The concept of “collective” is, in many ways, central to who and what we are as a University community. In recent years, Drake has emerged as a model for excellence, accountability and integrity in higher education, and it is clear that what we have done is indeed the consequence of collective strength.

Clive Elliott is a Drake University icon, though he’d grimace if he heard anyone say so. His office wall is plastered with posters from past productions, his bookshelves filled with texts on dialect, acting theory and movement. Every first-year student who comes to Welcome Weekend encounters Elliott on stage. Elliott, the Daniel B. Goldberg Artist in Residence of Theatre Arts, is more than a celebrity; he’s an actor with a deep love for teaching.

Pharmacists often have only a short window of time to interact with patients who are picking up prescriptions. Knowing how to convey health information in a 30-second spot is essential, but understanding patient lifestyle is also important.

At half time of the January 25 Bulldog basketball game, Drake presented alumni Lisa Behlmann Cannon, BN’80, and Zach Johnson, BN’98, with the highest honor Drake Athletics bestows on its former student-athletes — the Double D Award.

“Professor Kash’s energy is what attracts many students to musical theatre. She has extensive knowledge of the musical theatre canon. She also ‘preaches what she teaches’ by acting in musicals.”

Drake Blue talked to a cross section of faculty and staff to find out how the concept of collective strength — the power of faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends working together toward a shared goal — plays out in their own areas.