Drake University announces 13th president

Following a monthslong search that drew more than 90 interested candidates, Des Moines' Drake University on Monday introduced its 13th president - Earl F. 'Marty” Martin.

Martin, who has served as executive vice president at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. since 2010, will take the reins of the 5,000-student private institution from David Maxwell on July 1. Maxwell, after spending 16 years as Drake's 12th president, announced last March that he plans to retire at the end of this academic year.

'My vision for the university is going to be defined by the engagement that I go through with this community when I arrive as president,” Martin said in a video announcement of his selection.

To a large crowd gathered on campus Monday, Martin said he plans to spend his first few months listening to faculty, staff, and students and learning more about Drake and the aspirations of those it serves.

'I will take that information, reflect on it, I'll distill it down to what I think I've heard from the community, share it back out with them, and get their feedback,” Martin said. 'Then we'll start to really form a vision, a collective vision, for this institution.”

Martin on Monday praised the mission Maxwell helped create for the institution and said it attracted him to the position - along with the university's strong financial support that has it 'poised for even greater success.”

'This is a mission-centered institution,” he said. 'And that mission is student-focused. This university has committed itself to preparing graduates for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishment, and responsible global citizenship. And it delivers on that promise.”

Martin, among his other responsibilities and accomplishments at Gonzaga, oversaw the university's international academic programs and created the Center for Global Engagement. He previously served as dean of Gonzaga's School of Law, where Drake officials said he increased the academic profile and diversity of incoming students and expanded its international partnerships with law schools in Brazil, China, and South Korea.

Before beginning his academic career, which included time as a law professor and associate dean at Texas Wesleyan University, Martin earned degrees from the University of Kentucky and Yale University School of Law. He served for eight years as a U.S. Air Force Staff Judge Advocate Officer in England, Germany, and the United States, and he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2007 after serving another 12 years in the Air Force Reserves.

Martin on Monday said Drake's global engagement was among its attractive qualities.

'If you are going to be relevant, you have to be connected globally, and you see that here,” Martin said, adding that Drake prepares its students to understand what it means to be responsible global citizens.

'I have looked forward to picking up that ball and running with it when I arrive,” he said.

An 11-member University Campus Committee made up of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni conducted the presidential search and chose Martin. The Drake University Board of Trustees called him an 'engaged leader” who brings passion, a commitment to liberal arts and professional education, experience enhancing diversity, and a collaborative leadership style.

'President-elect Martin has also shown a keen sensitivity to the challenges that higher education institutions face, ensuring that Drake will remain flexible and innovative,” said Larry Zimpleman, chair of the Drake University Board of Trustees.

Martin expressed his commitment to several initiatives underway at Drake, including a 'stem@Drake” campaign aimed at enhancing degree programs in mathematics, science, education, and technology through, in part, $65 million in new construction and renovation, and a $200 million 'distinctly Drake” fundraising campaign.

'You have great generosity and people willing to invest their resources and say, ‘I know you could do more and have more impact on individual lives and society as a whole,'” Martin said. 'That's important with all the turmoil in higher education.”

Drake has more than 3,300 undergraduate students and 1,700 graduate students from 40 states and about 40 countries, according to university officials. Students can choose from more than 70 majors, minors, and concentrations, along with 20 graduate degree options, offered through six colleges and schools.

David Wright, an associate dean and associate professor at Drake, called the presidential search process the 'most intensive” he's seen, and the result 'is the leader we have before us today.”

'He gets Drake University,” Wright said.