John D. Beuerlein graduated from Drury in 1975 with a degree in Business Administration and went on to receive a master's degree from Washington University in 1977. John joined Edward Jones as an intern in the Equity Research department in 1976, and three years later he became a limited partner in the firm. Just one year later, in 1980, John became the youngest person ever to be made a general partner of Edward Jones.

Over his career he has been responsible for the firm's Research department, the Equity Trading Desk, the Syndicate department, the Equity Marketing department, Sales Management for more than 1,000 branch offices from Maine to Florida, and
global advanced sales training for the firm. In 2007, he assumed his current role, partner responsible for the global client loyalty program, Edward Jones' No. 1 key objective.

John has continued his education throughout his career participating in executive-level programs from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, the University of Virginia where he earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, the Harvard Business School, and the Peter Drucker School of Management in Claremont, California.

In addition to his many professional achievements, John and Crystal, his wife, who were classmates at Drury, have given time and resources to their community and to Drury. John became a member of the Drury board of trustees in 1991 and since that time has contributed to a number of committees. In 1999, John co-chaired the Drury Campaign for Science and he and Crystal provided one of the key lead gifts that resulted in the construction of the Trustee Science Center. In 2004, John chaired the presidential search committee and he is currently in his second year as Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Recently, John and Crystal joined Edward Jones in a $2 million donation to establish the Edward Jones Center for Entrepreneurship. In addition to this program they have provided the funding to establish 10 annually renewable scholarships for minority students who are interested in studying entrepreneurship while attending Drury.

John and Crystal have been big supporters of the Students in Free Enterprise at Drury and have financially sponsored SIFE water purification programs to Mexico and India and are working on expanding those programs through a joint venture with Edward Jones.

Throughout his years in the industry John has served as Chairman of the National Membership Committee of the Securities Industry Association and on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Society of Financial Analysts. He has been associated with many community service organizations throughout the years, including Washington University, the Assistance League of St. Louis, the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and various Catholic charities.

John and Crystal have been married for nearly 32 years and have three children and a son-in-law — Sara and David, Robin and Danner.

Dr. W. Curtis (Curt) Strube came to Drury in 1969 and became director of the Breech School of Business in 1975. He was known as “Mr. Breech School of Business” on and off campus because of his dedication to the school.

Dr. Strube began his academic career at Monmouth College (Ill.) and earned his MBA from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He completed his doctorate at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

A small business owner himself (he and his wife, Jan, founded and co-owned One Hour Photo Service, and other businesses over the years), he was always particularly interested in making Springfield a healthy environment to grow new businesses. Strube was determined to help his students and the general public move beyond “economic illiteracy.”

Dr. Strube spoke anywhere he was invited, from the Rotary Club or the Chamber of Commerce to any media outlet that called him for an interview. A noted economist famous for his “economic updates” at faculty meetings, Dr. Strube was willing to advise anyone from local small business owners to students, or simply go to lunch and chat if called.

Dr. Strube was the founder, and later chairman, of the Small Business Council. Because of his tireless work for small businesses, The Springfield Chamber of Commerce named its Small Business of the Year award in his honor. He also worked to establish the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, the national accrediting agency for business schools. The Breech School of Business and Administration was an inaugural accredited school of the agency; Dr. Strube served on the agency’s board for many years and also served a term as its president.

A reaction to medication left Dr. Strube nearly deaf in 1996. He kept teaching, despite the constant ringing in his ears, and he communicated by dry-erase board and by a microphone connected to headphones designed for one-on-one communication with his students.

Dr. Strube died on April 21, 1997. He was fifty-six years old.