Justice Thomas wows students as distinguished jurist in residence "Participating in a seminar with Justice Thomas has been an unforgettable experience," said Amber Rutledge, a second-year law student from Des Moines. "It was an amazing experience for students to challenge and be challenged by a Supreme Court justice. His approach to teaching the class was to critically analyze many of the major Supreme Court cases, from the adopting of the Constitution to very recent decisions. Usually, law students just memorize the cases and, instead, we questioned them in this class." Brad Romig, a third-year law student from Phoenix, described the seminar with Justice Thomas as "the pinnacle of my law school experience," adding that "I was amazed with his kindness and humility along with his respect for the Constitution and his respect for his role as a Supreme Court justice." The students also got a glimpse of the man behind the robe. "For all his talk of how he and the other justices 'judge from an ivory palace,' he was one of the most modest, engaging and self-effacing people I have ever met," said Brent Smoyer, a second-year law student from Phillips, Neb. "I mean here is one of the most powerful people in American government and he had the time to talk with us after class about everything from confirmation hearings to Nebraska football. As a Husker fan, I really enjoyed talking to Justice Thomas about football. You almost get the feeling he'd like to be a coach rather than a Supreme Court Justice, and yet he strives so hard to do his job well for the American people. I must say I truly admire and respect him for that." David Walker, dean of Drake Law School, described the week as a great success. "It couldn't have been a better week for us," he added. "Students attending the Supreme Court seminar were engaged and thrilled. Justice Thomas was generous in meeting with student groups and he added a number of special events at his own initiative. He met with the entire first-year class and had dinner with 12 first-year students who were selected through a lottery. He also took time to meet with members of the Law School staff who are not lawyers and they very much appreciated that opportunity. "Justice Thomas also had lunch with faculty members every day," Walker added. "Sometimes they talked about recent Supreme Court decisions and at other times the discussion focused on due process, the role of the Supreme Court in the development of our law and the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices. He's very insightful, very engaging and very funny. " Justice Thomas capped off his week at Drake by discussing the U.S. Judicial System with retirees who belong to Drake's RaySociety. "Justice Thomas showed us the human side of the Supreme Court, talking about how well the justices get along with one another," said Don Byers, LW'51, president of the RaySociety and retired general counsel for Maytag Corp. "He said they all respect and trust each other even if they don't agree with each other. He provided valuable insight to all of us." Drake President David Maxwell recently announced the University has received two $500,000 gifts and a $1 million state grant. Peggy Fisher and her husband, Larry Stelter, donated $500,000 to construct a plaza and archway on 28th Street just north of Forest Avenue. The plaza will create an open, beautifully landscaped red brick walkway area with an arched entry serving as the front door to the grand sports facility that has been home to the Drake Relays since 1926. The arch is scheduled for completion by this year's Relays, although the walkway construction will be postponed until summer. "It seemed natural for me because I'm a Drake graduate and Drake has always had a special place in my heart," Fisher said. "My husband, who is an Iowa grad and an avid Hawkeye fan, has been wonderful and has embraced Drake wholeheartedly, even rooting for Drake when we play Iowa in basketball. He was the first one to say 'Yes' when we were asked to make this contribution. I didn't even have to talk him into it." "We feel fortunate to be able to make this gift," Stelter said. "The plaza will finish off the entrance to the stadium so nicely and be a real asset for Drake and Des Moines." A second $500,000 gift from a Drake alumnus who prefers not to be identified at this time, will fund a new building already taking shape in the northwest corner of the stadium. The two-story facility, to be completed by this year's Relays, will house restrooms, concession areas and two locker rooms for visiting athletes, including the Des Moines Roosevelt High School football team. Finally, a Community Attraction and Tourism grant for $1 million from Vision Iowa will aid in the completion of various aspects of the stadium revitalization. "The Vision Iowa Board is proud to support the renovation of Drake Stadium, home of the premier track and field event in the country," said Vision Iowa Chairman Andy Anderson. "In addition to being one of the nation's greatest sporting events, the Drake Relays is a powerful economic tool that brings people from all around the world to Iowa." The stadium rejuvenation project includes a new track, which meets international competition standards, a FieldTurf artificial infield that will accommodate both football and soccer. In addition, the project provides new seating throughout the stadium as well as a new scoreboard, lighting for evening sports events and major renovations to the press box area. "This wonderful project is the consequence of a collaborative effort-the hard work and generosity of many people," President Maxwell said. "Our alumni, the greater Des Moines community, the state of Iowa and the international track and field community have all come together to make this happen. With the Relays at the core, Drake University and Des Moines are poised to become the track and field capital of the Midwest, hosting regional, national and international events, and bringing visibility, people and resources to our community. We are very, very grateful to all of our partners who have made the revitalized Drake Stadium a reality." Drake students are viewing the trial in the courtroom of Neal and Bea Smith Law Center from jury selection to judgment - including special briefings with the attorneys trying the case on both sides, exclusive conversations with the judge and debriefings with jury members following the conclusion of the trial. "This is law in action," said Russell Lovell, Drake Law School associate dean and professor of law. "We call this experiential education the Trial Practicum. It brings book learning to life and is a critical part of the Drake Law School experience." Coordinated by Lovell, this Trial Practicum observation experience gives students the unique opportunity to see a trial inside and out in a way they can't get through a half-dozen flavors of "Law & Order" or even at other law schools. "This is cutting edge education," Lovell says. "Drake is the only law school in the country that cancels classes for a week so its first-year students can observe a jury trial from beginning to end. The Trial Practicum is the laboratory that makes the first-year classroom, the book learning, come alive." The Drake Law School works with the state court system to screen more than 200 cases for potential observation during the trial practicum week. Nineteen lawyers and judges and members of the law faculty, volunteering a week of their time, observe the case and meet with students in small groups to discuss the testimony, the judge's rulings, and the lawyers' strategy - all to give the future barristers a preview of their coming career. The students rotate between watching the trial live in Drake's Smith Center courtroom and observing it on closed-circuit television from several conference rooms throughout the Smith Law Center. Discussion of the events in the courtroom, with special focus on jury selection, evidence, litigation practice, professionalism and procedure - as well as the law involved in the case - occurs, including on-the-spot commentary in the conference rooms. The case, Gillotti v. MLC Inc., is a civil suit against the husband and wife owners of Loco Joe's pool hall arcade near South Ridge Mall. The plaintiffs allege they were beaten up at the entertainment hall and bar and that owners of the business are liable for permanent injuries sustained in the attack because, in part, the business should have had better security on the night of a Chicago Cubs baseball playoff game. The Drake Black Law Student Association chapter was named Chapter of the Year at the Midwest Regional Convention in Madison, Wis., earlier this month. The chapter competed against 45 chapters among 12 states for the award, including heavy weight schools such as Notre Dame University and the University of Iowa. "We were so excited by the award," said Krista Ferguson, a second-year law student from Columbia, Mo., and 2000 Drake alumna. "We are a relatively small chapter, but our programming showed we are very connected with our students." The chapter won based on a scrapbook the students produced showing activities the 19-member group sponsored through the year, including outreach to first-year law students, a Hurricane Katrina relief fundraiser and other community service programs. Drake BLSA will compete for the national chapter of the year award March 22-26 in Washington, D.C. Tim Frame, a nationally recognized graphic designer who specializes in developing brand image and identity concepts, will speak at Drake University Thursday, Feb. 16, in conjunction with the "Doubletake" exhibition at the Anderson Gallery, which will be open from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday. There will be a reception for Frame, chairman of Tim Frame Design in Columbus, Ohio, at 5:30 p.m., followed by his speech at 6 p.m. in Levitt Hall in Old Main. Both events are open to the public and tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $10 for members of American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Art Directors Association of Iowa and $20 for non-members. Student members attend free. The cost is $10 for students who are not members. "Doubletake" features "AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers," showcasing the 100 best-designed books and covers of 2004, along with "365 Annual Design Competition 26," described as the country's premier graphic design competition. The exhibition closes at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17. The Anderson Gallery's regular hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Wlosok has his own professional band, the Acoustic Jazz Trio, and has performed and recorded with many prominent jazz artists. Since 2000, he has been regularly invited to participate as lecturer and performer at the International Summer Jazz Workshop in Prague, which is organized by the Czech Jazz Society. On Sunday, Feb. 19, Sandip Burman and Friends will perform a free concert of Indian classical music at noon on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main. In recent years, he has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Sterngrove Festival in San Francisco and Ravinia in suburban Chicago. A review in the Chicago Sun-Times said "Burman seemed to perform the impossible, alternating rapid-fire table manipulation with konakul, a vocal percussion, as he played beautifully…" The Drake Symphony Orchestra, John Canarina conducting, will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main. Marisa Kelegian, a junior at Drake and winner of the 2005-06 Drake Soloist Competition, will be heard in the Flute Concerto by Carl Nielsen. The program also includes Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony and the "Hary Janos" Suite by Zoltan Kodaly. Admission is free. The theme of this year's event was "Pills and Bills on Capitol Hill," looking at issues from the changes in Medicare benefits to proposed laws governing the latest pharmaceutical research. Susan Winkler, a national officer in the American Pharmacy Association, delivered the keynote address, titled "Becoming a Pharmacist: Getting Involved or Just Getting a Paycheck?" The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Alumni Achievement Awards were given to Jay Langford, PH'44 and Tom Rickey, PH'68. Langford is a retired community pharmacy owner in Illinois who has made civic contributions in his community, provided the College with a major gift for classroom and laboratory renovation and belongs to Drake's President Circle. Rickey owns Respiratory Care Pharmacy in Illinois, is an active member in the Illinois Pharmacy Association, runs an annual health clinic in Haiti and is a Drake's President's Circle member. Pharmacy Day is organized and operated by students. Besides practicing pharmacy in his community, he was senior vice president for public affairs and corporate development for the Iowa Pharmacists Association. A Kappa Psi member, Karbeling was a professional leader, community advocate, and staunch supporter of Drake and the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. In memory of Jerry Karbeling, the Class of 1974 is establishing the Karbeling Memorial Leadership Fund. This leadership fund will establish an annual Karbeling award to be given to the student that most demonstrates the values and actions for which Karbeling was best known: professional involvement, commitment to practice and political advocacy. The fund will also sponsor the Karbeling lecture as an annual event dedicated to promoting the pharmacy profession as vital to the health care system and a professional development program on political advocacy for pharmacists and student pharmacists. More than $25,000 in pledges and gifts has already been received. If you wish to contribute to the Karbeling fund, contact the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at x1814. During the presentation, Dygert was described as a mentor, role model, advisor and teacher to students. She fosters an environment of life-long learning and an appreciation for humankind, which has assisted students to fulfill their goals for professional growth, career aspirations and citizenship responsibilities. The Drake Athletic Department annually presents the award to a faculty or staff member whom best exemplifies the Spirit of Drake. Past recipients of the award include David Wright, associate professor of journalism, Lou Ann Simpson, professor of business law, Mary Edrington, assistant professor of marketing, and Wanda Everage, vice provost for academic excellence. Sandya Hewamanne, assistant professor of anthropology, will deliver a lecture titled "Pornographic Voice: Critical Feminist Practices among Sri Lanka's Female Garment Workers" from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, in the Medbury Hall Lounge. Her talk is part of the Drake Center for the Humanities Colloquium Series. Hewamanne came to Drake in the fall of 2005 from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka. She received her doctorate in Cultural Anthropology in fall 2005 from The University of Texas at Austin. Hewamanne teaches courses focusing on transnational cultures, ethnographic methods, postcolonial and feminist theory, and activist anthropology, and she is currently working on issues of transnational production, militarization, violence and politics of civil society participation in South Asia. Her presentation examines how garment factory workers read, discuss and contribute to pornographic magazines in ways that constitute a resistance to normative models of sexual behavior. "The Duo Shakespeare" features Shakespeare's sonnets paired with 10 different Michael Rothmayer, assistant professor of theatre arts, is the arranger and director of the production. Performances start at 8 p.m. Feb. 23, 24 and 25 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in Studio 55 in the Harmon Fine Arts Center. As Drake continues to celebrate its 125th anniversary, the University seeks items from the past for a historical display in downtown Des Moines. Wanted are old freshman beanies, sweaters, cheerleading uniforms, posters, pennants or other knickknacks from the University's founding through the mid-1970s. Quax yearbooks and photographs are not needed. All items would be returned. For more information, contact Casey Gradischnig at x3779 or casey.gradischnig@drake.edu. Exposing children to a foreign language at an early age improves grammar skills, creativity and enhances children's mental growth, according to research from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Drake University offers these benefits through its annual Foreign Language for the Young summer program, where children from 4 to 14 learn a new language and explore the culture and traditions of France, Germany, Spain and Mexico. The program begins June 8 and continues through June 30. The classes are designed to accommodate both beginning and advanced students of foreign languages. Students will be grouped by ability as well as by age. Classes will meet Monday through Friday in Meredith Hall. The German and French classes will meet from 9 to 10 a.m. while the Spanish classes will meet from 10 to 11 a.m. Early registration is encouraged due to limited enrollment. The registration fee is $130 for a student taking one language. The total cost for a student taking two languages is $200. For registration or more information, call x1927 or Larry Pace at (515) 964-1237. |
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