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Memoir
William D. Drake
Regents' Proceedings 26
Regents' Proceedings 26
William D. Drake, Ph.D., professor of resource planning and conservation in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and professor of urban, technological and environmental planning in the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, retired from active faculty status on May 31, 2003.
Professor Drake received his B.S.E., M.B.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in 1959, 1960, and 1964, respectively. He joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1964 as an associate research engineer at the Institute of Science and Technology. He was appointed assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment in 1966, and was promoted to associate professor in 1967 and professor in 1970. He was appointed professor of urban, technological and environmental planning in 1991, and from 1989-00 he was also professor of population planning and international health (later changed to environmental and industrial health) in the School of Public Health.
A creative and inspired leader, Professor Drake established the innovative Ph.D. program in urban, technological, and environmental planning in the early 1970s. He served as director of this program and mentored outstanding Ph.D. students, many of whom now hold prestigious positions in academe, the government, and the private sector. Along with colleagues in the areas of natural resources, public health, and architecture, Professor Drake established vital teaching and research collaborations, the most dramatic of which was the Population-Environment Program, which evaluated the interaction among environmental issues, human health, and society.
As director of the Community Systems Foundation in Ann Arbor, Professor Drake provided area students with excellent opportunities to research important resource, health, and transportation problems. He was also one of the key developers of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority and its ground-breaking "Dial-a-Ride" program. The Regents salute this distinguished educator for his dedicated service by naming William D. Drake professor emeritus of resource planning and conservation and professor emeritus of urban, technological and environmental planning.