Drake University faculty already know that education does not end at the classroom doorway, or even the Drake campus. In fact, many of the professors at the School of Education extend their outreach to the Des Moines community and beyond.
Dr. Jill Johnson is a board member of Kingdom Cares/International, United Way Educational Cabinet, and I Have a Dream. She also works with an after school intervention program for at-risk youth whose partnerships include John R. Grubb YMCA and Kingdom Cares. This program provides tutoring, leadership training, and athletics to at-risk Des Moines youth.
Dr. Catherine Gillespie is a Mary Collier Baker professor who collaborates with Iowa’s Department of Cultural Affairs and I Have a Dream to compare the effects of Arts Equals and IHAD on children. Gillespie also collaborates with Sally Beisser to study play among fifth and sixth-grade students enrolled in gifted and talented programs, and Bengu Erguner-Tekinalp on eating disorders. Gillespie chairs the Teaching and Learning Department’s Caring Committee.
Still mindful of university service, both Johnson and Gillespie will take on the additional roles as co-chairs of the Teaching and Learning Department at the School of Education.