Drexel University

Drexel University

The Drexel Seal
Motto	Science, Industry, Art
Type	Private
Established	1891
President	Constantine Papadakis
Undergraduates	11,613
Postgraduates	5,387
Location	Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA
Campus	Urban
Athletics	16 varsity teams, 20 sports clubs
Colors	Blue and Gold
Mascot	Dragon, "Mario the Magnificent"
Website	http://www.drexel.edu

Drexel University is an institution of higher learning located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. The current president is Constantine Papadakis.

History

The Main Building, dedicated in 1891.

Drexel University was founded in 1891 as the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry by Philadelphia financier and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel to provide educational opportunities in the “practical arts and sciences” for women and men of all backgrounds. The Drexel Institute of Technology gained university status in 1970, becoming Drexel University. On July 1, 2002, Drexel was officially united with the former MCP Hahnemann University. Drexel has also recently begun work on a new Law School, which will open in the autumn of 2006.

Academics

Drexel University Logo

Drexel University Logo

Drexel University is known for its engineering school, which includes The Drexel Engineering Curriculum, or "tDEC" for short. tDEC is a rigorous series of online and offline courses designed to prepare students for future engineering work. Each year more than one percent of the graduating engineers in the United States get their degree from Drexel.

Colleges

• Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design
• Bennett S. LeBow College of Business
• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Engineering
• College of Information Science and Technology
• College of Law (opening Fall 2006)
• College of Medicine
• College of Nursing and Health Professions
• Goodwin College of Professional Studies
• Pennoni Honors College

Schools

• School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
• School of Education
• School of Public Health

Most popular majors

• Business Administration: 2,187 enrolled
• General Information Systems: 650
• Mechanical Engineering: 600
• Computer Science: 537
• Biology: 385

Source: Drexel University Factbook

Branch campuses

Drexel University's campus is divided into three parts: the University City Campus, the Center City Hanneman Campus, and the Queen Lane College of Medicine Campus. The latter two are recent acquisitions by the university.

Co-op program

Branded as the Ultimate Internship™, Drexel's cooperative education program is one of the largest in the nation. Drexel has a fully internet-based job database, where users can submit resumes and request interviews with any of the hundreds of companies that are offering positions. A student graduating from Drexel with a 5-year degree typically has a total of 18 months of internship with up to three different companies. Major co-op employers include:

• Sunoco Inc.
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Unisys Corporation
• Lockheed Martin
• Comcast Corporation
• Merck
• University of Pennsylvania
• Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

Drexel Art

Drexel maintains three art galleries on its main campus.

The Drexel Collection is housed in the Westphal Picture Gallery, on the third floor of the Main Building. The collection was established by the university's founder, Anthony J. Drexel, who collected many types of art. The collection continued to recieve donations after his death from family, friends, and alumni. The collection has a large variety of artifacts, including porcelains and furniture.

The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery is an aluminum and slate structure connected to Nesbitt Hall (the building for the College of Media Arts and Design) in which art exhibitions are frequently held. The slate side of the building is frequently covered with chalk messages about upcoming events.

Residence Halls

Drexel requires all non-commuting freshmen to live in one of the six (soon to be seven) freshmen residence halls. Kelly Hall, Myers Hall, Towers Hall, and Calhoun are traditional dormitories, while East Hall and Van Rensselaer are arranged into suites of 4-6 residents. East Hall and Van R. are currently designated for students of the Penonni Honors College. All dormitories except East Hall are located on the north side of campus, north of Arch Street, in the area of Powelton Village. Drexel's continued efforts to expand the university and the dormitories have brought them into conflict with the Powelton Village Community Association, which has attempted to block dormitory construction on several occasions.

For upperclassmen North Hall is the only on-campus housing available. Most students find apartments within Powelton Village. Academic Properties Inc., a subsidary of Drexel, offers apartments, and there are also apartments in the nearby University Crossings building, which was previously owned by Amtrak and used as office buildings.

Drexel Achievement

Drexel has been ranked among the "Best National Universities-Top Schools" by a U.S. News & World yearly report on "America's Best Colleges". The 2006 rankings (released in 2005) placed Drexel as 109th. Drexel and Penn are the only Philadelphia colleges in this category.

Drexel frequently ranks among the top 25 schools in the nation for technology use according to The Princeton Review and The Intel Corporation, and was ranked first for wireless access by Yahoo!.

The Math Forum@Drexel has been selected as one of the most useful websites by PC Magazine and Scientific American.

The universities endowment is currently over $500 million, placing it 108th among all U.S. colleges and Universities. (data from The Chronicle of Higher Education 2002-03)

Drexel is the 18th largest private university in the U.S., with an enrollment of 17,500 students. (data from the National Center for Educational Statistics 2001-02).

Student Newspaper

Main article: Triangle (newspaper)

File:Trianglelogo.jpg

The Triangle is the independent student newspaper at Drexel University. Operation began in 1926, under the direction of students with University advisors functioning only to offer advice. Publication has been on a weekly schedule during the academic school year with bi-weekly publication during summer. The Triangle recently began publishing in color in 2004. Notable former columnists include Chuck Barris, creator of The Gong Show and subject of the movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

The current Editor-in-chief is Diana Stow.

Sports

File:Drexel.png

Logo is a trademark
of Drexel University

The school's sports teams are called the Dragons. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A and the Colonial Athletic Association. Drexel participates in the following sports:

Men's:

• Basketball
• Crew
• Golf
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Swimming and Diving
• Tennis
• Wrestling

Women's:

• Basketball
• Crew
• Field Hockey
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and Diving
• Tennis

Student lore and traditions

When students think they are being mistreated by the University, they often refer to it as getting the Drexel Shaft. The Drexel Shaft is also a smokestack structure on the rail yard next to the campus, and according to university legend the structure grows one more inch every time a student is shafted.

To receive good grades on exams, a myth is to rub the toe of the bronze "Waterboy" statue located in the Main Building on campus. Although the rest of the bronze statue has turned dark brown, the toe has become highly polished and shines.

Trivia

• A feature of the main quad is a water fountain bearing the ironic name "The Flame of Knowledge". This fountain also served as a previous incarnation of "The Drexel Shaft" during the 1970s.

• Drexel University's campus is located right next to the University of Pennsylvania in University City, Philadelphia.

• Drexel was ranked as number 1 of the 10 Most Unsightly Campuses in the 2004 Princeton Review. It is presently in the middle of several renovations to rectify this situation.

Notable Alumni

• Michael Anderson: NBA Player.
• Paul Baran: A founding father of the Internet.
• Chuck Barris: Entertainer, creator of The Gong Show.
• Michael Behe: A leading proponent of Intelligent Design.
• Douglas Briggs: President of QVC.
• George Campbell: President of The Cooper Union.
• Albert Carnesale: Chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles.
• Ruth Hale (feminist): Fought for women's rights in 1920s; member of the Algonquin Round Table.
• Jon "maddog" Hall: Open Source Developer and Advocate.
• Robert Hall: Publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.
• Bennett S. LeBow: Maverick CEO of the Vector Group and broker of the landmark tobacco settlement by corporate subsidiary Liggett & Myers.
• Peter Liacouras: Former president (18 years) of Temple University.
• Peter Mafany Musonge: Prime minister of Cameroon.
• Malik Rose: NBA Player.
• Joseph Woodland: Inventor of the bar code technology.

External links

• www.drexel.edu (Drexel University homepage)
• www.drexeldragons.com (Official Drexel athletics site)
• www.dacpack.com (Official Basketball Student Section Site)
• Campus map, and images of buildings
• Information about the history of Drexel University
• The Good 'ole Drexel Shaft
• Photos from the campus, including The Shaft
• 91.7 WKDU, Drexel University radio station
• The Triangle, Drexel University student newspaper
• The Drexel Collection