Drake among finalists to host 2008-10 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Drake among finalists to host 2008-10 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships "With nearly a century of experience in hosting the Relays, staff members who are nationally recognized for their expertise in managing these events, a dedicated and experienced corps of volunteers, a fan base that has filled Drake Stadium at Relays every year for decades, our location in the center of the country with easy access by road and air, and broad-based community support for our bid to host the NCAA Championships, I believe that we are the perfect venue for a highly successful series of Championships." Drake and the city of Des Moines, will be vying with Sacramento, Calif.; Eugene, Ore.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Austin, Texas; and Baltimore, Md., to host the NCAA Track and Field Championships for a three-year period beginning in 2008. A final decision is expected this September. Drake last hosted the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1970. The 81-year-old Drake Stadium underwent a $15 million renovation that began in May of 2005 and finished just hours before the first starter's pistol fired during the 97th running of the Drake Relays April 26. It drew rave reviews from fans, coaches and athletes during the Drake Relays. "They did a great job," said two-time 2004 Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner. "It is a beautiful facility. Hopefully, they can hold a lot more meets than the Drake Relays." The newly renovated stadium includes a Mondo surface track with a safety lane that meets international standards, Musco Lighting, and a new throws venue to the north of the track for the discus, javelin and hammer throws. One of the motivating factors for the revitalization was attracting top track and field events to Des Moines. The NCAA awards track and field championships on a 14-year cycle, meaning Drake could host a regional meet and, later, a national championship twice within that period. Combined with the annual Relays and the girls' and boys' Iowa state championships, the revitalized Drake Stadium will generate as much as $300 million for the Des Moines area during the next 14 years, estimates the Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. Pharmacy compounding -- in which pharmacists make medications from scratch -- is growing rapidly as demand for customized prescriptions increases to better meet patient needs. The new Mayhew Compounding Laboratory will greatly enhance opportunities for Drake pharmacy students to learn the latest techniques in compounding. "This transformative gift will enable Drake to provide state-of-the-art facilities and an innovative curriculum that will help our graduates become entrepreneurs in the area of pharmaceutical compounding," said Raylene Rospond, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Although the scope of the compounders' share of the $216 billion U.S. pharmaceutical market is difficult to assess, trade groups estimate that compounding pharmacists fill at least 30 million prescriptions a year. Drake's new laboratory is scheduled to be completed in spring 2007 in classrooms 114 and 115 of Harvey Ingham Hall. The classrooms are being renovated and furnished with advanced compounding equipment. "For many years it has been my privilege to serve as a preceptor for numerous Drake pharmacy students," Mayhew said. "They often mentioned the need for an updated compounding laboratory at Drake. Sandy and I decided to make this gift so that we could enhance the students' learning experience." Mayhew graduated from Drake in 1967 and worked for three years in a retail pharmacy in Chicago before moving to Phoenix to work in an independent pharmacy that he later purchased. He opened more pharmacies in the early 1980s and eventually owned six, including a compounding pharmacy and a closed-shop pharmacy serving assisted-living communities and hospices. He retired last fall after selling the last of his pharmacies. Mayhew, a resident of Fountain Hills, Ariz., has contributed greatly to his profession, serving as president of the Arizona Pharmacists Association and the American College of Apothecaries. He also has been active in the National Community Pharmacists Association and the Professional Compounding Centers of America, which named him "Pharmacist of the Month." He is a member of the boards of directors of numerous hospice organizations and is a longtime board member of Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Co. In addition to contributing to professional organizations, Mayhew has been a generous supporter of his alma mater, beginning with a $10 gift he made shortly after graduation. Since then, he has been a generous supporter of the Drake Fund and recently joined the President's Circle. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers rode into Galveston, Texas, telling slaves the Civil War had ended two months earlier and they were free. The day became an official Iowa holiday in 2002. The Iowa Juneteenth Education Forum will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, in Bulldog Theater in Olmsted Center. This free event will feature two panel discussions designed to help low-income and minority families prepare their children for higher education. Tom Delahunt, Drake vice president of admission and financial aid, will moderate the first panel. The second panel will include Janet McMahill, dean of Drake's School of Education, and James Work, executive director of the I Have a Dream Foundation, which is based at Drake. On Friday, June 16, the Miss Iowa Juneteenth Coronation and Fashion Showcase will start at 5:30 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main. The purpose of this event, which is free and open to the public, is to recognize and model the finer attributes of African American women between the ages of 18 and 24. Following that event, the Iowa Juneteenth Music Connection benefit concert will take place at 8 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium. Bo James, CEO of Launchpad DMI Entertainment, will serve as emcee for the following lineup of entertainers: Leonard Bell (urban poetry); Alonda Long (R & B); Charles Sanders (gospel instrumentals); Joey Ashby (R & B); Floor Spidas (breakdancing); HG Filled (gospel rap) and Lil Shug (rap). Tickets for the concert, which will be available at the door, are $10. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Evelyn Davis Early Learning Academy in Des Moines and to purchase books about Juneteenth for public libraries and schools in Iowa. The Steiger Fellowship Project is a full-time summer fellowship program open to all first- and second-year law students throughout the United States. Yates was one of 15 students nationwide to be selected from nearly 200 candidates. The project is part of an overall effort by the ABA Section of Antitrust Law and the National Association of Attorneys General to provide unique training opportunities to law students who may wish to consider public service as a profession, while at the same time, assisting the states that are in substantial need of additional staff to fulfill their consumer protection mission. Steiger Fellows will serve during the summer of 2006 in the consumer protection departments of the offices of attorneys general in Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Yates, a resident of West Des Moines, works full-time at the Iowa Attorney General's office, where he manages potential cases for the consumer protection division. "It's a great opportunity," Yates said. "They give us a chance to jump in and do some important work. We get to talk about all the different cases that the office is working on right now. You're exposed to things you aren't exposed to as much in law school - the government side of things." A native of Kirksville, Mo., Yates received his undergraduate degree from St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, New York. He has extensive prior work experience with consumers, including work as a supervisor at the Home Depot and sales representative for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. A national organization, the institute allows members by election only. The group's 2,700 members include judges, lawyers and law teachers from all areas of the United States as well as some foreign countries. Members are selected on the basis of professional achievement and demonstrated interest in the improvement of American law. McCord is a nationally recognized expert on criminal law, evidence and the death penalty. He earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence cum laude from Harvard Law School and his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Illinois Wesleyan University. He has served as a Drake professor since 1984. Before his time in the classroom, McCord was an assistant attorney general for the state of Arizona and a member of the Wentworth & Lundin law firm in Phoenix. A group of prominent American judges, lawyers and teachers organized the Philadelphia-based American Law Institute in 1923 with the intention of establishing a permanent organization for the improvement of the law. The founders believed American law too complex and too uncertain, leading to a "general dissatisfaction with the administration of justice." Since then, the institute has worked to make laws better written and more useful. The group's members have shaped foreign relations law of the United States, landlord and tenant law, conflict of laws, contracts, property, restitution, security, torts and trusts. The American Law Institute was instrumental in forming the Uniform Commercial Code, a comprehensive code addressing most aspects of commercial law that has been enacted in 49 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands as well as parts of Louisiana. Photographs taken from Opperman Hall and Law Library appear in the June 2006 issue of AALL Spectrum, an official publication of the American Association of Law Libraries. Shots of the Wifvat Plaza sundial (page 2) and Old Main (page 36) by Information Technology/Reference Librarian David Hanson were selected for inclusion in a series highlighting law libraries with "captivating views." The issue is available at Market-goers bought fresh vegetables, jams, honey, kettle corn, barbeque sandwiches, baked goods, homemade crafts and much more. Children participated in a veggie toss game and scaled the National Guard climbing wall. Salsa dance lessons concluded the evening's festivities. Dolph Pulliam, director of community outreach and development at Drake and volunteer at the market for the past eight years, said he was pleased with this year's opening-day turnout. He said that he expects even more people to visit the market in weeks to come. This week there will be free crafts and face painting for children, Dr. Sandra Hobson will talk with visitors about hearing problems and solutions and Anderson Erickson Dairy will be giving free samples of its new reduced-sugar lemonade. The market runs from 4 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday through September in the parking lot of First Christian Church, 25th Street and University Avenue. "Human trafficking is a manifestation of modern day slavery that exploits vulnerable people," Auger said. "It is going on throughout the world, and even in Iowa. The United States is a destination for human traffickers, meaning that this is where people are shipped to work." Auger became involved with the NAHT through a summer class at Drake University with Assistant Professor of Sociology Darcie Vandegrift. The course requires students to partake in a service learning project. "Sami's participating through Drake service learning was a key to the law's passage," Vandegrift said. "I enrolled in the Social Stratification class knowing that I wanted to do service learning that would make the difference in the lives of others," said Auger, a resident of White Bear Lake, Minn. Alex Orazco of the NAHT was Auger's mentor for the service learning project. Under his guidance, she performed such duties as creating talking points, lobbying legislators, and collaborating with other organizations. Iowa's human trafficking laws have now been tightened, due to the passing of this bill, Legislation SF2219. Signed into law by Gov. Vilsak, the bill takes effect July 1. "I believe this is a significant milestone in Iowa to secure the rights of victims of human trafficking," said Auger. The legislation provides training for law enforcement, services and protection for victims, and punishes traffickers. This experience has helped Auger decide her future plan upon graduation. "This experience helped me realize that I am interested in going into the nonprofit sector," Auger said, "as well as volunteering abroad." The Children's Choices program donated the books - valued at $20,000 - to Westridge and Perkins Elementary in Des Moines. The program creates a list of children's and young adult literature published each year. Publishers send copies of the books to Children's Choices. More than 1,000 elementary-age students read and review the books. "A lot of times parents decide what their kids get to read," said Jill Caton Johnson, co-team leader for the project and assistant professor of education at Drake University. "Here's a chance for kids to say what they like." Children's Choices donates the books to one urban and one suburban elementary school. Westridge and Perkins were selected this year, although a wider range of schools will reap the benefits. Westridge librarians discussed sharing books with more mature subject matter with the middle schools. Liz Matveia, a Drake junior studying to be a teacher, worked on the Children's Choices project. She learned a lot about students and their reading preferences. "They liked books with unique illustrations," Matveia said, pointing to one with cut-and-collage pictures. "They prefer something that pops a little more." Johnson says she takes pride in providing students with greater access to a wide variety of books. "If you can find that one book for that one kid that hooks him into reading," the professor said, "that's really the most rewarding part." To download a PDF format file of this year's Children's Choices selections, visit The alumni group sells Pepsi products during the festival. The proceeds benefit the Central Iowa Drake Alumni Chapter for its operations, programs and a scholarship. Four retiring board members -- Jack Watson, Judy Winkelpleck, Louise Patrick and Don Moon -- were awarded crystal stars for their outstanding efforts in establishing the foundation of the RaySociety and for promoting it to the greater Des Moines community. The RaySociety, which is dedicated to fostering opportunities for lifelong learning, takes its name from former Iowa Gov. Robert D. Ray and his wife, Billie, both Drake alumni. At the annual meeting, Billie Ray and Mary Brubaker, another Drake alumna, presented certificates of appreciation to the instructors who volunteered their time and skills to offer a wonderful range of classes to RaySociety members. Sixty members of the RaySociety toured the Great Ape Trust of Iowa in southeast Des Moines last week and two more groups of 30 are scheduled to take tours this week. The tours are so popular that no openings remain for this week's tours. "The tour was awesome and wonderful," said Moon, former chair of the programming committee. "It was like we stepped into another world. What a transforming experience!" The RaySociety's plans for the fall 2006 term are well under way. Classes slated to start in mid-September include How the Brain Works, Last Things First -- Just in Case, African American Art, Peeking Over the Musician's Shoulder, Celebrating Diversity, Introduction to Digital Photography and more. The 2006-07 calendar kicks off with Jazz in July at Wesley Acres at 6:30 p.m. July 25, followed by such outings as a tour of the new Des Moines Central Library, a tailgate party and Drake football game, a tour of the Meredith Corp.'s Autumn Gardens, a tour of the new Supreme Court Building, a tour, lunch and IMAX viewing at the Science Center and more. The fall catalog of classes and events will be available July 1. RaySociety memberships are $50 per year (June 1 through May 31) and classes are $25 each. For more information, call x2120 or visit |
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