Drake Law School recently earned an outstanding top 20 ranking from preLaw Magazine’s list of “Best Law Schools for Practical Training.” Law schools were graded based on key offerings such as clinics, externships, simulation courses, and moot court participation. The annual rankings were featured in the Spring 2023 issue of the magazine.

“At Drake Law, we like to say that ‘practice makes professional,’” said Drake Law Dean Jerry Anderson. “Our mission is to create ‘complete professionals’ – graduates who not only know what the law is, but how to use it in the real world to serve their clients and their communities. This recognition shows we are succeeding in that goal.”

Drake Law School provides numerous experiential learning opportunities to students, beginning in their first year with two intra-school moot court competitions and the unique First-Year Trial Practicum. Drake is the only law school in the country where all first-year classes shift to a campus courtroom for a week, enabling students to view an actual state or federal trial. The Trial Practicum dissects every phase of a trial, from jury selection to verdict. Not only do students witness a trial, but they also have opportunities to discuss the proceedings with the presiding judge, lawyers, and jurors.

Drake Law’s legal clinics give students the opportunity to build valuable professional experience by working with clients in real-world situations. Clinics include the Children’s Rights Clinic, Criminal Defense Clinic, General Civil Practice Clinic, Transactional/Entrepreneurial Clinic, Refugee Clinic, and Wrongful Convictions Clinic.

As the only law school in the capital city of Des Moines, Drake Law students have countless opportunities to participate in internships, externships, and clerkships. Students have served as legislative interns, drafted legislation, tried and won felony jury trials, interned for the Iowa Supreme Court, worked for government agencies and nonprofits, and more.

Drake Law students also develop practical skills in interschool competitions at the regional and national levels. The Law School sponsors nine Moot Court, Mock Trial, and skills teams, which annually are among the best in the nation.

Professor Suzan Pritchett, Director of Clinical and Experiential Education, oversees much of Drake Law’s practice-based training. She sums up the Law School’s approach: “Many law schools like to say they teach students to think like a lawyer. We teach them to be one.”

About Drake Law School

For over 150 years, Drake Law School has helped launch successful careers, providing a legal education that emphasizes experiential learning backed by a solid foundation in legal theory. As the only law school in the capital city of Des Moines, students gain unparalleled access to internships, externships, and clerkships. Drake Law graduates leverage the experience gained from hands-on learning and are ready to put the law in action from day one, joining an alumni network of 6,000+ who use their law degree in all 50 states and across the globe—in every facet of the legal profession. Learn more about a legal education at Drake.

Taylor Johnson, Law School

Professor Mary Edrington was recently named as the recipient of the 2023 Hugh G. Wales American Marketing Association Faculty Advisor of the Year. This award, announced at the 2023 International Collegiate AMA Conference in New Orleans last week, recognizes her outstanding contributions to our AMA Collegiate program. It is a notable recognition given there are over 320 AMA collegiate chapters worldwide. Professor Edrington has served as the Drake AMA Advisor from 1987 to 1993 and from 2003 on.  The Drake chapter has approximately 50 student members.  This award program began in 1977 and is named in honor of Dr. Hugh G. Wales, who was instrumental in founding the collegiate chapter at the University of Illinois–Champaign, and served as its first faculty advisor. Congratulations, Professor Edrington!

Drake University students from the College of Arts and Sciences were selected as finalists in the 2023 OpenAir Carbon Removal Challenge. This worldwide competition tasked team to create new processes, approaches, and prototypes to remove carbon from the land, water, or air. The Drake team will present their design to judges at New York University on April 21.  The students’ design called SPARCC: Semi-Passive Algae Rooted Carbon Capture device collects carbon through photosynthesis while also cleaning local rivers of nitrate pollution due to agricultural runoff.

Congratulations to Tyler Bartolome, Bryan Coronado, Anna Miller, and Betsy Richardson and faculty advisor Prof. Edward Kelley.

Virtual tickets to the event can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/carbon-removal-challenge-finalist-showcase-tickets-586069348197

— Edward Kelley, College of Arts & Sciences

The Principal Global Citizenship Award was presented during the 2023 Global Citizen Forum in early March. The award recognizes Drake faculty or staff who have made outstanding contributions to global engagement and internationalization of the campus and curriculum.

The 2023 recipient of the Principal Global Citizenship Award is Jeff Kappen, associate professor of international business in the Zimpleman College of Business.

Kappen arrived at Drake University in 2012, and from the beginning he has contributed to a multitude of projects and programs at Drake that have shaped the global mindset of students and built the global and intercultural capacity of Drake faculty and staff. Kappen has been active in engaging with many of Drake’s international partners. He has conducted collaborative research, taught faculty seminars and short-term courses on their campuses, and developed joint curricular programs. His work in this area has significantly contributed to Drake’s profile as a global university.

Kappen also provides direct advising support to more than fifty students each year on how they can achieve their study abroad goals. He has led short-term travel seminars for Drake students on programs to China, Italy, Uganda, and Mexico – impacting over 200 students. Many of these program participants have been student-athletes, beginning with the men’s and women’s soccer teams travelling to Mexico in 2015 as part of a unique model pairing international competition with academic experiences using the foreign destination as the classroom. He returned to Mexico with the soccer teams in 2019, led a women’s basketball trip to Italy and traveled with the entire football team to China.

Kappen has also notably supported the Mandela Washington Fellowship at Drake, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that Drake has hosted since 2016. Kappen has taught leadership and international business curriculum to 150 Fellows from across sub-Saharan Africa. He has also served as a mentor to many Fellows and continues to monitor some of their projects virtually. Kappen was awarded a Reciprocal Exchange by the U.S. Department of State in 2021 and spent two weeks in Ivory Coast delivering seminars on entrepreneurship while working with the U.S. Embassy to promote higher education.

On the Drake campus, Kappen has taught “Business 070: Globalization” since he arrived in 2012. He has worked collaboratively with students on global research and takes part in the Drake iBiz Young Scholars Program. Off-campus, Kappen has helped position Drake as a global hub in the Des Moines community through working with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa International Center.

“Dr. Kappen’s efforts to develop responsible global citizens at Drake, and his work in creating impactful global partnerships have been transformative. His lifelong commitment to internationalization and his embodiment of a global mindset is a contagious inspiration to campus. We are very fortunate to have Kappen as a member of the Drake community, and he is very deserving of this prestigious award.” – Provost Sue Mattison, in her remarks at the Global Citizen Forum

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Engagement

Congratulations to two Drake University Head Start staff who are being recognized by the Iowa Head Start Association as annual award recipients this year:

Mary Middleton: Iowa Head Start Association’s Board of Directors is awarding Mary with the Iowa Head Start Support Staff of the Year! This award celebrates the significant contributions and support she has provided to the Drake University Head Start program. Mary has been with the Drake University Head Start program for almost 23 years. Congratulations and thank you Mary.  

Nicolle Smith: Iowa Head Start Association’s Board of Directors is awarding Nicolle with the Iowa Head Start Family Advocate of the Year! This award celebrates the important contributions Nicolle has made to the Drake University Head Start program in her work serving families through a home visitation model.  Nicolle has been with the Drake University Head Start program for over 12 years. Congratulations and thank you Nicolle.

— Lisa Proctor, Head Start

During the annual Health Professions Day (formerly Pharmacy and Health Sciences Day), held on February 23, 2023, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (CPHS) presented several awards to faculty members who demonstrated outstanding teaching, mentorship, scholarship, and professional involvement over the past year within their fields. Nominations for the awards are sought from students and colleagues alike from within the college.

Maggie Fiala, director of external experiential external affairs, received the inaugural CPHS Staff Member of the Year award. This award was created to recognize the work of one individual who has gone above and beyond in their work to help the College fulfill its goals and mission.

Cheryl Clarke, assistant dean of clinical affairs, director of experiential education, and professor of pharmacy practice, was named the Hartig Distinguished Professor. This award recognizes a pharmacy faculty member who has distinguished him or herself in teaching, scholarship, service, or practice.

Rachel Allen-McHugh, assistant professor of occupational therapy, was honored with the C. Boyd Granberg Professional Leadership Award. This award is given to a faculty member who is committed to professional organizational leadership – both for themselves and among students.

John Rovers, Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Health Sciences, and John R. Ellis Distinguished Chair of Pharmacy Practice, was honored with the Richard Morrow Transformational Leadership Award. This award recognizes a faculty member whose transformational work has gone above and beyond. Transformational leaders focus on team building, motivation and collaboration with colleagues to accomplish change for the better. They identify a needed change, create a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and execute the change through collaboration.

The College’s Student Governance Association announced the following teaching and mentoring awards:

Yolanda Griffiths, professor of occupational therapy, was named the CPHS Teacher of the Year.

Mark Vitha, Windsor Professor in Science and Professor of Chemistry, was named the non-CPHS Teacher of the Year.

Nate Newman, associate professor of athletic training and MAT program director, was named the CPHS Mentor of the Year.

Sally Haack, professor of pharmacy practice and pharmacist at Primary HealthCare Pharmacy, was named the CPHS Preceptor of the Year.

Kaylyn Maher, CPHS

The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University will host the Civic Leadership Academy as an exclusive opportunity for high school juniors to learn from scholars, policymakers, and thought leaders from across the nation as part of the Drake University Center for Public Democracy. The Civic Leadership Academy will be held from July 10-12, 2023, concurrent with the Drake University Center for Public Democracy Summer Institute. The Civic Leadership Academy will immerse 25 high school students in an intensive and rewarding leadership development program that gives students the skills to stand out as leaders.

— Megan Wesselink, The Ray Center