Wells Fargo recently renewed its longstanding commitment to Drake University’s College of Business and Public Administration with a five-year, $175,000 grant to the Professional and Career Development Center. The grant enhances Drake’s efforts to prepare students to be remarkable leaders and team members in the professional world.
An additional $25,000 grant by Wells Fargo to the university’s new data analytics program honors the career contributions of former Drake University President David Maxwell and his wife, Madeleine Maxwell.
“These gifts allow Drake to continue to provide exceptional career guidance and training for business students, and also to create new opportunities in the growing area of data analytics,” said Terri Vaughan, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration. “We are deeply grateful to Wells Fargo for their support.”
The Wells Fargo Professional and Career Development Center at Drake University prepares undergraduate and graduate students for professional success through resume and cover letter reviews, individual appointments for career exploration, mock interviews, career events, internship and job postings, and other resources.
The Center is an important component of the College of Business and Public Administration’s career-focused strategy; each of the CBPA’s more than 1,200 students interacts with the Center through extensive programming and curricular activities. As a result:
- More than 600 local professionals engage in activities sponsored by the Wells Fargo Professional and Career Development Center annually, exposing Drake students to a wide variety of employers and career opportunities.
- Over 200 companies attend annual career fairs on campus.
- By the time students graduate from the CBPA, they have completed more than 50 career training hours and participated in more than 75 career events.
Wells Fargo’s team members participate in many career-building events for Drake students. Don Pearson, president of Wells Fargo Bank’s Great Plains Region, sits on Drake’s Board of Trustees; the former president of Wells Fargo Bank in Iowa and Illinois, Scott Johnson, serves as the Drake CBPA’s first Executive-in-Residence. The company has also been a loyal recruiter of Drake graduates: In the past five years, Wells Fargo has hired more than 150 students and alumni for internships and full-time positions.