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

Drake University Law School is pleased to welcome Erin Lain as the new associate dean for academic affairs. Erin has been a Drake Law professor since 2016 and most recently served as Drake University’s associate provost for equity and inclusion. Prior to that role, Erin was assistant dean for academic services at Drake Law School. In addition to her responsibilities overseeing the Law School’s academic program, Erin will teach classes in a variety of subject areas.

Erin received her BA, JD, and PhD from Drake University. Her recent scholarship focuses on issues of equity and inclusion in the legal field, including her forthcoming article Examining the Bar Exam: An Empirical Analysis of Racial Bias in the Uniform Bar Examination in the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform (v. 55, 2021).

Erin is an active member of the Iowa State Bar Association, the Polk County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. In 2018, Erin received the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. EDGE Award for Greater Equality. In 2017, she received the Gertrude Rush Award from the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys and the Iowa Chapter of the National Bar Association. The Rush Award recognizes leadership in the community and in the legal profession in the areas of human and civil rights.

“Dean Lain is an insightful educational leader, and her impact has been felt throughout the Drake campus and the Des Moines community,” said Jerry Anderson, dean of Drake Law School. “We are delighted to welcome her back to the Law School as associate dean.”

— Theresa Howard, Law School

The NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) awarded three research scholarships to students in Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. First-year student pharmacist Anna Braun, second-year student pharmacist Ali Goldensoph, and junior health sciences student Anna Parr were three of 18 students in Iowa to receive these competitive scholarships for the 2021–2022 academic year. Each scholarship carries an award of $5,000 to be split between two academic semesters.

Student researchers are required to be in a STEM program that supports NASA’s mission, have a minimum 3.0 GPA, and complete a year-long research project. Awardees are also required to present their research at the ISGC Student Research Symposium in 2022.

—Kaylyn Maher, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences