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Drexel University

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Drexel University
The Drexel Seal
MottoScience, Industry, Art
TypePrivate
Established1891
PresidentConstantine Papadakis
Undergraduates11,613
Postgraduates5,387
Location
Philadelphia
,
Pennsylvania
,
USA
CampusUrban
Athletics16 varsity teams, 20 sports clubs
ColorsBlue and Gold
MascotDragon, "Mario the Magnificent"
Websitehttp://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

A machine testing laboratory at Drexel University, circa 1904.
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

File:Mariothedragon.jpg
Mario the Magnificent, mascot of Drexel

In the 2006 edition of U.S. News, Drexel University is ranked the #109 university in the National Universities Doctoral category and the LeBow College of Business is ranked #116. In 2006, Business Week ranked the undergraduate business program #58 in the country.

Drexel University is primarily 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. tDEC is currently undergoing a major overhaul for the incoming Fall 2006 class. Each year more than one percent of the graduating engineers in the United States get their degree from Drexel.[citation needed] The 2006 edition of U.S. News ranks the undergraduate engineering program #57 in the country and the 2007 edition of graduate schools ranks the graduate program #61.

Co-op program

Drexel University Logo
Drexel University Logo

Branded as "the Ultimate Internship™", Drexel's longstanding cooperative-education program is one of the largest in the nation. Drexel has a fully internet-based job database, where students can submit resumés and request interviews with any of the hundreds of companies that offer positions. A student graduating from Drexel's 5-year degree program typically has a total of 18 months of internship with up to three different companies. Major co-op employers include: [1]

Schools

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

Colleges

Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

The College of Media Arts and Design was named after alumnus Antionette Westphal after a donation described as the largest in university history. CoMAD is centered in Nesbitt Hall.

Bennett S. LeBow College of Business

Named after alumnus and CEO of the Vector Group Bennett S. LeBow, the Lebow College of Business is ranked #116 in the 2006 edition of U.S. News.

College of Arts and Sciences

College of Engineering

The College of Engineering is one of the oldest parts of the university. Engineering was the primary focus of Drexel when it was first started, and Drexel continues to be best known for its engineering curriculum. The modern College of Engineering houses the Computer Science Department, the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, the Civil Engineering department, and the Department of Materials Science. Professors from the College of Engineering participate in research areas such as nanotechnology, software engineering, and robotics.

College of Information Science and Technology

The College of Informatioin Science and Technology, housed in the Rush Building (the oldest building on campus, a former hospital), is best known for its library science graduate program, one of the most prestigous in the nation. It recently renamed itself the iSchool, a nod to the Internet age and possibly a reference to Apple's iMac and iPod brands.

College of Law (opening Fall 2006)

In 2005 Drexel announced that it would be opening a law school offering undergraduate and graduate law programs. Drexel hired Jennifer Rosato as the dean of the college and included The Honorable Edmund V. Ludwig among its faculty. The law school building is currently under construction and slated to open in the fall term of 2006. It will be eligible for American Bar Association accreditation in 2008.

College of Medicine

Formerly MCP Hahnemann University, Drexel acquired its medical program in 2002. The merger included the Center City campus, and eventually expanded to include the queen lane campus as well. [1]

College of Nursing and Health Professions

Goodwin College of Professional Studies

The Goodwin College is intended for currently employed people seeking higher education; almost 90% of its students attend part time. It offers primarily night classes in areas such as construction management and culinary arts.

Pennoni Honors College

The Pennoni Honors College, unlike the other colleges, encompases students who are also in one of the other colleges, but have applied to and been selected to be a part of the honors program. Pennoni students enjoy some benefits including a separate dormitory, the Honors Lounge, earlier course registration tickets, and specialized academic advisors.

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

Source: Drexel University Factbook

Awards and Recognitions

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 placed Drexel as 109th. [2] 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 [3] and The Intel Corporation [4], and was ranked first for wireless access by Yahoo!.[citation needed]

The Math Forum@Drexel has been selected as one of the most useful websites by PC Magazine [5] and Scientific American[citation needed].

The universities endowment is just under $500 million, placing it 114th among all U.S. colleges and Universities. [6]

Drexel is the 18th largest private university in the U.S., with an enrollment of 17,500 students.[citation needed]

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.

University City Campus

Drexel's Creese Student Center

Located just west of the Schuylkill River, this is Drexel's largest and oldest campus. It stretches from Chestnut St. in the South to Powelton Ave in the North, and from the Amtrak rail yard in the East to 34th St in the West. The majority of buildings are constructed of orange brick, mostly in the Art Deco style, with many dating from the mid 1960s. North of Drexel's campus lies Powelton Village, a neighborhood of primarily Victorian homes. Drexel's continued efforts to expand the university and the dormitories have brought them into conflict with the Powelton Village Civic Association, which has attempted to block university projects on several occasions. [7]

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 North Hall and Van Rensselaer are arranged into suites of 4-6 residents. North Hall is currently reserved for students of the Pennoni Honors College. All dormitories except East Hall are located on the north side of campus, north of Arch Street, in the Powelton Village area.

For upperclassmen, East Hall and the bottom four floors of University Crossings are the only on-campus housing available. In recent years the expanding freshman class has pushed most students out of on-campus housing. Most students find apartments within Powelton Village. Academic Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Drexel, offers apartments, and there are also non-Drexel-owned apartments in the upper floors of the University Crossings building, which was previously owned by Conrail and used as an office building.

Food

All non-commuting freshmen are required to purchase a gold meal plan which entitles them to unlimited visits to the recently renovated Handschumacher Dining Center on Chestnut Street. They also receive a per-term allowance of meal-plan dollars which can be spent at any of several campus locations including The Grill and Fresh Bytes at Ross Commons, the Creese Cafe, and tne North Side Market, a convenience-type store universally called the Kelly Deli by students because it is on the first floor of Kelly Hall. Upperclassmen may purchase meal plans that allows them a limited number of visits and a different amount of meal-plan dollars.

Non Drexel-owned food options include over ten lunch trucks, some spread out around campus and some on a road behind the main building. Taco Lou's, a truck next to the freshmen dormitories and greek housing, sells mexican food and is only open after midnight. A Starbucks is currently under negotiation for the ground level of the Pearlstein Business Learning Center.

Department of Public Safety

Because of the urban campus, there is a high incidence of crime at Drexel and the surrounding areas. [8] The Public Safety department conducts regular patrols on and within a few blocks of campus, both on foot and riding bicycles, automobiles, and even Segways. In addition, there are over fifty emergency call boxes located around campus, which connect students directly to a public safety dispatcher. Through these, or through the phone, students may request a walking escort 24 hours a day, from or to any locate on or around campus.

Art galleries

Drexel maintains several art galleries on its main campus. The Drexel Collection is housed primarily 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 receive 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.

Queen Lane Campus

The Queen Lane campus was purchased in 2003 by Drexel University from MCP Hahnemann University. It is located in North Philadelphia and is primarily inhabited by first- and second-year medical students. A free shuttle is available connecting it to the center city Hahneman and University City campuses. [9]

Center City Hahnemann Campus

The Center City Campus is in the middle of Philadelphia, straddling the Vine Street Expressway. It is a part of the university's recent expansion into the medical field.

Student Organizations

Drexel has a large variety of students organizations, including chairity groups, political groups, and study-related groups.

Student Government

The Undergraduate Student Government Association of Drexel University works with administrators to solve student problems and tries to promote communication between the students and the administration.

Campus Activities Board

The Campus Activities Board, or CAB for short, is in charge of organizing activities such as movies, trips to special events, and other on-campus entertainment such as the fall comedy show. CAB is funded through a student activities fee collected from each student.

WKDU

WKDU is Drexel's student-run FM radio station, with membership open to all undergraduate students. Its status as an 800-watt non-commercial station in a major market city has given it a wider audience and a higher profile than many other college radio stations.

Fraternities and Sororities

Eight percent of Drexel's undergraduate population is a member of a social greek organization. There are currently nine Interfraternity Council (IFC) chapters, five National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) chapters and nine Bicultural Inter-Greek Council (BIG-C) chapters. Each year, the dean of students awards the Dean's Cup, which goes to the chapter with the highest overall points in various categories ranging from events and organization to community service and philanthropy.

Each year, all of the social greek organizations at Drexel compete in Greek Week, a week long competition with events such as an obstacle course, talent show, step show, with the culminating event being the tug of war.

Greek life at Drexel University has shrunken recently with the expulsion of several fraternities for various reasons including hazing and drug violations. The latest fraternity shut-down was that of Lambda Chi Alpha on June 6, 2006. Several illegal substances were found in one of the members' rooms in Kelly Hall. Drexel has a Zero Tolerance Policy with illegal drugs, and a three-strike policy for alcohol.

A list of Drexel fraternities and sororities (including rankings, and Dean's cup winners) can be found here.

Student Publications

The Triangle

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 semi-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 Triangle has been regarded as a very controversial newspaper since many fraternities have been attacked through its articles. Newswritter and student Brett Haymaker is the responsible for such controversy.

The current Editor-in-chief is Kaushal Toprani.

Lexerd

Lexerd is the student-run Drexel yearbook, the name is simply "Drexel" spelled backwards. In April 2006 The Triangle reported that the yearbook may not publish due to shortage of student volunteers.

MAYA

MAYA first published in June of 2006, is the student literary and artistic publication. It accepts poetry, prose, short stories, creative nonfiction, photography, and other art.

Upcoming publications

The first issue of Format C:\, the Science, Technology and Culture Magazine at Drexel University, is planned for publication before the start of the 2006 school year. The magazine plans to focus on technological achievements and developments being made, as well as the cultural impacts of emerging technologies.

Sports

File:Logo drex.gif

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:

Women's:

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

More information about Drexel sports can be found at DrexelDragons.com.

Student lore and traditions

The "New" Drexel Shaft

Drexel students often speak with bitterness about the perceived excess of administrative red tape when trying to deal with the University and its various departments. 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 disused smokestack structure located just off campus which used to be part of a steam power plant. According to university legend, the structure grows one more inch every time a student is "shafted".

The reference to the smokestack as The Drexel Shaft is relatively new, coming sometime after 1993. Originally the "Flame of Knowledge", located in the fountain which stood in the main quad, was known as The Shaft.[citation needed] That fountain has since been relocated to the lawn before North Hall.

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

Trivia

  • Drexel University's campus is located right next to the University of Pennsylvania in the University City section of Philadelphia. When Drexel and Penn play, it is sometimes referred to as "the shortest roadtrip in the NCAA". In fact, it is such a short "roadtrip" that even busing to a sports event at the host school would make little sense; the visiting team usually walks as a group to the road game. On a related note, Penn's official parking lot for athletic events is located much closer (1 block) to Drexel's Daskalakis Athletic Center than it is to the school's own Palestra (about 3 1/2 blocks).
  • Drexel has been ranked 2nd under the category of "Campus Is Tiny, Unsightly, Or Both" in the 2005 Princeton Review. [10] It is presently in the middle of several renovations to rectify this situation.
  • The main quad used to have a water fountain called "The Flame of Knowledge". It is currently being moved to the lawn of North Hall in the residential area of campus, it will be replaced by a different and as-yet-unnamed fountain as part of the university's campus improvement programs.
  • Drexel University is the location of ABC Family's popular reality show "Back on Campus."

Notable alumni

Main article: Drexel University alumni

References

  1. ^ "Drexel Co-op Employers". Drexel University. 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2006:National Universities:Top Schools". U.S. News. September 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "25 Most Connected Campuses". The Princeton Review. January 20 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Intel's 2nd Annual "Most Unwired College Campuses" Survey, (2005)". Intel. November 29 2005. Retrieved 2006-03-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Top 101 Most Incredibly Useful Sites". PC Magazine. October 14 2003. Retrieved 2006-06-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Endowment funds of the 120 colleges and universities with the largest amounts, by rank order: 2003 and 2004". National Center for Education Statistics. June 30 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Drexel, PVCA near end of lot dispute". The Triangle. December 9 2005. Retrieved 2006-05-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "On campus, creating an illusion by crime data". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 15 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Queen Lane finishes first year as part of U." The Triangle. July 23 2004. Retrieved 2006-05-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Best 361 College Rankings: Quality of Life". The Princeton Review (free registration required). 2005. Retrieved 2006-07-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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