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2017

  • July

    • A Drexel dragon holding a burger at the Dragon's Den in 1979. Photo courtesy University Archives.

      When You Could Eat a Dragon Burger in the Dragon’s Den on Campus

      Back in the day, the basement of today’s Creese Student Center was known as “the Dragon’s Den” and featured an arcade, fast food restaurant, game room and a bowling alley.
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    • The Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry's men's basketball team with dragons on their uniforms in the 1929 Lexerd yearbook. Photo courtesy University Archives.

      Beyond 1928, Here Be Drexel Dragons

      For almost 90 years, the University has been represented by a “Drexel Dragon,” which got a name — Mario the Magnificent! — 20 years ago.
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    • "Portrait of Anthony J. Drexel" (1860) by Josef Bergenthal, as it was hung in Anthony J. Drexel's house in 1893 (L) and in the President's Office in Main Building in 2017 (R).

      Founder Anthony J. Drexel's Art on Campus — and at Home

      Much of the art found on campus today used to hang in founder Anthony J. Drexel’s home, as he bequeathed much of his personal art collection to the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry upon his death.
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  • June

    • The 14 members of the 2017 class of the Drexel 100 pictured with other Dragons at the ceremony. Top row, left to right: Joseph Grimes; Leonid Hrebien; Richard A. Rose, Jr.; Alfred Altomari; and Thomas Matthews. Middle row: Henri Levit; Clifford Hudis; Craig Sabatino; Michael Baum; and Chair of the Board of Trustees Richard A. Greenawalt. Bottom row: Chair of the Drexel 100 David R. Geltzer; Christine McKendry Andrade; Kathleen Chimicles; Rita K. Adeniran; Lisa Anne Forsyth; Libby Fleisher Wilson; and President John Fry.

      The Drexel 100 Celebrates 25 Years

      For the past 25 years, the Drexel 100 has recognized the best of the best when it comes to Drexel University’s alumni.
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    • Harold Myers pictured in 1984 with his family at the official naming ceremony of Myers Hall. Photo courtesy University Archives.

      Remembering the Legacy of Drexel’s Myers Hall — and Harold M. Myers

      Myers Hall, which has been on Drexel’s campus since 1977, was originally planned to be closed and later demolished at the end of this academic year. Now it will remain open — and continue to honor President Emeritus Harold Myers.
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    • Isaac Asimov speaking at the 1976 Drexel University graduation ceremony. Drexel President William Hagerty, left of the podium, looks on. Photo courtesy University Archives.

      ‘The Drexel Jinx’ Broken Only by Isaac Asimov

      During the 1970s, four consecutive speakers who spoke at Drexel University’s commencement were fired or resigned because of “The Drexel Jinx.” Only science fiction writer Isaac Asimov could break it.
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  • May

    • Barbara Hornum, PhD, and George King.

      Employee Spotlight: Barbara Hornum and George King

      This year, two Drexel employees are celebrating 50 years of working on campus ­— a campus that they’ve seen drastically change since they started in 1966.
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  • April

    • Drexel President Parke R. Kolbe, PhD, and Mrs. Kolbe by the lake at Drexel Lodge in 1935. Photo courtesy University Archives.

      The Drexel Country Getaway You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

      If you were at Drexel from the 1930s to the early 1990s, you could have mingled with students, faculty and staff at the Drexel Lodge, a country estate owned by the University for recreational purposes.
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  • March

    • A photo taken in 1885 of Anandibai Joshee, who graduated in 1886; Kei Okami who graduated in 1889; and Sabat Islambooly, who graduated in 1890. Photo courtesy Legacy Center Archives, Drexel College of Medicine.

      Remembering the Pioneering Women From One of Drexel’s Legacy Medical Colleges

      Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the world’s first medical school for women and one of two predecessor institutions to Drexel’s College of Medicine, graduated the first Native American doctor, the second African-American doctor and the first women with medical degrees in India, Syria, Japan and Canada.
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    • This image from The Triangle's 1987 joke issue was published with the caption "The Main Building gets a facelift. After sitting on a Philadelphia street corner for 96 years it is now being restored. In a valiant effort to improve the image of Drexel University, Dr. Gaither has immortalized the above quote in stone."

      Telling it Like It Isn’t: The History of Drexel’s Joke Issues

      Current Drexel Dragons are familiar with The Triangle’s annual April Fools’ Day joke issue, The Rectangle. What they might not know is that Drexel students have been publishing satirical newspaper issues since the 1940s.
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    • © 2017 National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI Photo courtesy American Illustrators Gallery, New York, NY

      Drexel Presents Fine Art Exhibit in Tribute to ‘Father of Illustration’ Howard Pyle

      In continuation of Drexel University’s 125th anniversary celebration, the Pennoni Honors College will co-present with the National Museum of American Illustration, a new exhibition showcasing the influence of former Drexel instructor Howard Pyle and his students, who helped inspire Philadelphia’s historic roots in the applied art field and fueled its publishing boom in 1900s.

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    • This 1876 rosewood piano hidden in the corner of the A. J. Picture Gallery once resided in the house of University founder Anthony J. Drexel.

      Hidden Treasures: Our Founder’s Piano

      In addition to being a great financier and philanthropist, Drexel’s founder was an accomplished musician with an incredible taste in music. After he died, his family donated one of the pianos from his home to the University — and you could even play it today.

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  • February

    • Martin Luther King Jr. being treated by Walter P. Lomax Jr. in his Philadelphia hotel room on Feb. 10, 1968.

      The Hahnemann Alumnus Who Championed Philly’s African-American Community — and Also Treated Martin Luther King Jr.

      Walter P. Lomax Jr., MD, who graduated from Hahnemann Medical College (now Drexel’s College of Medicine) in 1957, lived a long life in which he continually treated and supported African-Americans and their community.
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  • January

    • Left to right: The original home built at 227 N. 34th Street, photo courtesy of University Archives, and the building today.

      The Chocolate Factory on Campus and Other Past Lives of Drexel’s University City Buildings

      Back in the day, Drexel was just one building surrounded by a tuberculosis ward, a candy factory, a bank and many other buildings that would later become a part of the University.
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    • Main Building was packed for an event celebrating 1965's Homecoming in this photo from the 1966 Lexerd yearbook. Photo courtesy University Archives.

      Drexel Homecoming Through the Years: Queens, Parades and Beard-Growing Contests

      First introduced on campus in the 1920s, Drexel’s Homecoming has changed and yet retained its traditions through nine decades and three revivals.
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    • The three founders of Hahnemann Medical College, started in 1848: Constantine Hering, MD; Jacob Jeanes, MD; and Water Williamson, MD.

      The Forgotten Founders of Drexel Institutions

      Anthony J. Drexel founded Drexel University, of course. But there are other institutions now ingrained in Drexel’s DNA — like the College of Medicine and the Academy of Natural Sciences — that were founded by other innovators in the 19th century.
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