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STEM Education at Drake Takes Shape

Rob Dillard, Iowa Public Radio

Construction is continuing on two buildings at Drake University in Des Moines that are part of a $52 million investment in STEM education at the private school.

Drake is offering a number of new programs in the science fields. They include a doctorate degree in occupational therapy, undergraduate degrees in Kinesiology and data analytics, and a master’s in athletic training, which will start in the fall of 2019. Drake President Marty Martin says the new buildings will support these endeavors.

“We’ve got a floor for neuroscience in the new building, we’ve got a floor for Kinesiology in the new building," he says. "These are cutting-edge programs that require cutting-edge facilities.”

Martin says the new offerings are drawing student interest.

“We’re responding to, as well as leading the effort to make sure we are offering the degree programs that are preparing our graduates for success,” he says.

Classes in molecular biology and environmental science are among the other offerings in the new science complex.

Drake set a $30 million fund-raising goal for the expansion of STEM programs. So far, it has raised more than $23 million.