Category: DU in the News

Drake professor Arthur Sanders, the Levitt distinguished professor of politics, said that although Former Sen. Rick Santorum would be a long shot, he has appeal with social conservatives who have strong sway in Iowa's leadoff Republican caucuses.

Jennifer S. Bard, a visiting professor at Drake University Law School, contributed a guest op-ed regarding the current debate over whether embryonic stem cell research should be made illegal.

A high-stakes film tax credit trial will take place at Drake University this week. The trial will test for the first time the evidence gathered in a costly investigation that has enveloped three state agencies for a year and a half. Law professor Russell Lovell negotiates to bring one trial each year to a Drake campus courtroom for the benefit of first-year law students.

The Rev. Carolyn King, a Drake alumna, is the new Des Moines police chaplain. She'll serve as spiritual adviser, counselor and occasional community mediator for Iowa's largest police force.

Jerry Foxhoven, executive director of the Drake Legal Clinic, commented on a court decision to try 17-year-old "convenience store killer" Michael Swanson as an adult. Foxhoven said Iowa law stipulates that, if he's convicted of first-degree murder, Swanson will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

The Huffington Post College News site linked to a Times-Delphic article about three Drake University students who witnessed the uprisings in Egypt first-hand. The three Drake students have been evacuated safely to Prague.

Ninety-two children who became U.S. citizens on Sunday each received a free copy of a book about young immigrants coming to Iowa. "Zakery's Bridge" was written by Drake English Professor Carol Spaulding-Kruse and Kay Smith.

Drake alumnus Timothy Orr, the top officer in the Iowa National Guard, has been promoted to major general by Gov. Terry Branstad.

Leslie Petersen, president of the school board in Ankeny, Iowa, plans to run for re-election. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Drake University.

Dustin Harmsen, a recent Drake University graduate, is the new music teacher at Oak Park Elementary School in Des Moines.