More than 1,400 undergraduate and graduate students celebrated their commencement rites of passage at Drake University's graduation ceremonies last month.

Five alumni, the Maxwells honored at Alumni Award Dinner; Alumni gather for 50 Year Club Reunion weekend; Alumnus named CEO of Pella Corp.; Cowles Library launches new online heritage collection of yearbook; and Business society honors alumnus for public service.

RaySociety joins the Bulldog Parade; Summer enrichment program to teach 21st Century skills to kids, teens; Two profs honored with Drake's highest awards; and Professor receives Fulbright grant for research in Egypt.

Drake senior Karli-Jo Storm recently was selected to receive a Fulbright Grant for the 2009-10 academic year. She will teach English to students in Azerbaijan, a small Eurasian country located between Russia and Iran.

In an effort to mirror global business today, Drake students will face after graduation, the College of Business and Public Administration recently developed the International Business Internship Program. Two students, Rachael Brenner and Jacob Heller, will kick off the program with internships with Kemin Industries and Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., respectively.

Lon Larson, the Ellis and Nelle Levitt professor of pharmacy administration, died last month, after a three-year battle with a rare, aggressive type of cancer called mantle cell lymphoma. He was 60.

A revamped version of a bill allowing minors to petition for emancipation -- drafted last year by five Drake University law students -- was one of nine bills signed into law Tuesday by Iowa Gov. Chet Culver.

On Tuesday, June 23, Drake University will host educational consultant Eleanor Renee Rodriguez for an inspirational lecture at 7 p.m. on valuing diversity and overcoming poverty in urban education.

Matthew Smith, a junior magazine major of West Des Moines, Iowa, recently received national coverage on a recent episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Alumnus Zach Johnson enjoys victory at Texas Open; Five Bulldogs named to MVC Softball Scholar-Athlete team; Drake To Host Two MVC Championships In 2009-10; Alumnus and historian Bob Spiegel dies.