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| Campus News Loras College administrator to head Arts and Sciences John M. Burney, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean of Loras College in Dubuque, IA, has been named dean of Drake University's College of Arts and Sciences and professor of history.  Burney,
who was selected through a national search, will begin his new position by July 1,
2003, to give him time to complete several major initiatives at Loras. "We are
so convinced that he is the best person for the position that we're willing to wait
for one year," said Provost Ronald Troyer. Interim Dean Susan Wright will continue
to lead the college for another year."It is with great anticipation that I look forward to becoming dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Drake University in the summer of 2003," Burney said. "I am impressed with many of the qualities of Drake, including the high caliber of its students, the impressive combination of scholarship and good teaching that is practiced by the faculty. I'm also impressed by the strength of the alumni support, as well as the vision displayed by the University and its leadership in carrying out an extensive Program Review to establish clear five-year goals for further development," added Burney. Burney holds a bachelor's degree from Creighton University as well as two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in modern European history from the University of Kansas. Burney taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Southwest (Minnesota) State University before joining Loras College in 1986 as assistant professor of history. He was promoted to associate professor and then professor before becoming vice president for academic affairs in 1999. He is the author of a book on French educational history that appeared in both English and French editions as well as several articles and essays published in scholarly journals. At Loras, Burney chairs the General Education Committee, the Academic Council and the Faculty Council. He also coordinates the First Year Experience program and directs a $400,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant to develop a Modes of Inquiry First Year Seminar project. He has earned numerous honors, including the Loras College Cardinal Newman Award for Teaching and Service. Cool Beans is hot By David Gonzalez Wake up and smell the coffee -- literally. Now, thanks to several Drake students and the support of Campaign Drake National Chair Madelyn Levitt, campus has a new coffee shop where students can relax, chat with friends or listen to live music, Cool Beans @ Drake. After a year of planning and hard work, Cool Beans @ Drake, a student-created and operated coffee shop, opened April 5, providing students a late-night, on-campus hangout. The process began last fall when students proposed ideas for using the north side of Hubbell dining hall to the Student Senate Institutional Advancement Committee. The committee focused on ideas with the biggest chance of success and decided on a coffee house. From there, Committee Chair Martha Fung, a sophomore accounting major, and President's Council Chair Shawn Rolland, a sophomore public relations major, worked with the Student Senate, the Residence Hall Association, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, Bulldog Radio, interior design majors and a multitude of other students to make this dream come true. "A lot of students were involved since the conception," said Fung, " Some helped get ideas for design and others helped with the actual creation. It was a true student body effort." After much toil and hard work, the students were able to create a business plan that was approved by the President's Cabinet. "It is awesome to have a place to have fun on campus, and to be able to play pool and darts without the presence of smoke or alcohol," said sophomore information systems major Muris Rahmanovic. "Cool Beans has a comfortable atmosphere to be creative in," said sophomore news-Internet major Peggy Nitchals, who has used the new establishment for group meetings and doing homework. Many students use Cool Beans as an alternative to studying at the library or in their room. According to Fung, about 70 to 100 students visit Cool Beans each night. Many students enjoy the convenience of a place to socialize, study, or drink quality coffee on campus well into the night. Some students liked the atmosphere so much that more than 15 applied to work there. Among them is sophomore public relations major Dawn Van Dyke, "I have finally found a job that caters to the night-owl in me." Students built and created different sections in Cool Beans. Andy Dalgaard, a sophomore actuarial science major, and Rob Maul, a sophomore finance major, built a stage that incorporates the view of the Quads Residence Halls through the coffee house's windows as backdrop, and Van Dyke led a team that made decoupage tables with copies of pictures from old Quax yearbooks. Many more students painted the walls and put up decorations. A total of $20,500 of student fees was used to create and run the coffee house. "Students involved really developed ownership. People can say 'I built that' or 'I picked that couch out,'" said Fung. "I'm really amazed with what students have done," said Madelyn Levitt, special assistant to the president. Levitt was so impressed by the students' work and dedication that she donated $25,000 for the improvement and maintenance of Cool Beans. "What is Drake University? It's the students. And I thought that this was something students wanted and deserved," said Levitt. Fung said the students plan to use Levitt's gift to buy a karaoke machine, more furniture, and maybe Internet access. David Gonzalez is a sophomore public relations and Spanish double major from El Paso, TX. Students present papers at Denmark conference Stuart Shulman, assistant professor of environmental science and policy, took six of his students to Copenhagen, Denmark, to present papers at an interdisciplinary conference Environmental Justice and Global Citizenship in February. The students won a competition that Shulman held last fall to encourage his students to research and write papers on "Digital Citizenship: A Pathway to Environmental Justice." Shulman is the principal investigator for a $400,000 study funded by the National Science Foundation to promote information technology literacy and identify methods for narrowing the "digital divide." Shulman is working with co-investigators Sally Beisser, assistant professor of education at Drake, and professor of education and statistician Mack Shelley of Iowa State University. Drake presents teaching, mentoring awards Drake University has presented its top awards for teaching and mentoring to Jody Swilky, associate professor of English, and Darrel Bjornson, associate professor of pharmacy administration.
Swilky received the 2002 Madelyn M. Levitt Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award and Bjornson received the 2002 Madelyn M. Levitt Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award. Madelyn M. Levitt, national chair of Campaign Drake and a member of the University's Board of Trustees, created these awards in 1994. In announcing the Levitt Award winners at the Spring Faculty/Staff Recognition Ceremony, Drake Provost Ronald Troyer shared comments from Drake students and faculty members who wrote letters of nomination and support for Swilky and Bjornson. "Professor Swilky had a talent for facilitating discussion that always led to productive, insightful, and even fun dialogue. I looked forward to going to class and learning with an intensity and hunger I had not previously known," Troyer said, quoting from a letter written by a former student. Troyer then quoted from one of Bjornson's students who wrote that "outside of the classroom, Dr. Bjornson can be found advising students on career opportunities, finding internships, working with them on research projects, and listening to frustration and personal hardships. His sympathetic ear has gained him the resounding praises of countless students. He treats everyone he meets like a professional and can really make you feel like he is listening to you, and helping you to the best of his ability. He never asks for anything in return, he merely smiles and laughs with you like a true friend." Drake student's friends find comfort in his selfless legacy By MARC HANSEN A few of the guys at the Theta Chi house were remembering Scott Branson recently. Remembering and laughing. Jeff Seaman, one of the pallbearers at the funeral, holds on to this mental picture. Scott comes bounding into the room, plops onto the couch, lights a cigarette, pokes a wad of chew into his cheek, and pops a beer -- all within a matter of seconds -- while settling in to watch the movie "Rounders" for the umpteenth time. Way to go, Scotty. A house record for number of vices indulged in less than a minute. Seaman smiles at the memory. So do Jason Thiss, Eric Walta and Mike Countryman, the only junior sitting at the table. The others are seniors who knew and loved Branson almost from the day they set foot on the Drake campus as freshmen. They smile partly because Branson was a free spirit and partly because he wasn't really about what not to do. Both his life and his death were an advertisement for doing the right thing. A little more than a year ago, he was walking home after a night out when he saw three white guys ganging up on a black guy not far from the fraternity house. Branson knew nothing of the childish confrontation that led to the fight. All he knew was somebody needed help. Francisco Cortez was heading south on 33rd Street. Another car was trying to turn onto 33rd from Forest Avenue. The two came to a standstill, neither giving way. An argument led to a skirmish, with Branson finally stepping in to break it up. When Cortez worked himself free, he jumped into his sport utility vehicle, backed up and accelerated toward Branson, ramming into him and carrying him 20 feet on the hood. A few hours later Branson was dead. High school quarterback, team captain, homecoming king. Former Theta Chi president. Loving son and brother. Everybody's best friend. Gone at age 21. If this is the definition of a heroic death, it also gives you pause, makes you wonder whether minding your own business isn't really the way to go. Fifteen months ago, when I first talked to Jason Thiss, a hulking football all-American, he was questioning his own value system. Sure, Thiss always figured, he'd help a stranger in trouble. But now he wasn't certain that was such a good idea. Talking to him now, Thiss has softened some. He'd like to think he'd lend a hand but . . . All those old questions, memories and emotions came surging back this week when Cortez struck a plea, agreeing to a 50-year prison sentence. Only four years older than Branson, Cortez could be eligible for parole in nine years. Which doesn't seem to faze Thiss and his fraternity brothers, who say they aren't out for revenge. For the family's sake, they say, it's good that old wounds won't be exposed during a first-degree murder trial. In fact, Scott's parents asked them to promise they wouldn't focus negative energy on Cortez. So they sit around a table at the house and do their best. Seaman says he'd even forgotten the guy's name until it popped up in the news again. "We're just happy the Bransons don't have to come in from Dixon, Illinois, and go through any more unnecessary pain," Thiss says. "They'll be in pain the rest of their lives. At least they don't have to relive it through a trial." The others nod. So instead of dwelling on the crime, they celebrate the life. Already they have celebrated it with a campus memorial service and a Theta Chi brotherhood award created in his name. The alums are putting together a scholarship fund. Drake might be naming one of the dining plazas after him. And you can't miss the big boulder, with the dedication to Scott, on the fraternity house lawn. Branson was planning to attend culinary school after Drake. Before he was killed, he had a summer internship lined up at Pinehurst, the golf mecca in North Carolina. Countryman grew up near Scott. He looked up to him. Scott was one of the reasons he came to Drake. "You can still tell something's missing," he says. "We had our spring formal last weekend. It wasn't the same. I always catch myself thinking, if Scotty were here, he'd be doing this or that." Thiss agrees: "All of us catch ourselves thinking, I wish Scott were here. At the same time, we all know if he could see us sitting down here moping and feeling sorry for ourselves, he'd kick our ass." Marc Hansen is a Des Moines Register columnist. Copyright 2002, reprinted with permission by The Des Moines Register. Alumni and friends wishing to honor Scott Branson are encouraged to contribute to the Scott Branson Plaze project. The Plaza will become the threshold for Hubbell Dining Hall and the recently completed Helmick Commons. Scott Branson Plaza offers a natural place for gathering, conversation and people watching. For more information or to make a contribution, contact Diane Caldbeck at 515-271-3152. |
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