Professor Jennifer Zwagerman, director of the Drake Agricultural Law Center, won the 2021 American Agricultural Law Association’s (AALA) Professional Scholarship Award for her recently published article on Data Privacy in Agriculture. The article, titled “Agriculture & Data Privacy: I Want A Hipaa(Potamus) For Christmas . . . Maybe,”  was published in the Texas A&M Law Review. The AALA Awards Committee considers criteria including excellence in writing and analysis, relevance to important legal issues in agriculture, and the potential impact of the research. Read her full article.

— Terri Howard, Law School

Drake’s Office of Student Financial Planning was honored by the Iowa Association of Financial Aid Administrators (IASFAA) with the John E. Moore Award. Named for IASFAA’s first president, the award recognizes a financial aid office that demonstrates “the highest standards of service and commitment to their students and community.”

Additionally, IASFAA recognized Chris Ditter, associate director of Student Financial Planing, with the Meritorious Service Award for her contributions to IASFAA’s Electronic Services Committee. The Meritorious Service Award recognizes a significant contribution to IASFAA and/or the financial aid profession. Selection is based upon leadership, work on an important project, or significant service to students, the association or the profession.

— Ryan Zantingh, Student Financial Planning

Sprout Garden was recently selected as a recipient of the Fall 2021 Iowa DNR Trees for Kids Grant. The grant will be used to purchase 12 trees for the Food Forest expansion and tree education with Burt Boys & Girls Club. On Oct. 8 from 4–6 p.m. teens from the club will plant trees alongside Drake students and DNR Forestry representatives. Students interested in volunteering for the project should email marlee.rutledge@drake.edu.

Read more about the Sprout Food Forest.

Sprout Garden is a project managed by the Office of Community Engaged Learning & Service, a unit within the Academic Excellence and Student Success division.

— Renee Sedlacek Lee, Community Engaged Learning

Gustavo Flores, a second-year student pharmacist in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is one of five student pharmacists in the nation among 489 applicants to receive a 2021–2022 CVS Health Minority Scholarship. Flores will receive a $8,000 scholarship and national recognition. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and CVS Health partner to offer the annual scholarship program. The purpose of the scholarship is to reduce challenges and financial barriers that underrepresented minority students who are pursuing a PharmD degree face and to support them in caring for an increasingly diverse population of patients as part of a health care team.

Flores hit the ground running from his first day in Drake’s PharmD program in 2020 and asserted himself as a student leader and an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. He spent many days volunteering at Drake’s COVID-19 student testing clinic as students moved on campus and volunteered at vaccination clinics throughout the spring 2021 semester. Flores is also the president-elect of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists.

He is a member of the College’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workgroup and was a co-leader for the College’s virtual Spanish Medical Conversation Hours project during the 2020–2021 academic year. Flores is also recognized by his instructors for his passion in giving back to assist Spanish-speaking patients at clinical sites.

“I am honored and thankful to be one of the recipients of the CVS Health Minority Scholarship,” said Flores. “This award will lighten the financial burden of pharmacy school which will allow me to focus on my academics and volunteering within the community. As a first-generation Hispanic student, it is one of my goals to increase representation in the health care community and be an advocate for underrepresented and low-income communities. Once again, thank you CVS Health and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.”

Read more.

— Kaylyn Maher, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

The Supreme Court’s task force to review the Iowa Rules of Evidence will include Laurie Doré, Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professor of Law, and the Honorable Mark W. Bennett, director of the Drake University Law School Institute for Justice Reform and Innovation. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen established the Iowa Rules of Evidence Substantive Review Task Force to evaluate and recommend substantive updates to the Rules of Evidence. The task force is charged with comparing the Iowa Rules of Evidence to their federal counterparts, identifying differences, and providing input to the Supreme Court regarding conforming changes.

Professor Doré is an expert on Iowa evidence and civil procedure. She has authored the Iowa Practice Series, Vol. 7: Evidence (West) since 2009. She has taught Evidence at Drake Law School since 1992.  Hon. Mark W. Bennett (ret.) served a total of 28 years on the bench as a U.S. district court judge in the Northern District of Iowa (1994-2019; chief judge 2000-2007) and U.S. magistrate judge in the Southern District of Iowa (1991-1994.) He has presided over more than 300 jury trials in six federal courts spanning the Middle District of Florida to the District of the Northern Mariana Islands and has authored numerous articles on improving trial practice.

“We are proud of the experience and expertise Judge Bennett and Professor Doré offer this process,” said Jerry Anderson, Dean of Drake Law School. “They will be invaluable assets to the important work of this task force.”

— Theresa Howard, Law School