Six months prior to the formal close of the largest fundraising and engagement campaign in Drexel’s history, the University has surpassed the $750 million financial goal for The Campaign for Drexel, “The Future Is a Place We Make.”
Additionally, more than 40,000 Drexel alumni have engaged with the University during the Campaign through philanthropic support, volunteer service and activity participation, surpassing the initial goal of 35,000 alumni set at the launch of the effort.
“This historic Drexel milestone demonstrates how our alumni, friends and corporate and foundation partners have remained steadfast in their commitment to the University and in their confidence in our capacity to shape the future for the better,” said President John Fry. “Philanthropy fuels Drexel’s power to serve the greater good by preparing students for academic and professional success, generating innovative and high-impact research and leading civic engagement partnerships in Philadelphia and throughout the world. By these measures – and with months to go to keep our momentum going – this Campaign already has been a spectacular success.”
Recent large commitments that helped Drexel reach this milestone include $5 million from the Charles and Barbara Close Foundation, adding to its earlier transformative gift that created and named the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship; a significant gift from Alan, Elaine and Frank Lindy to support the philanthropic vision of their late father, Philip B. Lindy, further advancing the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation; and $3.9 million from two anonymous donors that will establish an artist-in-residence program at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design and support exhibitions and research and curatorial fellowships at the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection.
Generous donors who recently made large pledges through bequests include Harvey Abrams, MD HU ’75, designated for research and policy related to increasing equity in LGBTQ health care, and an alumna from the class of 1962, who is supporting arts and humanities programming at the College of Medicine, College of Nursing and Health Professions and Dornsife School of Public Health.
“As significant as reaching this milestone is, it’s not surprising,” said Richard A. Greenawalt ’66, chairman of Drexel’s Board of Trustees and a co-chair of the Campaign. “Drexel is a university of doers. Transformational gifts from Tom Kline and Dana and David Dornsife were instrumental in building our early momentum. Leadership from our Trustees has catalyzed further investments in our faculty and students, as well as civic engagement and important capital projects. It’s a real privilege to be a part of this effort.”
Since publicly launching in November 2017, the Campaign has provided funding for the University to competitively recruit faculty, students and professional staff; secure Drexel’s future as an innovative leader in higher education; and boost its academic vision for the way Dragons can learn and teach.
The Campaign has enabled significant growth in Drexel’s endowment, which sustains the long-term health of the University, helping it reach $1 billion for the first time. To date, the Campaign has supported nearly 200 new endowed scholarship and fellowship funds, 13 endowed professorships and many endowed program funds in schools and colleges across the University. In addition, the number of donor-supported co-ops has more than doubled during the Campaign.
The impact of The Campaign for Drexel benefits students furthering their academic and professional careers through scholarships and funded nonprofit and global co-ops, as well as faculty and professional staff through funded research initiatives and academic leadership opportunities created by endowed professorships and fellowship funds.
For example, recent donor support created the Margaret C. Burns Chair in Engineering, advancing Professor Caroline Schauer’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in engineering education and practic and the Center for Law and Transformational Technology at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law.
Philanthropy fuels Drexel’s power to serve the greater good by preparing students for academic and professional success, generating innovative and high-impact research and leading civic engagement partnerships. — President John Fry
Coming to Drexel from Kolkata, India, Johannesburg, South Africa and West Philadelphia, respectively, Ranjini Mahalanobish ’24, August Modiga ’23 and Sasha Mendez ’23 are among a dozen undergraduate and graduate students to be chosen each year as Nina Henderson Provost Scholars, made possible by support from Nina Henderson ’72, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Campaign.
Chemical engineering major Natasha Tse ’25 and business major Diany Rosa ’24 are among the first recipients of the Doug Peacock Scholarship, funded by TransDigm Group to support young women with financial need.During each year of their undergraduate studies, Connor Morgado ’20 and computer science major Salamata Bah ’24 have benefited from the Alumni Impact Endowed Scholarship, created by generous alumni.
Other gifts support a community legal clinic, corporate and nonprofit governance centers, research at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, an expanded early childhood education lab, athletics coach positions and new and renovated teaching, social and athletics spaces.
Donors gave generously to rapid-response and emergency funds created with urgency throughout the pandemic, contributing to COVID-19 and racial-equity research, the Student Emergency Fund, Drexel’s Counseling Center and the Emergency Fund for Families at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.
At Drexel’s new Center for Black Culture, supporters are funding scholarships, stipends, new spaces for social activities, art installations and events, as well as a library.
The Campaign’s success has been made possible by the generosity of alumni, trustees, faculty, professional staff, parents and friends of Drexel — more than $111 million has been raised from Drexel’s trustees, $246 million from Drexel alumni and more than $222 million from parents and friends of the University. Additionally, each year hundreds of faculty and professional staff contribute to Drexel, giving $12 million over the course of the Campaign to date.
A significant and growing number of Drexel alumni have engaged with the University during the Campaign, through donations, volunteering, mentoring students and attending events.
“Owing to generous and consistent support, the Campaign has significantly eclipsed the total of the University’s previous fundraising record: $455 million generated through the “Dream It. Do It. Drexel.” campaign that concluded in 2013,” said David Unruh, senior vice president for Institutional Advancement. “We look forward to partnering with even more alumni and supporters to close the Campaign in June on the highest note possible.”
On May 5, another record was achieved, the first time that donations surpassed $1 million during a single Drexel day of giving, known as 24 Hours of Impact. The effort also attracted its largest number of donors.
To learn more about the Campaign and the many ways to support student success, pioneering teaching, high-impact basic and translational research and transformative civic engagement, visit future.drexel.edu.
Make a gift today to support student success, pioneering teaching, high-impact basic and translational research and transformative civic engagement.