FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2000 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 DRAKE TO HOLD THREE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES Drake University will conduct three commencement ceremonies May 13 and 14 at the Drake Knapp Center, 2601 Forest Ave. Approximately 105 law students will receive juris doctorate degrees in the Drake Law School commencement ceremony starting at 7 p.m. Friday, May 13. Drake alumna Bonnie Campbell, director of U.S. Department of Justice Violence Against Women Office, will give the commencement address. The 119th Drake undergraduate commencement ceremony will start at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 14. Approximately 535 students will be awarded bachelor's degrees. In addition, honorary degrees will be presented to Dayton R. Duncan, an author and writer/producer of documentary films who was born and raised in Indianola, Iowa, and Marie C. Wilson, president of the Ms. Foundation for Women and a former member of the Des Moines City Council. Duncan will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and Wilson will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree. Both Duncan and Wilson will give short speeches. Also speaking at the ceremony will be Drake President David Maxwell and Sam Brooke, winner of the Oreon E. Scott Award — Drake's highest honor for seniors. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Duncan is the author of six books, including "Grass Roots: One Year in the Life of the New Hampshire Presidential Primary," a unique look at presidential politics through the experiences of grass-roots volunteers. He served as chief of staff to New Hampshire Gov. Hugh Gallen, as national deputy press secretary for Walter Mondale in the 1984 presidential campaign and as press secretary to Michael Dukakis in the 1988 campaign. In 1998, President Clinton appointed him chairman of the American Heritage Rivers Advisory Committee, and Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt appointed him to the board of directors of the National Parks Foundation. In addition, Duncan has been involved for many years with the work of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. He was a consultant on the award-winning public television documentaries “The Civil War,” “Baseball” and “Stanton & Anthony” and was co-writer and consulting producer for an award-winning 12-hour series about the history of the American West. He also wrote and co-produced “Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery,” a four-hour documentary that won the Spur Award and The Wrangler. Wilson is an activist, author and expert on the issues that affect the lives of women and their families. She earned her bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree in education from Drake University. She served on the Des Moines City Council and was director of women's programs at Drake University, where she pioneered innovative programs utilizing job sharing, flexible work time and career development. For more than 14 years, Wilson has been president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, which seeks to advance the rights of women and girls. She has been the powerhouse behind many of the foundation’s initiatives such as “Take Our Daughters to Work Day,” now a national phenomenon. She also is co-founder and president of the White House Project, a non-partisan public awareness effort working to change the American political climate so that qualified women can launch successful campaigns for the U.S. presidency and other key positions. Following the undergraduate commencement ceremony, a picnic will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on north side of Wifvat Plaza across the street from the Drake Knapp Center. At 2 p.m. the commencement ceremony for graduate students will start in the Drake Knapp Center. Approximately 330 graduate degrees will be presented. The featured speaker will be Drake Interim Provost Stephen Hoag.