Higher Learning Commission official to speak at Faculty Senate Higher Learning Commission official to speak at Faculty Senate Fleisher writes fiction, non-fiction and work that blurs boundaries between the two. Her short prose has been published in numerous periodicals, including, Columbia Poetry Review, Iowa Review, Bombay Gin and Mandorla, and she has published critical essays on women's writing, pedagogical theory and experimental writing. Her documentary non-fiction includes the book "The Bear River Massacre and the Making of History." Chax Press recently published her alternative memoir, "Accidental Species: A Reproduction." She is also an assistant professor of English at Illinois State University. The Writers and Critics series will continue with the following events this fall: Oct. 11: Timothy Corrigan, "Werner Herzog's 'Grizzly Man' (2005) and the Essayistic" Earlier, Walker was named the Boys and Girls Club of America 2006 Midwest Regional Youth of the Year. Walker, a business law major at Drake, will appear on the 7:30 a.m. segment of Thursday's NBC "Today" show. On Friday, Walker and the other regional finalists are scheduled to meet President Bush. Walker, who earned all-conference honors in football and track at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, has been in Washington D.C., since Monday. He has been participating in a series of one-on-one interviews with judges, while meeting with senators and congressman from Iowa. The Youth of the Year program, nationally sponsored by the Reader's Digest Foundation since its inception, is in its 59th year. The program recognizes outstanding contributions to a member's family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club, academic excellence, as well as personal challenges and obstacles overcome. In order to reach the national level of the competition, all five teens garnered the Youth of the Year title at their respective local, state and regional levels. The Reader's Digest Foundation awarded each state finalist with a $1,000 college scholarship and each regional finalist a $10,000 college scholarship. Buhlmann's presentation will focus on his research in chemical sensing, which involves analyzing methods of developing highly sensitive sensors designed to detect low levels of chemicals over a long period of time. Buhlmann's research also involves chemically altering the tips of tunneling microscopy materials to create better resolution in selective images. The innovative sensors could be used in a broad range of applications, including pharmaceutical and environmental. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Maria Bohorquez at x2595. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council, based at Drake University, has created an election season packet to provide Iowans with tools to gauge candidates' commitment to open government. The packet contains background information on recent instances in which government secrecy hurt the public, suggested questions to pose to candidates on open-government issues and online resources for journalists and voters. The packet will be released in conjunction with the Iowa FOI Council's annual meeting on Friday, Sept. 22, at the new Central Library in downtown Des Moines. Guest speaker Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, will discuss issues of open government around the nation. In addition, the council will present two "Friend of the First Amendment" awards. The recipients are longtime Iowa broadcaster and journalism professor Jack Shelley and Des Moines attorney Keith Luchtel, lobbyist for the Iowa Newspaper Association and Iowa Broadcasters Association. The program will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the meeting rooms of the Des Moines Public Library at 1000 Grand Ave. Lunch reservations are $15 and may be made by contacting Kathleen Richardson at x2295 or Bowman has been teaching at Drake since January 2005. This year, she is a visiting professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she is teaching as well as researching Mississippi's efforts to rebuild the public education system in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Her scholarship brings a multidisciplinary focus to equity and equality issues in elementary and secondary education. Most recently, she has published on the evolution-intelligent design debates in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy and in Counsel, the journal of the bench and bar in England and Wales. She has been quoted in The New York Times and interviewed on CNN about these topics. The lecture is sponsored by Drake's Center for the Humanities as part of its fall 2006 colloquium series. For more information, call x2158. President David Maxwell welcomed the governor to Drake at the start of the news conference, which also featured Iowa Student Loan CEO Steve McCullough and Iowa College Student Aid Commission Executive Director Karen Misjak. Jan McMahill, dean of the School of Education, attended the event along with several students. The Iowa Teacher Shortage Forgivable Loan, federal teacher loan cancellation and Iowa Student Loan Teacher Educational Loan forgiveness programs provide loan forgiveness to qualified teachers. Collectively, the programs may provide tuition and loan repayment assistance of up to $30,500 to new Iowa college graduates receiving certification in high-need areas such as math, science or special education, who obtain and keep an Iowa teaching position in that field in a designated school. "We need to prepare our children to meet the challenges of the 21st century and to do so we need smart, energetic and dedicated teachers," Vilsack said. "This is another step in our efforts to ensure our children receive the tools they need to succeed in the future." Soria, who graduated with a major in magazine journalism, is executive editor of Country Home magazine, which has a circulation of more than 1.2 million and was a finalist for the prestigious National Magazine Award in 2005. She has held editorial positions on a variety of Meredith magazines for more than 20 years and managed the design content of the Emmy-winning "Better Homes and Gardens Weekly" syndicated television show. Despite her demanding career, Soria continues to mentor young journalists. According to her nominating committee, Patricia Prijatel, Angela Renkoski, Lori Blachford and Rachel DeSchepper. "Sandy has been a speaker in Drake magazine classes throughout her career at Meredith and most recently addressed the Ed On Campus group, explaining the redesign of Country Home. As a mentor to young professionals, she has been generous with her time and wisdom." Ripson, who graduated with a broadcast news emphasis, has been a television reporter, anchor and news director, in six cities. He has served in his present capacity as news director of Tribune-owned KPLR (TV), St. Louis, since June 1998. KPLR has received Regional Emmys for Best Newscast in both 2004 and 2005. "He maintains great interest in the work of our School," according to his nominating committee: faculty members John Lytle, Todd Evans and Gary Wade. "He continues to share materials that come his way from his consultants, especially those dealing with news ethics. He's always been willing to visit classes and meet tomorrow's stars. In fact, in October 1999, Sheldon helped teach the Radio News class while professor Lytle served on a Polk County jury." Soria and Ripson will be honored at 7 p.m. during the SJMC Alumni Reunion, which will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at Blank Park Zoo Discovery Center. The event is free, although there will be a cash bar. For reservations, please visit The Fulbright U.S. Student Program allows American students to study, conduct research and teach in other nations. Full grants provide funding for round-trip travel, maintenance for one academic year, full or partial tuition and health and accident coverage. The program awards a total of approximately 1,300 grants every year, and has provided more than 273,000 grants since its inception in 1946. Three Drake students received grants for 2006-07. Jessica Ernst is teaching English in Thailand, Linda Knoll is studying multinational business practices in Mexico and Brittany Buchholz is exploring Islamic principles governing reproductive health and adoption in Jordan. Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application and hold a bachelor's degree or an equivalent by the beginning of the grant. In the creative and performing arts, four years of professional training and/or experience are required. For more information, contact Zeff at x3102 or The plaza was developed to compliment Meredith Hall, designed by renowned architect Mies van der Rohe. The plaza features simple geometric design forms and traditional materials, including granite stones and solid modern benches. Through a blend of stone and garden space, the architects created a welcoming area for students as they enter Meredith Hall. Lane Plaza was funded by a $200,000 gift to Drake University from Melvin and Joan Lane and Bill and Jean Lane in memory of their parents, Laurence W. and Ruth Bell Lane, a Drake trustee and daughter of former Drake President Hill M. Bell. The play chronicles the experience of an undercover journalist as she moves across the country and takes on a series of low-wage jobs. In her attempt to discover whether or not Americans can get by on minimum wage, she lives the life of a housekeeper, waitress and discount-chain employee. Her experiment reveals some unsettling truths about the lives of American workers. The play contains smoking and adult situations. "Nickel and Dimed" was first produced by Seattle's Intiman Theater in 2002. Holden worked as chief playwright for the San Francisco Mime Troupe and won an Off-Broadway Theatre Award for "Seeing Double" in 1990. Ehrenreich is the author of 13 books and is a contributing writer for Time magazine. She frequently writes for Harpers and The New York Times. Her book, "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America," was named a New York Times best seller and Notable Book. The free-spirited entrepreneurs, who dreamed up flavors such as "Cherry Garcia" and "Chunky Monkey," will deliver this fall's Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, at the Drake Knapp Center. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is titled "An Evening of Social Responsibility, Radical Business Philosophy and Free Dessert for All." A reception featuring ice cream will follow. In 1978, the Long Island natives turned a storefront venture into a $160 million publicly held ice cream empire by making social responsibility and creative management the cornerstones of their business. Ten years later, former President Ronald Reagan named Cohen and Greenfield "U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year." In an awards speech, President Reagan said, "[Cohen and Greenfield] truly stand out as an example of what American free enterprise is all about." The pair will bring their philosophy to life at the lecture podium with a presentation that delivers a rousing tribute to America's entrepreneurial spirit, filled with hilarious anecdotes and radical business philosophy. The Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by a gift from Melva and the late Martin Bucksbaum, former chairman and president of General Growth Corp. and longtime member of Drake's governing board. Under the supervision of Drake Assistant Coach Chris Davis, the program is off to a fast start with more than 38,000 students participating at more than 80 schools in central Iowa. "Drake works hard to provide an exceptional learning environment to achieve quality and value in education," said Drake head basketball coach Dr. Tom Davis. "The Drake basketball players and staff understand the importance of reading at all ages, especially at the elementary and middle school levels. Under the supervision of Drake Assistant Coach Chris Davis, the Drake basketball program works with the principal's office, classroom teachers and reading specialist at each school to help the students reach their reading goals. "The kids get motivated for reading and we also expose them to a college basketball game as a reward to work hard. In the spring our players get invited to assemblies at several schools," Chris Davis said. "The Bulldog Basketball Reading Program is an excellent opportunity to motivate students in achieving their reading goals." Each student who participates in the program will receive one complimentary ticket to a Drake men's basketball game for the 2006-07 season beginning Oct. 31. |
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