About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Drake University

Encyclopedia : D : DR : DRA : Drake University

Wifvat Plaza sculpture in front of Opperman Hall and Law Library
Enlarge
Wifvat Plaza sculpture in front of Opperman Hall and Law Library
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, and Neal Smith, who served in the United States House of Representatives 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.

Contents

History

The institution was founded in 1881, when most of the staff from Oskaloosa College left to establish what would become Drake University. The university's law school was established in 1881 by Chester C. Cole[link], who served on the Iowa Supreme Court from 1864 to 1876.

Colleges

The University is made up of the following colleges:

College of Arts & Sciences

Majors offered: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, English, History, Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology

College of Business & Public Administration (CBPA)

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

School of Journalism & Mass Communication (SJMC)

School of Law

Drake's law school is one of the original 25 law schools that were first recognized by the American Bar Association. Additionally, the Constitutional Law Center is one of only a few in the entire United States. The 2007 graduate schools edition of U.S. News ranks the law school as Tier 3. Several Supreme Court Justices have visited campus to deliver lectures on American juris prudence. The Constitutional Law Center is one of four constitutional law programs established by the United States Congress. 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. 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.

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Drake features one of the most selective and successful schools of Pharmacy 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)

Residence Life

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

Student Organizations

Drake features over 100 student organizations in which to participate:

Greek Life

Social Fraternities/Sororities
* 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

Athletics

The Knapp Center
Enlarge
The Knapp Center

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

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 atheletes 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 under a common theme. The theme in 2006 was "If you build it, they will run"--referencing the $10M renovation of Drake Stadium.

Notable Alumni

External links











 





From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.














Search Titles









0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?










E-mail this article to:



Personal Message: