DRAKE UNIVERSITY

'Drake University' is a private, co-educational university located in the city of Des Moines, Iowa. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country. Distinguished alumni include Dwight D. Opperman, former CEO of West Publishing Company, after whom Drake's law library was named; Neal Smith, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 until 1995; and Terry Edward Branstad, a former four-term Republican Governor of Iowa, who served from 1983 until 1999. The University approved a new Master building plan on June 25, 2005, calling for extensive renovations of existing facilities and the construction of several large buildings, including a new first year student residence hall, science building, fine arts building, and multi-purpose learning center.

Contents

History

Colleges

College of Arts & Sciences

College of Business & Public Administration (CBPA)

School of Education

School of Journalism & Mass Communication (SJMC)

School of Law

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Housing

Student organizations

Academic

Cultural/social

Religious

Greek life

Social fraternities/sororities

Honorary/professional/service fraternities

Athletics

NCAA sports

Drake Relays

Rankings

Notable alumni

External links

History

The institution was founded in 1881, when most of the staff of Oskaloosa College left that college to establish what would become Drake University, founded by Francis Marion Drake, a resident of Centerville, Iowa and Governor of Iowa (1896–1898). The university's law school, the oldest law school in the country west of the Mississippi River, was established in 1865 by Chester C. Cole[1], who served on the Iowa Supreme Court from 1864 to 1876. In 1969 Drake's basketball team went to the Final Four under coach Maurice John, but were defeated by the UCLA Bruins by three points. Drake did defeat the North Carolina Tarheels by 20 points in the third place game.
On September 17, 1969 the Drake student newspaper, ''The Times-Delphic,'' published what appears to be the first documented account of the famous Paul is dead hoax, written by Tim Harper. No articles published prior to this piece about the supposed death of Paul McCartney are known, although fellow ''Times-Delphic'' reporter and musician Dartanyan Brown, one of the sources for the article, recalled hearing about the hoax from other musicians and reading about it in some underground newspapers.
From its founding in 1881, Drake University maintained a nominal affiliation with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) although no religious affiliation is officially recognized today.

Colleges

The University is made up of the following colleges:

College of Arts & Sciences

'Majors offered': Biology, Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB), Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, English, Environmental Policy, Environmental Science, Ethics, Fine Art, Graphic Design, History, International Relations, Law, Politics, and Society (LPS), Mathematics, Mathematics Education (Secondary), Neuroscience, Physics,Politics, Astronomy, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Rhetoric, Writing and Religion.

College of Business & Public Administration (CBPA)

★ AACSB accredited
'Majors offered': Accounting, Actuarial Science, Economics, Entrepreneurial Management, Finance, General Business, Information Systems, International Business, Marketing, Management, Quantitative Economics

'Graduate programs': Master of Accountancy, MBA, MPA
:Distinguished Faculty:
:
★ Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, Author of "The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism" (Palgrave Macmillan (July 20, 2006))
:
★ Stuart Klugman, Former VP of the Society of Actuaries & Principal Financial Group Professor of Actuarial Science
:
★ Terri Vaughan, Former Insurance Commissioner of Iowa

School of Education

'Majors offered': Special education, Secondary education, Elementary education

School of Journalism & Mass Communication (SJMC)

'Majors offered': Advertising, Electronic Media, Magazines, News-Internet, Public Relations, JMC/Law 3+3, Broadcast News
The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is also home to 94.1 The Dog, which operates under the call letters KDRA-LP FM. The station launched in August 2006 after having existed as an internet station, KDCS Bulldog Radio. 94.1 The Dog is broadcast at 80 watts from a tower atop Meredith Hall, the home of Drake's SJMC. An agreement with the FCC allows Drake to utilize the frequency from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. weekdays and all day Saturday, while Grand View College controls the frequency the rest of the week under the call letters KGVC-LP. Drake students schedule 24 hours of programming under "The Dog," broadcasting online and on channel 12 on closed-circuit television on campus even when not broadcasting on the frequency.

School of Law

Drake's law school is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the nation, tracing its history to 1865. It is a charter member of the American Association of Law Schools, has been accredited since 1923 when accreditation first began, and is one of only seventy-five ABA-approved law schools to have a Chapter of Order of the Coif. Drake University Law School is home to the American Judicature Society, the archives of the National Bar Association, the nation's oldest and largest national association of predominately African-American lawyers and judges, and the Drake Constitutional Law Center, which is one of only four constitutional law programs established by the U.S. Congress and funded by the federal government. The Center's mission is to foster in-depth study of the United States Constitution. A significant aspect of the Center's activities is the Dwight D. Opperman Lecture series, an annual event of national importance in constitutional law.
Several Supreme Court Justices have visited campus to deliver lectures on American juris prudence. Numerous current and former United States Supreme Court Justices have delivered the Opperman Lecture, including Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, and late Justices Harry A. Blackmun, Lewis F. Powell and William H. Rehnquist.
The 2007 graduate schools edition of U.S. News ranks the law school as Tier 3.

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

The 2007 edition of U.S. News best graduate programs ranks Drake's College of Pharmacy the #46 out of 57 pharmacy schools in the United States. Alumni donations run deep at this Midwestern private institution. In 2005, Former Walgreen's Chairman and CEO Dan Jorndt, donated $10 million to his alma mater.

'Majors offered': Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD.) and Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS)

Housing

The University provides the following on-campus living accommodations for undergraduate students:

★ Stalnaker Hall (Freshmen only)

★ Carpenter Hall (Freshmen only)

★ Herriott Hall (Freshmen only)

★ Crawford Hall (Freshmen only)

★ Morehouse

★ Jewett Hall

★ Goodwin-Kirk Hall

★ Ross Hall
Drake University and Hubbell Realty leaders announced plans on July 20, 2006 for a $34-million housing and retail development at 30th Street and Carpenter Avenue.
The development will create 7,000 feet of retail space for street-level neighborhood businesses and upper floors for state-of-the-art student suites. The buildings will house up to 500 students.
Current design calls for a mix of one-, two- and four-bedroom units, where each student has a private bedroom and shares a common living and kitchen space. The housing will be targeted primarily at junior and senior undergraduate students and graduate students in the pharmacy program or the Drake Law School. The housing should be available for students in Fall of 2008.

Student organizations

Drake features over 100 student organizations in which to participate, which include:

Academic ★ Chemistry Club ★ CACE (Public Speaking Organization) ★ Donald V. Adams Leadership Academy ★ Mock Trial ★ Model United Nations ★ Quiz Bowl ★ Society of Physics Students (SPS) ★ Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)

Cultural/social ★ Coalition of Black Students (CBS) ★ ★ College Democrats ★ International Students Association (ISA) ★ La Fuerza Latina (LFL) ★ Rainbow Union (RU) ★ Residence Hall Association (RHA) ★ Student Activities Board (SAB) ★ Student Senate

Religious ★ Alpha Omega ★ Campus Crusade for Christ ★ InterVarsity Christian Fellowship ★ Muslim Student Association ★ Wesley Foundation

Greek life

Social fraternities/sororities Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated ★ Alpha Phi ★ Delta Gamma ★ Kappa Alpha Theta ★ Kappa Kappa Gamma ★ Phi Gamma Delta ★ Phi Delta Theta ★ Pi Kappa Alpha ★ Sigma Alpha Epsilon ★ Sigma Chi ★ Sigma Phi Epsilon ★ Tau Kappa Epsilon ★ Theta Chi

Honorary/professional/service fraternities ★ Alpha Kappa Psi ★ Alpha Phi Omega ★ Beta Alpha Psi ★ Delta Sigma Pi ★ Kappa Psi ★ Phi Beta Kappa ★ Phi Delta Chi ★ Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia ★ Sigma Alpha Iota

Athletics

NCAA sports

Drake student-athletes compete in NCAA Division I in the Missouri Valley Conference in all sports except football. In football, Drake competes in the Division I-AA Pioneer Football League.

★ Crew (women's)

★ Cross-country (men's and women's)

★ Basketball (men's and women's)

★ Football

★ Golf (men's and women's)

★ Soccer (men's and women's)

★ Softball (women's)

★ Tennis (men's and women's)

★ Track

★ Volleyball (women's)

Drake Relays

Drake University also hosts the Drake Relays during April. This track and field event has been held since 1910, and is the second-largest collegiate track and field event in the United States. Participants come from all over the world to compete in this three-day event, which also helps to draw large crowds of spectators to Des Moines. Many Olympic athletes can be found participating in these events, which commonly break national and world records.
Students kick-off the Relays in the annual tradition of ''Street Painting'', in which student organizations colorfully decorate areas of Carpenter Avenue near the center of campus under a common theme. Des Moines police officers are often present to pretend to "strictly enforce the law". The theme in 2007 was "The Legacy Lives On"—referencing the $15 million renovation of Drake Stadium. Streaking the street painting was an annual occurrence for a period in the mid-1990s and has occasionally occurred in a few years following.

Rankings

Drake University advanced to seventh in the "Great Schools, Great Prices" rankings and gained sole possession of fourth place in the overall rankings of 142 Midwest Universities - Master's category published by U.S. News and World Report magazine in the 2007 edition of "America's Best Colleges."
Last year Drake ranked eighth in the "Great Schools, Great Prices" category. The rankings are based on a formula that relates a school's academic quality, as indicated by its U.S. News ranking, to the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid. "The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal," according to the magazine.
Drake continues to be ranked No. 2 in reputation for academic quality (peer assessment). It has the highest ranking in its category of any Iowa college or university. Drake improved in several areas this year, including student/faculty ratio, average freshmen retention rate and freshmen in the top 25 percent of their high school class.^[1]

Notable alumni

★ Steve Allen, comedian

★ John August, screenwriter

★ Terry E. Branstad, former and longest serving Governor of Iowa

★ Johnny Bright, member of the College and Canadian Football Hall of Fame

★ Bill Bryson, author

★ George A. Cohon, Founder of McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited and McDonald's in Russia.

★ Chet Culver, current Governor of Iowa

★ Billy Cundiff, NFL placekicker

★ Laurie Dann, murderer

★ Mark Doty, poet

★ Michael Emerson, Emmy winning actor, plays Benjamin Linus on the television show ''Lost''.

★ Bridget Flanery, actress

★ Zach Johnson, PGA golfer, 2007 Masters champion

★ Emma Verona Johnston, oldest living American until May 2004

★ Al McCoy, sports broadcaster, voice of the Phoenix Suns

★ Sherrill Milnes, baritone

★ Clark R. Mollenhoff, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist

★ Dwight D. Opperman, former CEO of West Publishing Company

★ Jeremy Piven, actor (Ari from ''Entourage'')

★ Robert D. Ray, former Governor of Iowa

★ Sara Taylor, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Political Affairs in the George W. Bush administration

★ Fred L. Turner, former Chairman of McDonald's

★ Sam Wanamaker, actor

★ Brian Wansink -- Cornell University Professor and author of ''

★ Roger Williams, musician and composer

★ David L. Wolper, television and film producer

★ Felix Wright, former NFL safety

External links

★ Official website

★ DU Law School

★ The Drake Relays

★ Drake Bulldogs

★ Drake Relays Digital Archive A historic look at one of America's oldest annual Track & Field events.

★ 94.1 The Dog The official radio station of Drake's School of Journalism and Mass Communication