowa’s History Campers—nearly 150 strong, gathered at the State Historical Museum of Iowa—and the stuff of Danny Akright’s dreams.

In 2014 Akright, communications manager at Food Bank of Iowa, learned of an effort of alumnus Lee Wright, bn’82, who had just launched an unconventional History Camp in Boston. Akright gave him a call, and the rest is, well, history.

Akright assembled a team to emulate Wright’s concept in Iowa, applying a similar participant-driven model in which people from all walks of life gather to share their passion, and anyone can present their view of history. History Camp Iowa debuted in November 2015 with Wright proudly in attendance.

“Amateurs, professionals, and students all come together,” says Akright, noting the growth of the event in 2016. “Our goal is for anyone who’s passionate about history to engage, connect, and join in the incredibly nerdy fun that is History Camp.”

Visit historycamp.org/iowa to learn more.

What’s spinning on your B-side?

Tell us about your hobby, passion, volunteer gig, favorite pastime, diversion, or obsession: bluemag@drake.edu 52

blue | spring 2017 | the b-side

| alumni calendar april

Beautiful Bulldog Contest April 23 The Knapp Center 108th Drake Relays Presented by Hy-Vee April 26-29

National Alumni Awards April 27 Reading Room, Cowles Library Golden Reunion April 27-29 Drake Campus

may

All-Alumni Tent Party April 28 Olmstead Parking Lot Young Alumni Brunch April 29 Alumni House

june

Alumni Night at Jasper Winery Central Iowa Alumni Summer Series Date TBD Jasper Winery Des Moines

august

july Alumni Bike Ride Central Iowa Alumni Summer Series June 18 Route TBD

Commencement May 12 Drake campus

Let’s DU Lunch: Erin Kiernan, jo’96, WHO-TV May 3 Des Moines Embassy Club

Visit alumni.drake.edu for event descriptions and the most up-to-date details

Sporting KC vs.

Montreal Impact June 10 Children’s Mercy Park/Kansas City

Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers June 21 TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis

september Drake Me Out to the Ballgame August 15 Target Field Minneapolis

CIRAB Alumni at Move-In Day August 23 Drake Campus

Back to School at Peggy’s Central Iowa Alumni Summer Series August 22 Peggy’s Tavern Des Moines

DU Good Day September 16 Nationwide alumni.drake.edu /events

Let’s DU Breakfast: Mark Coyle, as’91, ed’92, University of Minnesota Athletics September 19 Edina Country Club Edina, Minnesota

Drake Me Out to the Ballgame Date TBD Principal Park Des Moines

2507 University Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50311-4505 2217

Peanuts.

Cracker Jack.

Home team.

Bulldogs.

Alumni are gathering in a ballpark near you!

Watch alumni.drake.edu /DrakeMeOut for updates to our 2017 lineup.

Drake Me Out to the Ballgame

Learn about more events: alumni.drake.edu/events