FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2004

CONTACT: Brooke Benschoter, (515) 271-2017, brooke.benschoter@drake.edu

DRAKE TO HONOR MORE THAN 1,150 STUDENTS AT COMMENCEMENT WEEKEND MAY 8-9

A total of more than 1,150 students representing 28 countries will be honored during Drake's Commencement Weekend - May 8-9.

The weekend's activities will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 8, with a hooding ceremony for Doctor of Pharmacy graduates at the Drake Knapp Center, 2601 Forest Ave.

All 2003-2004 graduates, their parents and guests are invited to attend the President's Reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 8, in Parents Hall at Olmsted Center, 29th Street and University Avenue.

The Law School Commencement Ceremony will start at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 8, at the Drake Knapp Center. Dennis W. Archer, the first African American to be elected president of the American Bar Association, will give the commencement address. His speech, titled "The Power of the Lawyer," will have historic significance because it will take place in Des Moines, the birthplace of the National Bar Association, the nation's oldest and largest national association of predominantly African American lawyers and judges. Twelve African American attorneys established the National Bar Association in 1925, a time when membership in the ABA was not open to African Americans. Archer served as national president of the National Bar Association 20 years ago.

Drake's 123rd Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 9, at the Drake Knapp Center. An honorary Doctor of Public Service degree will be presented to Cushing Dolbeare, who has tirelessly given a voice to Americans in need of affordable housing for more than 50 years. As a leader and advocate for progressive housing policy, she has created a legacy of commitment to protecting and improving federal housing resources. As a lecturer and researcher, she has raised awareness of the need for a solution to the nation's affordable housing crisis.

In 1974, Dolbeare's dedication to the affordable housing movement led to her founding the National Low Income Housing Coalition in her garage in suburban Washington, D.C. Through the coalition, she brought together religious groups, labor unions, social welfare organizations and other social justice activists in an effort to represent the interests of people with lower incomes in the housing debate. After leading the organization from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1993 to 1994, Dolbeare is now chair emeritus of the coalition, which is recognized by Congress as the leader in affordable housing education and advocacy.

Dolbeare will speak at the ceremony, as will Drake President David Maxwell and Martha Chaput, a member of the Drake women's basketball team and the recipient of the Oreon E. Scott Award - Drake's top honor for seniors. John McCaw, professor emeritus of religion and former dean of Drake's Divinity School, will be the featured speaker at the Graduate Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 9, at the Drake Knapp Center.

All three commencement ceremonies will be televised on cable television and streamed live on the Drake Web site. On Mediacom of Central Iowa, viewers can tune in to channel 16 or 46. To view the streaming video, visit www.drake.edu/dtc and click on the "View DTC Streaming TV" link.