The annual Brooks case competition provides CBPA students a valuable opportunity to put their education and professional skills to the test. Participating students are asked to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-world case and communicate their analysis to a panel of judges.

The competition is made possible by a generous gift from Roger K. Brooks, a Drake Board of Trustees member and longtime local businessman who attended Drake from 1955-57.

Mr. Brooks, retired CEO and chairman of AmerUs Group, received a Community Leadership Award from Drake University in 2009. Mr. Brooks, who serves on Drake's Board of Trustees, had been with AmerUs for nearly 50 years. He retired in 2005, before Aviva PLC, Britain's largest company, took over AmerUs for $2.9 billion. As past chairman of the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, he is a member of the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame and Iowa Business Hall of Fame.

Mr. Brooks has served on numerous boards, including the Belin-Blank Advisory Board, Des Moines Development, Downtown Partnership, Neighborhood Finance Corp., Downtown Events Group, Des Moines Art Center, Polk County Housing Trust Fund, Des Moines International Airport and Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. He also is a fellow in the Society of Actuaries and member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Mr. Brooks graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa.