Drake University Law School is pleased to announce that Iowa Supreme Court Justice Brent Appel will join the full-time faculty upon his retirement from the Court at the end of July. He will teach Professional Responsibility and State Constitutional Law, in addition to seminars and other courses.
“We are so honored to welcome Justice Appel to our faculty,” said Drake Law Dean Jerry Anderson. “He has been a brilliant jurist and will draw on a wealth of experience both on the bench and in the courtroom. In addition to his impressive resume, Justice Appel has served as an adjunct professor and as supervisor and mentor for our Supreme Court interns. We’re thrilled that he has such a passion for teaching and helping to train future generations of lawyers.”
“I look forward to the exciting opportunity to be part of the Drake Law community and to this new chapter in my professional career.” said Appel.
Justice Appel was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2006. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University, and his JD from the University of California, Berkeley, where he served on the board of editors of the California Law Review. During his time at Berkeley Law, he won the McBaine Moot Court competition and the Jamieson Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Advocacy. After graduation, Appel clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then served as first assistant attorney general and then as deputy attorney general of Iowa from 1979 to 1986. During this time, he argued and briefed four cases before the United States Supreme Court. At the time of his appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2006, he was a partner at Wandro, Baer & Appel in Des Moines, where his practice focused on commercial litigation, employment law and personal injury.
In 2010, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Appel to the Federal Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence, where he served until 2016. In 2022, Appel received The Iowa State Bar Association’s Rolland E. Grefe Pro Bono Publico Award for his leadership in advocating for access to justice for all Iowans throughout his career, and for his outstanding work as the chair of the Iowa Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission since it was formed in 2016.
Drake professor Lee Jolliffe, with colleagues Katrina Quinn (Slippery Rock University, PA) and Mary Cronin (New Mexico State University), have received the 2022 Browne Award for Best Edited Collection in Popular and American Culture for Adventure Journalism in the Gilded Age: Essays from the Arctic to the Orient (McFarland Books).
The prize was awarded April 14, 2022, at the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations’ annual joint meeting.
Collaborators Jolliffe, Quinn, and Cronin contributed chapters to the book as well as editing the volume. Colleagues to write additional chapters were recruited from the Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression, hosted annually at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga by Prof. David Sachsman. All these writers created chapters that take readers along on 19th-century travels of reporters who pushed the edges of safety and civilization, sending home regular press correspondence that went beyond the tamer travelogues also common in this era. Adventure reporters stepped into the action and reported on their own experiences in far-away, exotic places.
Katrina Quinn shows readers the American West via newly cut trails and early railroads, following reporters up mountains and down into mineshafts. During their rough-and-tumble travels, journalists would suffer mishaps of the trail–-stagecoach rollovers, buffalo hunts, occasional battles with Native Americans, and “hotel rooms” that turned out to be blankets strung across ropes, like pup tents, sleeping four or five.
Mary Cronin shows more luxurious rail travel from New York City to San Francisco with magazine publisher Frank Leslie and an entourage of reporters and illustrators, who filled up his complimentary Pullman Palace car and dined on fresh oysters and strawberries. Leslie’s accounts show his business acumen, as he identified opportunities for US expansion but also show his sense of Anglo-American superiority.
Cronin also writes about a more treacherous expedition, this time into “an almost undiscovered country,” Alaska in 1890. Five men—all with exploration and reporting experience—set out adventuring through Alaska’s wilderness, by snowshoe, sled, and birchbark canoe. Leslie’s Magazine featured exciting stories about Alaska’s terrain, resources, and inhabitants, always with ice floes, bears, and literal cliff-hangers to entice readers. Lack of telegraph lines to transmit fresh stories from exploreres also led to news headlines fearing the team was lost in the wilderness or dead. In truth, the expedition was a success in sending home two years’ worth of exciting photographs, engravings, and stories from “Seward’s Icebox.”
These elements – the rough-cut, unforgiving new landscapes and the sense of ownership and entrepreneurship – emerge in the book as themes of Gilded Age adventure reporting overall.
Other chapters feature familiar names like Mark Twain and Nelly Bly on what may be adventures unfamiliar to readers – Twain, for instance, traveling to Hawaii and Bly to Mexico. These familiar figures are joined by less well-known but equally engaging Gilded Age adventurer-reporters like Henry Morton Stanley crossing Africa to find Dr. Livingstone, Thomas Knox reporting from China with almost sociological precision, and Eliza Scidmore mountain climbing in Japan to write and photograph for the young National Geographic. Scidmore, incidentally, brought back a gift of cherry trees to Washington, DC, from the people of Japan—trees that are now blooming in our capital city.
Lee Jolliffe closes out the book by showing these writers’ impact on prevailing American narratives that framed US expansion as heroic pioneers conquering a Wild West, with rodeos, cowboys, cattle drives, sod-busters, and settlement. The adventure genre, Jolliffe writes, would become so commonplace that one Gilded Age writer lamented that even in the most rural parts of the world, one might trip over other adventure journalists.
“It was true,” Jolliffe notes. “In 1882, two New York Herald writers, George Melville and William Gilder, met up by sheer accident in eastern Siberia as both men raced to report the fate of the lost Polar expedition ship, the Jeanette,” its doomed voyage financed by the Herald as a publicity stunt.
The Adventure Journalism collection as a whole makes for a fun read full of daring adventures, but also highlights how these reporters played roles in the United States’ post-Civil-War expansion, its claim to a manifest destiny, and the exponential growth in inventions, travel, and population, as well as the young country’s rising position on the world stage.
Adventure Journalism in the Gilded Age was “a unanimous selection” by the Browne Award judges, who called it an “excellent volume all the way around. Important topic, excellent documented research, and tremendous and engaging readability.” ¬
Current-day adventure journalist and film-maker Jon Bowermaster says of the book, “Having reported on modern-day adventurers and my own explorations from ninety countries, to both Poles, and across the planet’s one giant ocean, I wish I’d had a copy of Adventure Journalism in the Gilded Age in my backpack during my own travels – it would have fattened my experiences, both here at home and to the most remote corners of the globe. Bravo!!” Bowermaster is a 6-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council, and author of Crossing Antarctica and Descending the Dragon: My Journey Down the Coast of Vietnam.
Lee Jolliffe has taught in Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 1995. Previously, she taught at the Missouri School of Journalism and led the Writing and Editing Section at Battelle Institute in Columbus, Ohio. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on nineteenth century media, specializing in reporting on self-emancipated slaves with occasional forays into adventure journalism studies.
Drake Law School recognized two outstanding faculty members for their contributions to the Law School’s teaching, scholarship, and research during the 2021–2022 academic year.
Allan Vestal, Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law, was recognized as the 2022 Stevens Faculty Scholar of the Year. The Stevens Faculty Scholar of the Year award honors the faculty member who made the most significant contribution to academic scholarship during the previous year. Professor Vestal published seven articles in the last three years on topics ranging from religious freedom to legal history. In addition, he completed an innovative new course book for Contract Drafting that promises to see wide adoption nationwide.
Matt Doré, Richard M. and Anita Calkins Distinguished Professor of Law, received the Student Bar Association’s (SBA) Leland Forrest Outstanding Professor Award. The Outstanding Professor award recognizes a faculty member for their contributions to the quality of legal education both in and out of the classroom. The recipient is chosen by vote of the third-year students and will lead the class in the graduation procession in May. Students selected Professor Doré for his extensive knowledge, passion for the subject matter, and willingness to go above and beyond to serve students and the Drake Law community. He has served on many crucial faculty committees including the promotion and tenure, and admission committees. He has coached Drake’s Client Counseling Team for 30 years, advancing to the national finals several times. “But most importantly,” noted Riley Noble, 2021-2022 SBA president, “Professor Doré is always there for his students. He is careful to make sure they are supported and that they always have the resources they need to succeed.”
Award winners were announced during the Drake Law Supreme Court Celebration in April. For a list of previous faculty award winners and this year’s Supreme Court Celebration student award winners, visit the Supreme Court Celebration website.
Trevon Smith, HR generalist at Drake, is one of 12 College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) members selected to participate in the 2022–2023 CUPA-HR Wildfire Program, a 12-month leadership development experience designed for early-career higher education human resources professionals.
Participants were selected based on their HR strengths and areas for development identified on the program application as well as their interest in and commitment to the program. Throughout the year-long experience, Trevon and the other program participants will have the opportunity to develop their professional skills through tailored learning experiences including mentorship, learning events and courses, and the completion of a year-end project highlighting the insights they gain throughout the year.
“We are very excited to begin working with our ninth Wildfire cohort,” says CUPA-HR President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Brantley. “This program is an outstanding leadership development opportunity for these early-career professionals, and it’s also a great opportunity for our higher ed HR leaders to give back and help prepare the next generation of higher ed leaders.”
CUPA-HR’s Wildfire program is led by outstanding current and past CUPA-HR national board leaders and national office staff and made possible in part thanks to support from HigherEdJobs.
About CUPA-HR CUPA-HR is higher ed HR. We serve higher education by providing the knowledge, resources, advocacy and connections to achieve organizational and workforce excellence. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and serving over 33,000 HR professionals and other campus leaders at nearly 2,000 member institutions and organizations around the country and abroad, the association offers learning and professional development programs, higher education salary and benefits data, extensive online resources and just-in-time regulatory and legislative information.
The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences held its annual Recognition and Pinning Ceremony on Thursday, May 5, 2022. The Ceremony marks students’ transition to final year internships, fieldwork, and rotations for third-year undergraduate health sciences students, first-year master of athletic training students, second-year occupational therapy doctoral students, and third-year doctor of pharmacy students.
During the ceremony, Assistant Dean Michael Nelson announced the recipients of several prestigious awards:
Delaney Goertzen (HSCI-JR) – Oustanding Health Sciences Student Award
Connor Oetzmann (HSCI-JR) – Health Sciences Student Leadership Award
Corby Roush (A1) – Athletic Training Emerging Clinician Award
Rachel Stafford (O2) – Occupational Therapy Scholastic Achievement Award
Jenna Lynn Willer (O2) – Occupational Therapy Leadership & Professional Development Award
Molly Nelson (P3) – Iowa Pharmacy Association Jerry M. Karbeling Leadership Award
Megan Hartle (P3) – Lon N. Larson Engaged Practitioner Award
Congratulations to Sally Haack (PharmD), Stacy Gnacinski (Health Science), Inbal Mazar (Spanish), & Anisa Hansen (PharmD), on their recent publication in the International Journal of Research on Service-Learning & Community Engagement! Their article titled, Evaluating Reliability of the PRELOAD Rubric: Assessment of Service-Learning Course Syllabi, builds off the previous work of Haack and former Drake colleague Laura Kieren who developed and published the PRELOAD rubric (Kieran & Haack, 2018).
Drake University’s Fraternity and Sorority Life commits to providing a collaborative, supportive community that offers students a unique, genuine experience at Drake University.
We challenge our members to embrace individuality, create a sense of belonging, encourage actions based on values, foster inclusivity and diversity, serve with the community, and grow intellectually.
This past week, the FSL community celebrated the successes of the student leaders, chapters, and councils for the 2021 calendar year at their annual FSL Celebration event. Award winners included:
Outstanding New Member Award:
Thomas Karandjeff of the Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Stacia Humphery of the Eta Tau chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Outstanding Philanthropy Award
Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Gamma Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi
Outstanding Drake Spirit Award
Kyle Tekautz of the Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Kiley Kahler of the Gamma Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi
Outstanding Community Service Award
Iowa Delta chapter of Phi Delta Theta
Theta Eta chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated
Outstanding Campus Involvement Award
Erik Iverson of the Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Madyson Sklar of the Phi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Outstanding Programming Award
Gamma Tau chapter of Theta Chi
Phi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Outstanding FSL Leader Award
Brian Orellána of the Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Claire Hill of the Gramma Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi
Outstanding Harm and Risk Reduction Program Award
Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Gamma Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi
Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award
Dr. James Albert, from the Gamma Tau chapter of Theta Chi
Outstanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Award
Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Theta Eta chapter of Alpha Delta Pi
Highest Chapter GPA
Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Phi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Outstanding Drake Faculty or Staff Member Award
Kristin Economos, Director of Student Leadership Programs
Outstanding Brotherhood and Sisterhood Program of the Year Award
Theta Gamma chapter of Sigma Chi
Beta Kappa chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta
FSL Hall of Fame Award
Austin Ash of the Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
Ashwin Sinha of the Iowa Delta chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Layana Sariah of the Phi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Kandeija Bagurusi of the Phi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) announced that Drake has been awarded a $79,110 grant to improve the flow characteristics and water quality of campus runoff as part of campus-wide improvements in sustainability and stormwater management, with an additional $6,000 coming from the City of Des Moines. The grants will be used to build a bioretention and bioremediation system in the area between the agora and Harvey Ingham Hall. This system will capture stormwater running off from Helmick Commons and other parts of central campus. Using berms and native plantings, bioretention and bioremediation cells slow the movement of stormwater, allowing plants and soils to filter the water and remove contaminants. In this way, significantly cleaner stormwater is discharged to local streams at a more constant pace, reducing erosion and flooding problems downstream, while also improving soil moisture near the site during dry times.
This was a student-initiated project, with initial investigation of opportunities done by students in the Drake Environmental Action League, in particular Elly Flemming, who built it into her capstone in Environmental Science and Sustainability. Drake Facilities Planning and Management staff, including Sustainability Coordinator Sophia Seigel and Director Kevin Moran, then worked with students, faculty, the City, and IDALS to organize the application and plan the execution. An important part of the grant will be measuring and analyzing the discharge into the stream just north of the Tennis Center (Ravine Creek) to determine the impact of the improvements.
This work is part of a much larger campus effort to remediate stormwater runoff and improve water quality in Ravine Creek. Other projects have included permeable pavement and equisetum planting on 28th Street going through campus, the prairie north of Meredith, native plantings as part of the Ray Promenade project, runoff collection built into recent parking lot improvements, rain gardens across campus, and capstone projects this spring and a Restoration Ecology class this fall that will focus on habitat improvements in the forested region through which the creek flows.
— David Courard-Hauri, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy
We are excited to announce that the following individuals and groups have been recognized with an award from Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact:
Presidents’ Student Leadership Award recognizes an individual student or a student organization that models a deep commitment to civic responsibility and leadership, evidenced by initiative, innovative and collaborative approaches to addressing public issues, effective community building, and integration of civic engagement into the college experience.
Brian Orellána, ‘24
Presidents’ Civic Engagement Leadership Award recognizes a member of the faculty, administration, or staff or for a group (e.g., advisory committee, task force, project team) that has significantly advanced their campus’ distinctive civic mission by forming strong partnerships, supporting others’ civic and community engagement, and working to institutionalize a culture and practice of engagement.
Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Presidents’ Community Partner Award recognizes a community-based partner or organization that has enhanced the quality of life in the community in meaningful and measurable ways and has engaged in the development of sustained, reciprocal partnerships with the college or university, thus enriching educational as well as community outcomes.
Above and Beyond Cancer
Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who are changemakers and public problem-solvers.
CJ Younger, ‘23
Nominees will be recognized at a virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 4, from 11 a.m.–12 p.m. The event is open to anyone. Register.
Learn more about each awardee. Lists of awardees by award category with images and additional description of each recipient’s accomplishments are available on the Iowa Campus Compact websitethe week of May 2.
Watch Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact social media (Facebook and Twitter @IAMNCompact) between May 6–19 for spotlights on each of the winners.
Congratulations to these changemakers!
Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact’s mission is to support member colleges and universities as they fulfill the public purpose that is at the heart of higher education. Drake University is a member campus of Iowa Campus Compact.
Three students at Drake University received Fulbright awards for the 2022–2023 academic year.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is an international educational exchange program that offers finalists a federally funded grant and the opportunity to spend a year researching, studying, or teaching abroad.
“We are so proud of our Fulbright finalists who have been chosen from among the country’s top candidates for this prestigious international scholarship,” said Karen Leroux, associate professor of history and the University’s coordinator for post-graduate scholarships. “Drake’s unprecedented number of Fulbright recipients reflects the University’s excellent academic programs and the unique learning experiences it affords to students, globally and locally.” Drake has been recognized as a top institutional producer of Fulbright recipients. The University has produced 46 Fulbright Students since 2000.
This year’s Fulbright finalists from Drake include:
Emily Kellogg (SoE, Elementary Ed major; Spanish minor), Spain ETA
Katie Lajoie (A&S, IR & Spanish majors; French minor), Mexico ETA
Kathlyn Wagner (A&S, IR major; Japanese and East Asian Studies minor), Taiwan ETA
Alternate:
Ben Schultz (A&S, Philosophy & LPS major; German minor), Belgium ETA
Fulbright recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated service and leadership potential in their fields. According to Leroux, the Fulbright application process is extensive, and many of the candidates began working on their applications nearly a year in advance.
Drake University congratulates all of its Fulbright Students. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.
