Since the inception of the distinctlyDrake campaign, Drake University has received more than 200 gifts of $25,000 or more, and more than 1,600 alumni, friends and corporations have given at least $1,000 in support of the priorities of distinctlyDrake. These gifts and pledges include:
- The Peggy Fisher and Larry Stelter Chair of Magazine Studies
- The Fred and Patty Turner Professorship in Jazz Studies
- The new Patty and Fred Turner Jazz Center
- The EMC Scholarships and the EMC Insurance Center for Insurance and Risk Management
- Carl Jakopec’s investment in the Harvey Ingham Hall Room 104 renovation
- Joe and Leslie Aiello’s significant and ongoing support of the annual fund
- Joan and Lyle Middleton’s gift to the School of Education building
- Philip De Koster’s newly endowed scholarship
- Bill Buchanan, who with his wife, Jean, committed $3 million to endow the Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurship
- Larry and Kathi Zimpleman committed $1 million in support of the general initiatives of the University
- Jim and Ellen Hubbell committed $1.1 million, which was divided between the renovation of Hubbell Dining Hall and unrestricted endowment
- Bill and Nancy Longfield committed $1 million to endow eight Longfield Scholarships, enabling eight students to say yes to Drake when offered admission
- Suzie Glazer Burt and Greg Burt committed $1 million to fund the new Leadership Lab as a component of the Fieldhouse renovation
- Dean Raylene Rospond and her husband, Scott, who together pledged $25,000, plus 84 percent of the College of Pharmacy and Health Science’s National Advisory Council made gifts to the Annual Fund and several members of the NAC have made multi-year major gift commitments to support the college’s fund for student travel and research
- Mike and Judy Mason committed $400,000 to endow four Mason Family Scholarships and began funding those scholarships through outright gifts last year while their endowment builds
- Melva Bucksbaum and Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan committed $2.5 million to enhance the Bucksbaum Lecture Series
- The Cowles Foundation, led by Drake’s College of Business and Public Administration Dean Charles Edwards, committed $1 million as a challenge to generate additional gifts for the Cowles Library Renovation Project
- The Kruidenier Foundation, under the direction of Liz and Lisa Kruidenier committed an additional $500,000 to support the renovation of Cowles Library
- Sally Davis committed $60,000 to endow a scholarship to support an emerging leader in the sophomore class
- Herb and Karen Baum committed $2 million to endow the Baum Chair in Ethics and the Professions
- Meredith Corporation and the E.T. Meredith Family Foundation collectively contributed $1.3 million to enhance magazine journalism and new media development
- Hy-Vee Corporation committed $1 million to name the basketball court in honor of Chairman Emeritus and CEO Ron Pearson, a Drake graduate
- Kermit Sutton and his wife, Jenny, committed $500,000 to launch the renovation of Cartwright Hall
- Cathy Lacy and her husband, Steve, committed $500,000 to support the distinctlyDrake Campaign
- Debbie and Ric Scripps committed $2 million to support the School of Education building project
- Bob and Margery Young committed $100,000 to support the Donald V. Adams Leadership Institute Endowment
- Don and Carol Fletcher committed $400,000 to support the Donald and Carol Fletcher Scholarship Fund
- John August contributed $500,000 to support the Honors Program
- Brian Harms committed $30,000 to support the Donald V. Adams Leadership Institute
- Andy and Elaine Wright committed $1 million to support the School of Education building project
- Don and Barbie Davidson gave $300,000 to renovate the Davidson Practice Laboratory into a state-of-the-art functioning and licensed pharmacy where pharmacy students can practice real-life situations
- The Davidson’s gift was augmented with additional gifts from Walgreens, Parata Systems, and PDX to bring the total investment in the laboratory to more than $450,000
- Jim Fletcher committed $2 million in his estate plan to endow several full scholarships for future generations of Drake students
- Donald Craib committed $25,000 to endow a scholarship to enable law students to study and conduct research abroad
- Ron Buel gave $145,000 to support multiple athletics initiatives, including providing a new scoreboard system for the Buel Softball Complex
- Barbara and Michael Gartner and the Gartner Family Foundation together gave $250,000 for a scholarship fund
- Steve and Merrilee Nellis committed $1 million in their estate plan for unrestricted endowment, generating critical resources for the University in perpetuity
- George LaMarca and Greg Landry each committed $75,000, for a total of $150,000, to the LaMarca and Landry Health Law Scholarship to provide financial aid to students pursuing a career in health law
- Bill and Jean Riemenschneider have given over $225,000 to athletics, including support of the leadership initiative and to support the football team
- Bill Knapp committed $2.5 million for unrestricted endowment and for the renovations of the Roger R. Knapp Tennis Center
- Jim Collier made a bequest commitment of $2 million to support the School of Education
- R.W. and Mary Nelson contributed $225,000 in support of the programming initiatives of the Center for Global Citizenship
- Paul Morrison has given over $100,000 in support of many different areas
- Patty and Jim Cownie committed $500,000, half in support of a faculty development fund and half in support of athletics
- Bob and Nancy Landess pledged $50,000, half to the Robert and Nancy Landess Endowed Research Fund at the Law School, and half to the Bulldog Champion’s Club in support of athletics
- Blaine and Laverne Briggs made the first multi-million dollar gift to distinctlyDrake with a $2.1 million pledge in support of music education
- Ron and Jane Olson pledged $1 million in support of international initiatives
- Jack and Audrey Ellis committed $500,000 to renovate a pharmacy laboratory and to create a new, state-of-the-art laboratory space for the growing field of study in pharmacogenomics, also known as personalized medicine
- Bankers Trust and the John Ruan Foundation Trust have made a $100,000 combined gift to create a scholarship program for business students from central Iowa
- Dan and Pat Jorndt gave over $500,000 in support of faculty development in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences