Drake University history

In 1883, the first permanent building, Old Main, was completed.

Drake's first international students enrolled for classes in 1886, and were citizens of China, Persia, Armenia, and Japan.

In 1903, Cowles received a call from Harvey Ingham and asked if he would partner in a newspaper called The Des Moines Register and Leader that was deep in debt.

In 1907 the Carnegie Library was formed in Carnegie Hall, and this was the first official library on campus.

The first campus library opened on June 16, 1908.

The famous Drake Relays, among the largest collegiate track-and-field meets in the world, were first held in 1910.

In 1920, due to a housing crisis, the university allowed social fraternities to use Greek letter emblems and affiliate with national offices.

Drake's law school, one of the 25 oldest law schools in the nation, traces its history to 1865. It is a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools; has been accredited since 1923, when accreditation began; and is one of only 75 ABA-approved law schools with a chapter of the Order of the Coif.

In 1931, the women's dormitory opened—the first on-campus student residence built since the university's founding.

In 1937, ground was broken on commencement day for Cowles Library, now the university's primary library.

On May 7, 1967 Cowles Library expanded the original building with an additional 66,000 square feet, which was nearly triple the space of the old facility.

On September 17, 1969, the Drake student newspaper, The Times-Delphic, published what appears to be the first documented account of the Paul is dead hoax.

The largest building on campus, the Harmon Fine Arts Center, opened in 1972.

The Olmsted Center, Drake's student union building, opened in 1974.

In 1992, the Knapp Center opened as home to the men's and women's basketball teams, and the women's volleyball team.

A renovation of the building began in 1993 with new lighting, carpet, paint, and furnishing.

In 2000, the Reading Room received a much needed renovation which included fixing windows and repairing water damaged walls.

In September 2010, Drake launched the distinctlyDrake Campaign to support its successful $200 million capital fundraising campaign to become "one of the nation’s very best institutions of higher learning."