As you may have already heard, Drexel University turns 125 this year.
And what better way to honor Drexel’s restless spirit of experimentation than by reinventing this magazine?
I hope that this anniversary issue and its special timeline of Drexel history inspires memories and pride in an institution that charted a unique identity, and then remade it, and remade it again.
From the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry’s earliest days as a vocational school that helped working-class citizens of all races, genders and creeds achieve upward mobility in the new industrial age, through its post-war maturation into the Drexel Institute of Technology and ultimately its rise as a comprehensive research university pledged to serve as both an anchor and agent of change within its community, Drexel has always evolved to meet the demands of its times.
Along the way, Drexel has stayed true to the values of its founder, who endowed it with principles of egalitarianism, practical education, innovation, culture and responsibility to the community.
Those values live on in programs that create opportunity for disadvantaged students, in the infusion of Drexel’s signature co-op program into classroom curriculums, in the University’s extensive patent portfolio and dedication to useful science, in its custodianship of fine art and in its ambitious promise to develop West Philadelphia’s waterfront into a national economic hub.
Throughout the 2015–2016 academic year, the University is reliving its heritage and honoring its future through a series of public lectures, walking tours and discussions. I hope you can join the activities, listed at Drexel.edu/125years.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think of this edition.
The new design incorporates feedback I received from the readership survey earlier this year. You asked for more coverage of academic research, alumni achievement, capital improvements and — I must say I think we nailed this one — more about Drexel history and traditions.
More will come as we fine-tune the design and content. Like its namesake, Drexel Magazine has undergone many adaptations, and I hope to make it better each time.
Thanks for reading,
Sonja Sherwood / Editor