The Drake University/Community Chorus is open to all singers, Drake and non-Drake alike, without audition. The ensemble will begin rehearsing for its Nov. 20 performance of music by Mozart, Brahms, and contemporary composers on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The choir rehearses each Tuesday, 6:30–8 p.m., in the Harmon Fine Arts Center under the direction of Aimee Beckmann-Collier, director of choral studies at Drake. For further information, please contact her at aimee.beckmann-collier@drake.edu, 271-2841, or check the Music Department website.

—Kayla Jenkins, Interim Assistant to the Dean

Please save the date for Gretchen Beckley’s retirement party on Sept. 16, 3–5 p.m. in Levitt Hall.  Gretchen retired on July 31 after 29 years of employment at Drake. She started in Career Services and then served in International Programs and Services for 24 years. Please join Drake colleagues to wish Gretchen well!

—Denise Ganpat, Drake International

CBPA Dean Terri Vaughan recognized
Terri Vaughan, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration, recently was listed among the most influential people in the insurance industry. The July 2016 issue of Best’s Review, a monthly magazine covering the industry, profiled Vaughan among 24 key influencers “who saw new ways of doing things and took risks to go in new directions.”

Vaughan was named in recognition of her work as CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners from 2009 to 2012. In that role, she, “helped steer the organization through the recovery years after the Great Recession, helping identify, develop prioritize, and achieve regulatory modernization and other key initiatives.” Read more in the Drake Newsroom.

Shontavia Johnson named ABA top young lawyer
Shontavia Johnson, the Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law and director of the Intellectual Property Law Center at Drake University Law School, has been named one of the nation’s top young lawyers by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Johnson was selected to the ABA’s inaugural Top 40 Young Lawyers list, which recognizes young lawyers who exemplify high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership, and legal and community service. Learn more about Shontavia in the Drake Newsroom.

The Drake Neighborhood Association has brought back the Drake Farmers Market. The market is now a nonprofit corporation organized for the purpose of promotion and development of urban gardening, food and food preparation education, and the health benefits of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables. The Farmers Market is located on 26th Street south of University Avenue (across from Old Main).

Questions or concerns, contact Nick Valdez, neighborhood & community relations manager for Drake University, 515-271-2394, nick.valdez@drake.edu.

Drake students had another strong showing in this summer’s Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication magazine contest. Drake Magazine, edited by senior Melissa Studach, won first place for general excellence, as well as first place in design under art director Susanna Hayward, JO’16. Judge Scott Burton, executive editor of ESPN the Magazine, commented, “I’m gobsmacked by how great this entry is — every bit the equal of many professional city magazines … I mean seriously: Wow. Are you sure you all aren’t professionals?”

The Annual, with editor-in-chief Emily Gregor, JO’16, won first place for editorial and Drake Magazine won second place. The senior capstone website, Urban Plains, won honorable mention for online magazine. In addition, Colton Warren, JO’16, and Cole Norum, JO’16, won writing awards, and junior Katie Bandurski won an award for her magazine prototype.

—Kathleen Richardson, Dean, SJMC

Erik Maki named 2016 Health-System Pharmacist of the Year
The Iowa Pharmacy Association recently honored Drake University Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice Erik Maki with the association’s 2016 Health-System Pharmacist of the Year Award.

Maki specializes in the area of internal medicine as an associate professor in Drake’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He is a clinical specialist at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, where he is a consultant for the hospitalist program and rounds with the internal medicine teaching team. He also precepts pharmacy students and Mercy’s pharmacy residents. Read more about Erik in the Drake Newsroom.

Shontavia Johnson receives Inspriring Women in STEM Award
Shontavia Johnson, professor of law at Drake Law School, has been selected as a recipient of INSIGHT Into Diversity’s 2016 Inspiring Women in STEM Award.

INSIGHT Into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity magazine and website in higher education, aims to spark meaningful conversations about the critical role of diversity in higher education.

The publication’s annual Inspiring Women in STEM Award honors women across the country who work to make a difference in the fields of STEM through mentoring, teaching, research, programs, and initiatives.

Johnson, who took over as director of the Intellectual Property Law Center and Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law at Drake Law School on July 1, engages young people in STEM fields in both her professional work and the community.

In her intellectual property law courses, Johnson teaches law students how to help scientists and inventors patent their ideas. She has coordinated events featuring STEM components for middle and high school students and volunteers for community groups with STEM-related initiatives.

In addition, Johnson is the founder of a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing students from underrepresented groups to various career options, including those in STEM fields. She serves as a faculty adviser to the Student Intellectual Property Law Organization and recently sat on the board of directors of both the Iowa Intellectual Property Law Association and the Science Center of Iowa.

Johnson also engages with students through the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) and spoke about intellectual property careers as a panelist on the JRF Law School and Legal Careers Panel. JRF recently selected her as a recipient of the organization’s 42 Alumni Under 40 Award.

“Shontavia has mentored and inspired many women and underrepresented groups in the intellectual property field,” wrote her nominator. “She mentors students on Drake University’s campus frequently, both at the Law School and undergraduate levels. She also serves as a mentor to young people who connect with her through various platforms.”

Among her many accolades, Johnson has received the Ladas Memorial Award from the International Trademark Association, the Gertrude Rush Award from the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys, and the Nation’s Best Advocates: 40 Lawyers Under 40 Award from the National Bar Association and IMPACT. She is also a member of the National Black Lawyers-Top 100 professional honorary organization.

Most recently, Johnson was named a Fulbright Specialist Roster Candidate. The Fulbright program awards grants to U.S. faculty and professionals on the roster to engage in collaborative projects at institutions all over the world.

Before joining Drake Law School in 2010, Johnson worked as an intellectual property attorney at the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, LLP, in Greenville, S.C., and was a Westerfield Fellow at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Johnson received her B.S. in biosystems engineering from Clemson University and her J.D. from the University of Arkansas.

For more information about Johnson, see her Drake Law School faculty profile.

Johnson will be recognized along with the other honorees in the September STEM issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity.

Welcome the following new faculty and staff to Drake:

Dana Walton, Residence Life
Betsy Collins, Residence Life
Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning & Management
Patrick Tomka, Athletics
Molly Wuebker, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Jonathan Walker, Information Technology Services
Brian Lucas, Athletics
Erin Austin, The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement

There’s still time to participate in reading the third book of the University Book Club! We are reading The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown this summer—a New York Times bestseller sure to put you in the mood for the Summer Olympics.

Cowles Library has nine copies (hint: ask for the book on reserve at the circulation desk). The book is also available in audio format from Audible.com, at various Des Moines-area public libraries, and Amazon. You can find more information on the University Book Club here: The Boys in the Boat Book Discussion

Contact Sara Heijerman if you have any questions or interest in discussing; the group discussion will be July 21 at 4:45 p.m. at Louie’s Wine Dive, 4040 University Ave. Happy reading!

—Sara Heijerman, Manager, Campus Card Office

A new book by Drake Associate Professor of Sociology Michael Haedicke explores how farmers, small business owners, regulators, and other stakeholders navigate conflict in the organic food industry.

Organizing Organic: Conflict and Compromise in an Emerging Market (Stanford University Press, 2016) leverages 10 years of research to explain how key players balance competing narratives within the industry: one that positions organic farming as a social and political movement poised to shake up big, traditional agricultural institutions; and another that emphasizes organic food’s potential for market growth and profit. Read more in the Drake Newsroom.

Jeffrey is joining the Office of Community Engaged Learning as an AmeriCorps VISTA; he will collaborate with other Drake departments to develop a campus tour program for area youth from the University’s community partners. He will also help develop tools and processes to track community-engaged learning at Drake and work on other projects to support the mission of the office and University.

Jeffrey is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a degree in political science and a minor in theatre arts. In 2014 he participated in the Great March for Climate Action, an eight-month cross-country march from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. Jeffrey began his yearlong term of service on June 27 and his office is in Old Main 319—please feel free to stop by and say hello!

—Renee Sedlacek, Director of Community Engaged Learning