Drake Law School is pleased to announce the following new professorships:
The faculty were chosen based on their outstanding scholarship and national recognition in their respective fields.
—Kayla Choate, Law School
Last month, Associate Professor of English Lisa West participated in the weeklong Council of Independent Colleges Seminar on Landscape and Identity at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Conn. The seminar focused on art history and the use of visual culture in teaching, with the thematic focus on British and American landscape art of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Council of Independent Colleges is a group of independent liberal arts colleges and universities that organizes events, seminars, and activities to improve leadership on the university level, institutional visibility within communities, faculty development, and the contributions of higher education to society. West has been teaching at Drake for 15 years. She received her doctorate degree from Stanford in English and American Literature.
— Lisa West, Department of English
William Klipec, associate professor of psychology, recently published a research manuscript that has implications for the treatment of cocaine addiction.
The article published in Behavioural Brain Research is titled “Loss of the trpc4 gene is associated with a reduction in cocaine self-administration and reduced spontaneous ventral tegmental area dopamine neuronal activity, without deficits in learning for natural rewards.” To learn more about William’s research, visit the Drake Newsroom.
In other publishing news, Avery Gregurich and Angela Ufheil, both writing majors, had creative nonfiction published in Oakland Arts Review (Vol. I Winter 2016), an international undergraduate arts journal.
Environmental science and policy students present at association meeting
On March 5, the Raccoon River Watershed Association held its annual meeting in Perry, Iowa. Drake environmental science and policy students Andrew Rupiper, Gabrielle Brodek, and Leah Robison as well as Thomas Rosburg, professor of biology and chair of the department, presented.
More information can be found at http://theperrynews.com/large-turnout-for-annual-raccoon-river-watershed-association-conference/
Ann Cravero joins prestigious summer program in Europe
Ann Cravero, associate professor of voice and director of opera theater, was accepted as assistant director to Sherrill Milnes on Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni with the Prague Summer Nights: Young Artist Music Festival this summer. Ann will participate in performances, master classes, workshops, concerts, and recitals in venues and halls in the Czech Republic, including fully staged performances of Don Giovanni in the Estates Theatre and Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi at Simon & Jude Church (semi-staged) in Prague as well as orchestra concerts in Tabor, Dvorak Hall in Prague.
The opportunity to direct alongside whom many consider the greatest singer to portray the role of Don Giovanni (Sherrill Milnes) at the theater that Mozart premiered Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni is a great honor. It should be noted that Sherrill Milnes received his bachelor of music at Drake University. This festival will provide Ann the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest singers and conductors in the field of professional opera, including conductors James Nardolillo and James Burton, clarinetist Walter Seyfarth, violinist Rodney Friend, and coach Scott Rednour. A complete list of faculty can be found online.
Tamales and foreign language
On Thursday, Feb. 25, professors Eduardo Garcia and Lourdes Gutiérrez-Nájera gave a tamales-making demonstration for Alpha Mu Gamma, the Drake chapter (Xi Kappa) of the international honor society for foreign languages.
The goal of the event was to build community, specifically in relation to foreign languages. Social events such as this that are open to all Drake students give the opportunity to educate others about aspects of other cultures and thereby grow the world languages department.
Nominations are now being accepted for the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award and the Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Awards. These awards will be presented at the Faculty / Staff Recognition Event on Tuesday, May 3, in Parent’s Hall, Olmsted Center. The deadline to submit nominations has been extended to April 7 at 4:30 p.m.
Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award
Madelyn M. Levitt established the Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize outstanding contributions of Drake faculty and staff to the Drake community. Criteria for the award include:
The nominee must be a current faculty or staff member with at least five years of service at Drake.
Madelyn M. Levitt Employee Excellence Awards
The Employee Excellence Award is presented to up to two staff employees who demonstrate exceptional commitment to excellence in the performance of their duties. Criteria for the award include:
Nominees must be a current staff member with at least one year of service at Drake.
NOMINATION PROCESS
Submit a letter of nomination to the Levitt Award Committee c/o Human Resources. Nomination letters may be sent via campus mail or to laura.schwarz@drake.edu.
A nomination letter detailing specific examples of how the nominee exemplifies each of the applicable criteria is desirable. Additional letters of support are not necessary. A review committee will make award recommendations to the President’s Council. Nominations must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7.
—Submitted by Laura Schwarz, Human Resources
Darcie Vandegrift was selected as part of the inaugural cohort of Faculty Fellows with the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation (ENACT) program. The Fellows will convene at Brandeis University in late May 2016. She was selected to work on children and youth issues, particularly in the areas of education funding and public health. Students in her Sociology of Childhood, Sociology of Education, and Social Stratification courses will incorporate legislative advocacy into their community engaged learning activities beginning J-Term 2017.
The Fellows program is sponsored by ENACT. Fellows are from colleges and universities located in or near state capitals, and will work to build a national online network of students, faculty, activists and legislators. Faculty Fellows will work on pedagogies to incorporate lobbying and civic engagement into their work with student learning. The Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation seeks to be a major voice in addressing challenges to American democracy by engaging young people around the country in civic activism built on knowledge, cooperation, justice and integrity. This new major program of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis University is made possible by a generous gift from Ethics Center Board member Norbert Weissberg and his wife, former Board member Judith Schneider.
-Submitted by Darcie Vandegrift, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department Chair
What: “Kleptomaniacal Chimpanzees, Unripe Figs, and Lousy Knees: Drake Goes to Rwanda” presented by The Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship
When: Feb. 22, 7–8:30 p.m.
Where: Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center
Michael Renner is a professor of biology and psychology and routinely teaches courses in both of these departments as well as the environmental science and policy program. His research is organized around the broad theme of the reciprocal influences between organisms and their environments and has included work in the neuroanatomical and neurochemical influences of environmental enrichment, theoretical models for animal curiosity, and the development of new methods of measuring and quantifying animal behavior. His current projects include optimizing the captive management of endangered species in zoo environments and field studies to model and prevent crop raiding by chimpanzees along the boundaries of the Gishwati Forest Reserve in the Western Province of Rwanda.
Michael Haedicke, associate professor of sociology, has a new book coming out in May from Stanford University Press. Organizing Organic: Conflict and Compromise in an Emerging Market is now available for pre-order online.
The Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs at Drake announces its financial support for two interdisciplinary faculty-student research projects to enhance Drake’s involvement in addressing pressing global issues.
Assessing, Collaborating, and Empowering to Improve Water Quality in Rural Uganda
Water quality is a pressing global issue that affects many aspects of daily life including health, education, and finances. The purpose of this project is to conduct a needs assessment and implement appropriate interventions to improve the utilization of clean water in rural Uganda. The project focuses on Kikandwa, a rural community of approximately 100,000 people located in central Uganda. Its primary water source is a borehole, with local springs and catchment tanks to collect rainwater as secondary sources. The project also will educate and engage the Drake community in addressing water quality issues and will serve as a template for research projects outside of Uganda.
The interdisciplinary research team is comprised of the following faculty and students in Health Sciences, Environmental Science, Finance, and History:
Transnational Des Moines: Reframing Des Moines Immigrant and Refugee Narratives through Collaborative Research with Youth
This qualitative research project will offer knowledge-production, collaboration, and change pertaining to the transnational immigrant and refugee experience in Des Moines. This project will seek to document and theorize knowledge from the perspective of immigrant and refugee actors themselves. It will use an asset-based community development approach that recognizes the capacity of transnational peoples and their associations to contribute to the city’s wellbeing. It will assert a new discourse that creates alternatives to age-hierarchical ways of understanding migrant and refugee communities (and indeed, most collectives) through centering youth and elders as key stakeholders, knowledge holders, and social change agents in building the future of Des Moines.
In addition to students who will be invited to join the project, the interdisciplinary research team includes the following professors:
The Rolland and Mary Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs at Drake provides in-depth international knowledge and experiences for select students who wish to pursue careers in international public affairs. The Nelson Institute was established in 2012 with a gift from Rolland and Mary Nelson, founders of Kemin Industries.
—Submitted by Denise Ganpat, Administrative Assistant 2
Pharmacy student joins Tour for Diversity in Medicine
Andrea Prince-Gomez, a third-year Drake pharmacy student from Ferguson, Mo., has been accepted to the Tour for Diversity in Medicine, a program that advocates for students from underrepresented populations to join health care fields. She will travel the country with other members of the organization beginning in February as its first representative for the field of pharmacy. Learn more in the Drake Newsroom.
Rachel Paine Caufield publishes new book
A new book by Drake Associate Professor of Political Science Rachel Paine Caufield provides a pictorial history of Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.
The Iowa Caucus (Arcadia Publishing, 2016) colorfully illustrates with more than 200 photos the vibrant political culture that has emerged as a result of the state’s unique role in presidential politicking. Learn more about Rachel’s book here.
