Drake University is a private, co-educational university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 located in Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country. Distinguished alumni include Dwight D. Opperman

Dwight D. Opperman

Dwight D. Opperman is currently chairman of Key Investments, a privately held venture capital firm focusing on high-tech ventures. Previously, Opperman was the CEO of West Publishing Company and while he was CEO the company moved into technology products with the creation of the Westlaw legal...

, 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

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from 1959 until 1995. 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.

History

The institution was founded in 1881, when most of the staff of Oskaloosa College

Oskaloosa College

Oskaloosa College was a liberal arts college based out of Oskaloosa, Iowa. The college was founded in 1857, and was affiliated with the Christian Church . It operated until the first part of the 20th century...

 left that college to establish what would become Drake University, founded by Francis Marion Drake

Francis M. Drake

Francis Marion Drake was an American politician who became the 16th Governor of Iowa.-Biography:Drake was born in Rushville, Illinois, the son of John Adams Drake and Harriet Jane O'Neal. He later moved to Centerville, Iowa...

, a resident of Centerville

Centerville, Iowa

Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,528 in the 2010 census, a decline from 5,924 in the 2000 census. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville had a booming coal mining industry that attracted many European immigrants...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 and Governor of Iowa (1896–1898). From its founding in 1881, Drake University maintained affiliation with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...

 although no religious affiliation is officially recognized today.

The university's law school

Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...

, the oldest law school in the country west of the Mississippi River, was established in 1865 by Chester C. Cole http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/about/history/justices/CCCole.asp, who served on the Iowa Supreme Court

Iowa Supreme Court

The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. As constitutional head of the Iowa Judicial Branch, the Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices....

 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 University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina

Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...

 by 20 points in the third place game.

On September 17, 1969 the Drake student newspaper, The Times-Delphichttp://www.timesdelphic.com, published what appears to be the first documented account of the famous Paul is dead

Paul Is Dead

"Paul is dead" is an urban legend suggesting that Paul McCartney of the English rock band The Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike....

 hoax, written by Tim Harper. No articles published prior to this piece about the supposed death of Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

 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.

College of Arts & Sciences

Majors offered: Astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, Biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB), Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, Computer Science

Computer science

Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

, Culture & Society, Economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, Environmental Policy, Environmental Science, Ethics, Fine Art

Fine art

Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....

, Graphic Design

Graphic design

Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...

, History

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, International Relations, Law, Politics, and Society (LPS), Mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, Mathematics Education (Secondary), Music, Music Education, Music Performance, Musical Theatre (B.F.A.), Physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, Politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

, Psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

, Sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, Anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

, Philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, Rhetoric

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...

, Theater (B.A. and B.F.A. programs), Writing and Religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

.

College of Business & Public Administration (CBPA)

• AACSB accredited

Majors offered: Accounting, Actuarial Science

Actuarial science

Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries. Actuaries are professionals who are qualified in this field through education and experience...

, Economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, Entrepreneurial Management, Finance

Finance

"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

, General Business, Information Systems

Information systems

Information Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...

, International Business

International Business

International business is a term used to collectively describe all commercial transactions that take place between two or more regions, countries and nations beyond their political boundary...

, Marketing

Marketing

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

, Management

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

, Quantitative Economics

Graduate programs: Master of Accounting, Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

, Master of Public Administration

Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...

, Master of Financial Management

Distinguished Faculty:

• Stuart Klugman, Former VP of the Society of Actuaries
  Society of Actuaries
  The Society of Actuaries is a professional organization for actuaries based in North America. It was founded in 1949 as the merger of two major actuarial organizations in the United States: the Actuarial Society of America and the American Institute of Actuaries...
  
   & Principal Financial Group
  Principal Financial Group
  Principal Financial Group is a publicly traded corporation based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.The Principal Financial Group is a global financial services provider which offers a wide range of financial products and services, and is a U.S. leader in 401 plans. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, the...
  
   Professor of Actuarial Science
  Actuarial science
  Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries. Actuaries are professionals who are qualified in this field through education and experience...
  
  
• Terri Vaughan, Former Insurance
  Insurance
  In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
  
   Commissioner of Iowa
  Iowa
  Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
  
  

School of Education

Majors offered: Special education

Special education

Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...

, Secondary education

Secondary education

Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...

, Elementary education

School of Journalism & Mass Communication (SJMC)

Majors offered: Advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

, Electronic Media

Electronic media

Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user to access the content. This is in contrast to static media , which today are most often created electronically, but don't require electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form...

, Magazines, News-Internet, Public Relations

Public relations

Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

, JMC/Law 3+3, Broadcast News

Enrollment

More than 3,500 full-time undergraduate students from 50 states and 56 countries. (Total for university)

Faculty

270 full, associate and assistant professors and instructors. 94 percent hold the highest degree in their fields. (Total for university)

Accreditation

Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Drake is among 109 accredited programs nationwide. To win accreditation, schools meet 12 standards, which address such issues as class size to diversity within the faculty and curriculum. Accreditation reviews occur every six years. Drake's program has been continuously accredited, most recently in 2010.
Almost 95 percent (94.9) of 2006 Drake journalism graduates reported being employed in the field or in graduate school, according to a recent survey by the university. Of these, 89.5percent reported having had an internship while in school.

The SJMC's magazine program has achieved national prominence. The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) team that visited in 1999 called the SJMC a “real standout” and termed Drake's Magazines program the strongest undergraduate sequence in the country. Drake student magazines THiNK and 515 won 2007 Pacemaker awards in Washington, D.C.

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 Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 (FCC) allows Drake to utilize the frequency from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. weekdays and all day Saturday, while Grand View University controls the frequency the rest of the week under the call letters KGVC-LP

KGVC-LP

KGVC-LP is a radio station licensed to Des Moines, Iowa, USA and serving the Grand View College area. The station is currently owned by Grand View College.-External links:*...

. 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 Association of American Law Schools

Association of American Law Schools

The Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...

, 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

Order of the Coif

The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...

. 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

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

. 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

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 have visited campus to deliver lectures on American jurisprudence. Numerous current and former United States Supreme Court Justices have delivered the Opperman Lecture, including Justice Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....

, Justice Antonin Scalia

Antonin Scalia

Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...

, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...

, Justice Stephen Breyer

Stephen Breyer

Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....

, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...

, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Justice Samuel Alito

Samuel Alito

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....

, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, 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 2008 edition of U.S. News and World Report best graduate programs ranks Drake's College of Pharmacy the #51 of all fully accredited pharmacy schools meeting the in the United States (tying for 5th among private institutions). In 2005, Former Walgreens Chairman and CEO Dan Jorndt, donated $10 million to his alma mater.

Majors offered: Doctor of Pharmacy

Doctor of Pharmacy

A Doctor of Pharmacy is a professional doctorate degree in pharmacy. In some countries, it is a first professional degree, and a prerequisite for licensing to exercise the profession of pharmacist.-Kenya :...

 (PharmD.), Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 in Pharmaceutical sciences

Pharmaceutical sciences

The pharmaceutical sciences are a group of interdisciplinary areas of study involved with the design, action, delivery, disposition, and use of drugs...

 (BSPS), and Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 in Health Sciences (BSHS).

Housing

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

• Stalnaker Hall (Freshmen only)
• Carpenter Hall (Freshmen only)
• Herriott Hall Basement (Freshmen only)
• Crawford Hall (Freshmen only)
• Morehouse (freshmen/sophomore)
• Jewett Hall (sophomore only)
• Goodwin-Kirk Hall (sophomore only)
• Ross Hall (sophomore only)

Students are required to live on campus for their first two years at Drake. This excludes non-traditional students who take time off between high school and matriculation. Most students choose to live off campus during their final two years.

Drake West Village is not a residence hall and is not owned by Drake University. This also applies to the Old Main apartments.
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.

West Village http://www.drakewestvillage.com/ opened for the Fall 2008 semester.

Student organizations

Drake features over 160 student organizations in which to participate, which include:

Academic

• CACE (Public Speaking Organization)
• Chemistry Club
• Collegiate DECA
  Deca
  Deca- or deka- is a prefix in the metric system, also a numerical prefix, denoting a factor of ten. The term is derived from the Greek δέκα meaning "ten". Its symbol is the only SI prefix that uses more than one character....
  
  
• Donald V. Adams Leadership Institute
• Drake Actuarial Students Society (DASS)
• Drake Association of Technology Advancement (DATA)
• Drake Investment Club
• Honors Student Council http://www.drake.edu/honors/studentcouncil/
• Mock Trial
  Mock trial
  A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
  
  
• Model United Nations
  Model United Nations
  Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
  
  
• Quiz Bowl
• Society of Physics Students
  Society of Physics Students
  The Society of Physics Students is a professional association with international participation, granting membership through college chapters with the only requirement that the student member be interested in physics. All college majors are welcome to join SPS, but the highest representation tends...
  
   (SPS)
• Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)

Cultural/social

• The 10,000 Hours Show of Central Iowa
• Circle K International Circle K
• Coalition of Black Students (CBS)
• College Democrats
• Drake Environmental Action League (DEAL)
• Drake Theatre People (DTP)
• International Students Association (ISA)
• La Fuerza Latina (LFL)
• Malaysian Students Association (MASA)
• South Asian Student Association (SASA)
• Rainbow Union (RU)
• Residence Hall Association
  Residence hall association
  In the United States, a Residence Hall Association is a student-run university residence hall governing body. It is usually the parent organization for individual hall governments. Their function is similar to a student government, except that most of their activities pertain to on-campus living...
  
   (RHA)
• Student Activities Board (SAB)
• Student Senate

Religious

• Alpha Omega
• Campus Crusade for Christ
  Campus Crusade for Christ
  Campus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...
  
  
• Campus Fellowship
• Hillel
  Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
  Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
  
  
• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
  InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
  InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian, student-led ministry which for the past 70 years has been dedicated to establishing witnessing communities on U.S. college and university campuses...
  
  
• Muslim Student Association
• St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Student Center
• Wesley Foundation
  Wesley Foundation
  A Wesley Foundation is a United Methodist campus ministry sponsored in full or in part by the United Methodist Church on a non-church owned and operated campus...
  
  
• International Students Ministry (ISM)

Social fraternities/sororities

• Alpha Phi
  Alpha Phi
  Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Alpha Phi currently has 152 active chapters and over 200,000 initiated members. Its celebrated Founders' Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha...
  
  
• Alpha Delta Pi
  Alpha Delta Pi
  Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
  
  
• Delta Gamma
  Delta Gamma
  Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...
  
  
• Kappa Alpha Theta
  Kappa Alpha Theta
  Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
  
  
• Kappa Kappa Gamma
  Kappa Kappa Gamma
  Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...
  
  
• Phi Gamma Delta
  Phi Gamma Delta
  The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
  
  
• Pi Kappa Alpha
  Pi Kappa Alpha
  Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
  
  
• Pi Kappa Phi
  Pi Kappa Phi
  Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
  
  
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon
  Sigma Alpha Epsilon
  Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
  
  
• Sigma Chi
  Sigma Chi
  Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
  
  
• Sigma Phi Epsilon
  Sigma Phi Epsilon
  Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
  
  
• Tau Kappa Epsilon
  Tau Kappa Epsilon
  Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
  
  
• Theta Chi
  Theta Chi
  Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
  
  

Honorary/professional/service fraternities

• Alpha Epsilon Delta
  Alpha Epsilon Delta
  Alpha Epsilon Delta is a U.S. health preprofessional honor society. The organization currently has more than 144,000 members within 186 chapters at universities throughout the United States, making it the world's largest Honor Society serving all students from different backgrounds in the pursuit...
  
  
• Alpha Kappa Delta
  Alpha Kappa Delta
  Alpha Kappa Delta is an international sociology honor society.Founded in 1920 by Emory S. Bogardus, of the University of Southern California sociology department, the name is derived from the Greek anthrôpos meaning mankind, katamanthanô, meaning to examine closely or acquire knowledge, and...
  
  
• Alpha Kappa Psi
  Alpha Kappa Psi
  ΑΚΨ is the oldest and largest professional business fraternity. The Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904 at New York University, and was incorporated on May 20, 1905...
  
  
• Alpha Lambda Delta
  Alpha Lambda Delta
  Alpha Lambda Delta is an honor society for students who have achieved a 3.5 GPA or higher and are in the top 20% of their class during their first year or term of higher education.-History:...
  
  
• Alpha Phi Omega
  Alpha Phi Omega
  Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
  
  
• Beta Alpha Psi
  Beta Alpha Psi
  ΒΑΨ is a national honors business organization for highly successful accounting, finance and information systems students and professionals. It was founded on February 12, 1919 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is currently headquartered in Durham, North Carolina...
  
  
• Beta Beta Beta
• Beta Gamma Sigma
  Beta Gamma Sigma
  Beta Gamma Sigma or ΒΓΣ is an honor society for business students and scholars. Founded in 1913 at the University of Wisconsin, it has over 650,000 members, selected from over 500 chapters in AACSB-accredited business schools...
  
  
• Delta Sigma Pi
  Delta Sigma Pi
  ΔΣΠ ' is one of the largest co-ed professional business fraternities. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907 at the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, New York, New York and is currently headquartered in Oxford, Ohio...
  
  
• Delta Theta Phi
  Delta Theta Phi
  Delta Theta Phi is a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. The smallest of the three internationally recognized law fraternities , Delta Theta Phi is the only one of the three major law fraternities to charter chapters in the United States at...
  
  
• Kappa Delta Pi
  Kappa Delta Pi
  Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education, was founded in 1911 and was one of the first discipline-specific honor societies. Its membership is limited to the top 20 percent of those entering the field of education. Kappa Delta Pi claims over 600 chapters across North America and...
  
  
• Kappa Mu Epsilon
  Kappa Mu Epsilon
  Kappa Mu Epsilon is a mathematics honor society founded in 1930 to focus on the needs of undergraduate mathematics students. There are now over 100 chapters at various American universities and colleges, primarily at mid-sized public universities or smaller private institutions...
  
  
• Kappa Psi
  Kappa Psi
  Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, Incorporated, is both the oldest and largest professional pharmaceutical fraternity in the world. It was founded on May 30, 1879, by F. Harvey Smith on the campus of Russell Military Academy in New Haven, Connecticut. The Central Office of Kappa Psi is located...
  
  
• Kappa Tau Epsilon
• Lambda Kappa Sigma
  Lambda Kappa Sigma
  ΛKΣ headquartered in Muskego, Wisconsin is an international pharmacy fraternity founded in 1913 by Ethel J. Heath and eight other female students at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy...
  
  

• Omicron Delta Epsilon
  Omicron Delta Epsilon
  Omicron Delta Epsilon is an international honor society in the field of economics. Resulting from the merger of Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon, ODE was founded in 1963 . Its board of trustees includes well-known economists such as Robert Lucas, Kenneth Arrow, and Robert Solow...
  
  
• Omicron Delta Kappa
  Omicron Delta Kappa
  Omicron Delta Kappa, or ΟΔΚ, also known as The Circle, or more commonly ODK, is a national leadership honor society. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. Chapters, known as Circles, are located on over 300...
  
  
• Phi Alpha Delta
  Phi Alpha Delta
  ΦAΔ , or P.A.D., is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States of America. Phi Alpha Delta has members who are university students, law school students, lawyers, judges, senators, and even presidents. It was founded in 1902 and today has over 300,000 initiated members...
  
  
• Phi Alpha Theta
  Phi Alpha Theta
  Phi Alpha Theta is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history.The society is a charter member of the Association of College Honor Societies and has over 350,000 members, with about 9,500 new members joining each year through 860 local chapters.-...
  
  
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Phi Beta
  Phi Beta
  Phi Beta Fraternity: National Professional Association for the Creative and Performing Arts is an American national professional college fraternity for the creative and performing arts. It was founded in 1912 at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois...
  
  
• Phi Delta Chi
  Phi Delta Chi
  Phi Delta Chi, was founded on 2 November 1883 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor by 11 men, led by Dean Albert B. Prescott. The fraternity was formed to advance the science of pharmacy and its allied interests, and to foster and promote a fraternal spirit among its brothers, now both male...
  
  
• Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
  Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
  Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
  
  
• Phi Sigma Iota
  Phi Sigma Iota
  Phi Sigma Iota, or ΦΣΙ, is an honor society whose members are elected from among outstanding advanced and graduate students of foreign languages and literatures including Classics, Comparative Literature, Philology, Bilingual Education, and Applied Linguistics...
  
  
• Pi Kappa Lambda
  Pi Kappa Lambda
  Pi Kappa Lambda is an American honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of music. There are currently 205 active chapters and approximately 64,500 individual members....
  
  
• Pi Sigma Alpha
  Pi sigma alpha
  Pi Sigma Alpha , the National Political Science Honor Society, is the only honor society for college and university students of political science in the United States. Its purpose is to recognize and promote high academic achievement in the field of political science...
  
  
• Psi Chi
  Psi Chi
  Psi Chi is the International Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. With over 1,050 chapters, Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States...
  
  
• Rho Chi
• Sigma Alpha Iota
  Sigma Alpha Iota
  Sigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...
  
  
• Sigma Iota Epsilon
  Sigma Iota Epsilon
  Sigma Iota Epsilon is a National Honorary and Professional Management Fraternity. The stated goals of Sigma Iota Epsilon are;*To stimulate interest and achievement in the field of management;*To stimulate scholarship in management;...
  
  
• Sigma Pi Sigma
  Sigma Pi Sigma
  Sigma Pi Sigma is the National Physics Honor Society. It strives to promote physics at all stages, to promote fraternity between those who excel at physics, and to promote service among its members. It is closely associated with the Society of Physics Students .- External links :*...
  
  
• Sigma Tau Delta
  Sigma Tau Delta
  Sigma Tau Delta is an international collegiate honor society for students of English. It presently has over 800 active chapters located in Europe, the Caribbean, the United States, and 1 chapter in the Middle East , with more than 1,000 faculty sponsors...
  
  
• the Order of Omega
  Order of Omega
  The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather than a social or professional group in se...
  
  

NCAA sports

Drake student-athletes compete in NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division I in the Missouri Valley Conference

Missouri Valley Conference

The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...

 in all sports except football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

. In football, Drake competes in the FCS NCAA Division I Pioneer Football League

Pioneer Football League

The Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's...

. In crew, Drake competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. MAAC teams compete in the NCAA's Division I. Most of the members are Catholic or formerly Catholic institutions; the only exception is the private but secular Rider...

.

• Basketball
  College basketball
  College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
  
   (men's and women's)
• Crew
  Sport rowing
  Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
  
   (women's)
• Cross-country (men's and women's)
• Football
  American football
  American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
  
   (men's)
• Golf
  Golf
  Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
  
   (men's and women's)
• Soccer (men's and women's)
• Softball
  Softball
  Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
  
   (women's)
• Tennis
  Tennis
  Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
  
   (men's and women's)
• Track & Field (men's and women's)
• Volleyball
  Volleyball
  Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
  
   (women's)

The Knapp Center

The Knapp Center

Knapp Center

The Knapp Center is a 7,000 seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. It was built in 1992, and is the home of the Drake Bulldogs. The first Drake Bulldogs basketball game was played on December 5, 1992....

 is a 7,002 seat multi-purpose arena at Drake. Its main purpose is to host Drake athletic events, but is also used for, among other things, concerts, Bucksbaum Lectures, and commencement

Graduation

Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...

. It was built in 1992, and is the home of the Drake Bulldogs. Prior to the Knapp Center, Drake's basketball teams played their games at Veterans Memorial Auditorium

Veterans Memorial Auditorium (Des Moines)

Veterans Memorial Auditorium is an arena in Des Moines, Iowa, that is part of the Iowa Events Center complex. It opened on February 1, 1955, and was named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County. It has 7,227 permanent seats, with the capacity to add an additional 4,000 seats for concerts...

 in downtown Des Moines. Other sports previously used the fieldhouse which is about a block west of the Knapp Center. The first Drake basketball game in the Knapp Center was played on December 5, 1992.

Drake Relays

Drake University also hosts the Drake Relays

Drake Relays

The Drake Relays is an annual outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University...

 during April. This track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 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. Des Moines police units are in heavy presence for the event, though most students claim many of the city's laws and ordinances

Local ordinance

A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...

, especially those regarding underage alcohol cosumption, are suspended for the event.

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. The theme in 2007 was "The Legacy Lives On"—referencing the $15 million renovation of Drake Stadium. Other themes have included 2009's "Running Strong a Century Long", in honor of the 100th running of the Relays, and 2010's "History to you, Tradition to us". The theme for 2011 is "Come for the race, stay for the [blank]".Streaking

Streaking

Streaking is the act of running nude through a public place.-History:On 5 July 1799, a Friday evening at 7 o'clock, a naked man was arrested at the Mansion House, London, and sent to the Poultry Compter...

 the street painting was an annual occurrence for a period in the mid-1990s and has occasionally occurred in a few years following.

Fight Song

The fight song for Drake University is The "D" Song. The lyrics are:

Here's to the one who wears the "D",

Makes a good fight for varsity,

Here's to those who've fought and won,

Made a good fight as a true Drake alum,

Here's to the one who's brave and bold,

Ready to battle like days of old,

Fights like a Bulldog for victory,

Oh, here's to the one who wears the "D".

Rankings

Drake University advanced to seventh in the "Great Schools, Great Prices" rankings and gained sole possession of third place in the overall rankings of 142 Midwest Universities - Master's category published by U.S. News and World Report magazine in the 2010 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 in the U.S. News Master's category. 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.

Notable alumni

• Steve Allen
  Steve Allen (comedian)
  Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent...
  
  , comedian
• Lew Anderson
  Lew Anderson
  Lewis Burr Anderson was an American actor and musician, most famous for being the third and final actor to portray Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody between 1954 and 1960...
  
  , musician and voice of Clarabell the Clown
• Chris Ash
  Chris Ash
  Chris Ash is the Defensive Coordinatior / Defensive Backs Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers football team.-Biography:A native of Ottumwa, Iowa, Ash is married with two children. He is a graduate of Drake University and Iowa State University.-Career:...
  
  , Defensive Backs Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers
  Wisconsin Badgers football
  The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
  
   football team
• John August
  John August
  John August is an American screenwriter and film director.  He also writes and maintains the popular screenwriting blog , and develops screenwriter-targeted software....
  
  , screenwriter.
• Rose Bampton
  Rose Bampton
  Rose Bampton was a celebrated American opera singer who had an active international career during the 1930s and 1940s. She began her professional career performing mostly minor roles from the mezzo-soprano repertoire in 1929 but later switched to singing primarily leading soprano roles in 1937...
  
  , principal singer at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1930s and 1940s.
• Steve Bannos
  Steve Bannos
  Steve Bannos is an American television and film actor and writer. As an actor, he may be best known for his portrayal of Frank Kowchevski on the short-lived NBC dramedy Freaks and Geeks....
  
  , film actor and writer
• Tom Bienemann
  Tom Bienemann
  Tom Bienemann was a defensive end in the National Football League. He was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1951 NFL Draft by the Chicago Cardinals and played six seasons with the team. Previously, he had been drafted in the 1950 NFL Draft by the Cardinals, but remained in college.-References:...
  
  , NFL defensive end
  Defensive end
  Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
  
  
• Jon Bowermaster
  Jon Bowermaster
  Jon Bowermaster— is a noted oceans expert, award-winning journalist, author, filmmaker, adventurer and six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council.-Background/Education:...
  
  , oceans expert, journalist, filmmaker and adventurer
• Terry E. Branstad
  Terry E. Branstad
  Terry Edward Branstad is an American politician who is the 42nd and current Governor of Iowa since January 2011. Branstad was the 39th Governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and President of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is the youngest and...
  
  , former, longest serving, and current Governor of Iowa.
• Archie R. Boe
  Archie R. Boe
  Archie R. Boe was a former president of Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Allstate Insurance Co.-Career:...
  
  , former Chairman and CEO of the Allstate Corporation, and former president, Sears, Roebuck
• James E. Bowman, Tuskegee Airman and former assistant superintendent of the Des Moines School District
• The Honorable Judge Gregory Brandt, of the Polk County District Court
• Johnny Bright
  Johnny Bright
  Johnny D. Bright was a professional Canadian football player in the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Drake University...
  
  , member of the College
  College Football Hall of Fame
  The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
  
   and Canadian Football Hall of Fame
  Canadian Football Hall of Fame
  The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
  
  
• Bill Bryson
  Bill Bryson
  William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
  
  , author.
• Waldo Don Carlos
  Waldo Don Carlos
  Waldo Emerson Don Carlos was a center in the National Football League.-Career:Carlos played with the Green Bay Packers during the 1931 NFL season. As such, he was a member of the 1931 NFL Champion Packers...
  
  , NFL center
  Center (American football)
  Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
  
  .
• Johnnie Carson
  Johnnie Carson (diplomat)
  Johnnie Carson is a career diplomat from the United States who has served as United States Ambassador to several African nations. In 2009 he was nominated to become U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs by President Barack Obama.-Biography:Carson was born April 7, 1943, in...
  
  , career diplomat.
• Joseph Chaikin
  Joseph Chaikin
  Joseph Chaikin was an American theatre director, playwright, and pedagogue.-Early years:The youngest of five children, Chaikin was born to a poor Jewish family living in the Borough Park residential area of Brooklyn. At the age of six, he was struck with rheumatic fever, and he continued to...
  
  , Founder of the Open Theater, theater director, actor, author.
• George A. Cohon, Founder of McDonald's
  McDonald's
  McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
  
   Restaurants of Canada Limited and McDonald's in Russia
• Chet Culver
  Chet Culver
  Chester John "Chet" Culver was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.-Early life and education:Culver was born in...
  
  , former Governor of Iowa.
• Billy Cundiff
  Billy Cundiff
  William A. "Billy" Cundiff is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
  
  , NFL
  National Football League
  The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
  
   placekicker
  Placekicker
  Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
  
  .
• Laurie Dann
  Laurie Dann
  Laurie Dann was an American murderer who shot and killed a boy, and wounded two girls and three boys, in a Winnetka, Illinois, elementary school, then took a family hostage and shot a man before killing herself.-Early life:Dann was born into a Jewish family in Chicago and grew up in Glencoe, an...
  
  , murderer
• Mark DeCarlo
  Mark DeCarlo
  Mark DeCarlo is an American actor.DeCarlo is the voice of Hugh Neutron on the television show Jimmy Neutron. He hosted the Travel Channel's Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo for 2 seasons in 2004 and 2005, and is also known as the host of the early 1990s dating game show Studs...
  
  , TV and film actor, comedian, host of Taste of America television show http://www.markdecarlo.com, cartoon voice actor
• Dave Doeren
  Dave Doeren
  -External links:*...
  
  , Defensive Coordinator of the Wisconsin Badgers
  Wisconsin Badgers football
  The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
  
   football team
• Joey Donia, sports reporter for ABC15 in Des Moines, Iowa
• Mark Doty
  Mark Doty
  Mark Doty is an American poet and memoirist.-Biography:He was born in Maryville, Tennessee, earned his Bachelor of Arts from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and received his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Goddard College in Vermont.In 1989, his partner Wally Roberts tested...
  
  , poet
• Michael Emerson
  Michael Emerson
  Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
  
  , Emmy-winning actor, plays Ben Linus on the television show Lost
  Lost (TV series)
  Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
  
  
• Bridget Flanery
  Bridget Flanery
  Bridget Christine Flanery is an American actress. She is most notable for playing the Sweet Valley character Lila Fowler in Sweet Valley High in 1994 until 1996 before being replaced by actress Shirlee Elliot. She is a Drake University graduate, completing her studies in 1992, where she studied...
  
  , actress
• Bill Gates, Phoenix
  Phoenix, Arizona
  Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
  
   city council
  Phoenix City Council
  The Phoenix City Council includes the mayor and 8 councilmembers. Each councilmember is elected from a different district of the city of Phoenix. The councilmembers are elected to 4 year terms in a nonpartisan election.The Council:-External links:*...
  
  man
• Susan Glaspell
  Susan Glaspell
  Susan Keating Glaspell was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, actress, director, novelist, biographer and poet. She was a founding member of the Provincetown Players, one of the most important collaboratives in the development of modern drama in the United States...
  
  , author
• Arne Harris
  Arne Harris
  Arnold H. Harris was the producer/director of WGN-TV's Chicago Cubs television broadcasts from 1964 until his death....
  
  , producer–director for Chicago Cubs
  Chicago Cubs
  The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
  
   on WGN-TV
  WGN-TV
  WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
  
  .
• Robert Helmick, former president of the US Olympic committee.
• Ezra Hendrickson
  Ezra Hendrickson
  Ezra Hendrickson is a retired Vincentian footballer. He played professionally in the United States' Major League Soccer with New York MetroStars, Los Angeles Galaxy, Dallas Burn, and Chivas USA, and was also a member of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national team...
  
  , professional soccer player
• Joseph Hermann
  Joseph Hermann
  Joseph W. Hermann is a leading American wind band conductor and educator and is currently Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee...
  
  , conductor, clarinetist and music educator; President of the American Bandmasters Association
  American Bandmasters Association
  The American Bandmasters Association was formed in 1929 by Edwin Franko Goldman to promote concert band music. Goldman sought to raise esteem for concert bands among musicians and audiences...
  
  
• Joseph C. Howard, Sr.
  Joseph C. Howard, Sr.
  Joseph Clemens Howard, Sr. was the first African American to win an election as judge for the Baltimore City Supreme Bench and was later appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, becoming the first African American to serve on that bench...
  
  , Judge
  Judge
  A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
  
  , United States District Court for the District of Maryland
  United States District Court for the District of Maryland
  The United States District Court for the District of Maryland is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland....
  
   (1979–2000)
• Cuthbert Hurd
  Cuthbert Hurd
  Cuthbert Corwin Hurd was an American computer scientist and entrepreneur, who was instrumental in helping the International Business Machines Corporation develop its first general-purpose computers.-Life:...
  
   (1911–1996) computer pioneer
• Scott Jensen
  Scott Jensen
  -Early life:Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Jensen attended Mukwonago High School and graduated from Drake University in 1982. He received a masters degree in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 1984.-Career:...
  
  , Wisconsin politician
• Virginia Johnson, Costume Supervisor for The Social Network
  The Social Network
  The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
  
  , and various film and T.V. projects.
• Zach Johnson
  Zach Johnson (golfer)
  Zachary Harris Johnson is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and the 2007 Masters champion.-Background:...
  
  , PGA golfer, 2007 Masters champion.
• Emma Verona Johnston
  Emma Verona Johnston
  Emma Verona Johnston née Calhoun was an American supercentenarian recognized as the "oldest living American" from May 2004 until her death at age 114 years 117 days. Verona was born in Indianola, Iowa as one of a large family...
  
  , oldest living American until May 2004.
• Karl Kassulke
  Karl Kassulke
  Karl Otto Kassulke was a former professional American football player.Kassulke graduated from Drake University, where he starred as a safety. He played 10 seasons in the National Football League, all with the Minnesota Vikings...
  
  , NFL player.
• Ira Levin
  Ira Levin
  Ira Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
  
  , author.
• Kenneth A. Macke, former CEO and Chairman of Dayton Hudson Corporation (since renamed Target Corporation
  Target Corporation
  Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
  
  )
• Al McCoy
  Al McCoy (announcer)
  Al McCoy , sometimes nicknamed as The Voice Of The Suns, has been the radio broadcast announcer of Phoenix Suns NBA basketball games since 1972 which makes him the longest tenured broadcaster in the NBA...
  
  , sports broadcaster, voice of the Phoenix Suns
  Phoenix Suns
  The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
  
  .
• Sherrill Milnes
  Sherrill Milnes
  Sherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
  
  , operatic baritone.
• Clark R. Mollenhoff
  Clark R. Mollenhoff
  Clark R. Mollenhoff was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, lawyer, and columnist for The Des Moines Register.-Life and career:...
  
  , Pulitzer Prize
  Pulitzer Prize
  The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
  
  -winning journalist.
• John M. Mathew, President and chief executive officer
  Chief executive officer
  A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
  
   of Wick Communications
  Wick Communications
  Wick Communications is a family-owned community news company with 28 newspapers and 18 specialty publications in 12 states. The home offices are in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and it has newspapers in Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, Alaska, California, North Carolina, North Dakota,...
  
   Company.
• Dwight D. Opperman
  Dwight D. Opperman
  Dwight D. Opperman is currently chairman of Key Investments, a privately held venture capital firm focusing on high-tech ventures. Previously, Opperman was the CEO of West Publishing Company and while he was CEO the company moved into technology products with the creation of the Westlaw legal...
  
  , former CEO of West Publishing Company.
• Charles Partridge
  Charles Partridge (American football)
  Charles Partridge is the co-Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers football team.-Biography:A native of Plantation, Florida, Partridge is married with two children. He first attended Drake University, where he was a team captain of the football team...
  
  , Defensive Line and Specialists Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers
  Wisconsin Badgers football
  The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
  
   football team
• Jeremy Piven
  Jeremy Piven
  Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
  
  , actor (attended; did not graduate)
• Robert D. Ray
  Robert D. Ray
  Robert Dolph Ray served as the 38th Governor of Iowa from January 16, 1969 to January 14, 1983. He served in the United States Army. He received his B.A. in Business from Drake University in 1952 and his Law Degree in 1954...
  
  , former Governor of Iowa.
• Franny Starkey Sanguin, Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady (Michelle Obama)
• William A. Staples
  William A. Staples
  William A. Staples is the fourth president of the University of Houston–Clear Lake. He earned a bachelor's degree from Drake University , a master's degree from the University of Iowa , and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Houston...
  
  , president of the University of Houston–Clear Lake
  University of Houston–Clear Lake
  The University of Houston–Clear Lake is a state university, and is a component institution of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 524-acre in Pasadena, with a satellite campus in Pearland. Founded in 1971, UHCL has an enrollment of more than 8,000 students...
  
  
• Phil Stong
  Phil Stong
  Philip Duffield Stong was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for writing the novel State Fair, on which three films and one musical by that name were based....
  
  , author of "State Fair"
• Matthew Stover
  Matthew Stover
  Matthew Woodring Stover is an American fantasy and science fiction novelist. He is perhaps best known for his four Star Wars novels, including the novelization of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He has also written several fantasy novels, including Iron Dawn and Jericho Moon...
  
  , author of fantasy and science fiction, including the novelization of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
• Sara Taylor
  Sara Taylor
  Sara Marie Taylor is a public relations consultant who was the Director of the White House Office of Political Affairs and Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush from February 2005 to May 30, 2007. A Republican campaign strategist, field operator, pollster, she was one of George W. Bush's...
  
  , former Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Political Affairs in the George W. Bush administration
• Fred L. Turner
  Fred L. Turner
  Frederick Leo Turner is an American restaurant industry executive, and former chair and CEO of McDonald's....
  
  , former Chairman of McDonald's
  McDonald's
  McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
  
  
• Sam Wanamaker
  Sam Wanamaker
  Samuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
  
  , actor
• Brian Wansink
  Brian Wansink
  Brian Wansink is an American professor in the fields of consumer behavior and nutritional science. He is a former Executive Director of the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion ....
  
  , Cornell University professor and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
• Larry Whiteside
  Larry Whiteside
  Lawrence W. Whiteside , nicknamed "Sides," was a pioneering African American journalist known for his coverage of baseball for a number of American newspapers, most notably The Boston Globe.-Early life and career:...
  
  , award-winning sportswriter.
• Harley Wilhelm, Manhattan Project scientist and inventor.
• Ann Williams, member of the Illinois House of Representatives
  Illinois House of Representatives
  The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
  
  
• Roger Williams
  Roger Williams (pianist)
  Roger Williams was an American popular music pianist. As of 2004, he had released 116 albums.-Biography:...
  
  , musician and composer
• Rex Wockner
  Rex Wockner
  Rex Wockner is an American freelance journalist who has reported news for the gay press and mainstream periodicals since 1985. His work has appeared in more than 325 gay publications in 38 countries.-Career:...
  
  , journalist
• David L. Wolper
  David L. Wolper
  David Lloyd Wolper was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as Roots, The Thorn Birds, North & South, L.A. Confidential, and the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory...
  
  , television and film producer
• Felix Wright
  Felix Wright
  Felix Carl Wright , is a former professional American football player who played safety from 1985-1992 for the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League....
  
  , former CFL
  Canadian Football League
  The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
  
   and NFL
  National Football League
  The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
  
   safety
• Larry Zimpleman, President and CEO of Principal Financial Group
  Principal Financial Group
  Principal Financial Group is a publicly traded corporation based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.The Principal Financial Group is a global financial services provider which offers a wide range of financial products and services, and is a U.S. leader in 401 plans. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, the...
  
  

External links

• Official website
• Drake Relays Digital Archive A historic look at one of America's oldest annual Track & Field events.
• Drake University Yearbooks