Wayne Ford, a longtime Iowa elected official and nonprofit leader, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during Drake University’s commencement ceremony on May 20. Ford, who grew up in the inner city of Washington, D.C., earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Drake in 1974 after being recruited on a football scholarship. Ford is the founder of Urban Dreams, a nonprofit that he led for 32 years that advocates for residents in poor and minority neighborhoods. In 1992, he began his own consulting firm, Wayne Ford & Associates, which works in the areas of nonprofit, public safety and civic engagement. He served as a state representative from 1996 to 2010, representing House District 71 in Des Moines, which includes the Drake campus. He currently serves on the Iowa Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, and is a visiting assistant professor of urban studies at Simpson College. Ford “embodies Drake’s guiding principles — including ethics, excellence and civility — and exemplifies the aspirations of Drake’s mission to prepare students for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishment and responsible global citizenship,” said Drake President Marty Martin.