January 06, 2020

As we kick off a new decade of scholarship and innovation, join us for a fun look back at life in the College of Arts and Sciences 10 years ago!

Our Programs

Drexel CoAS is constantly evolving to meet the demands of our ever-changing world. In 2010, perhaps you would have enrolled in the College’s brand new Philosophy major, a program that values logical thinking and thoughtful reflection. Or you might have chosen to major in one of the College’s other programs like International Area Studies (now Global Studies) or Criminal Justice (now Criminology and Justice Studies). 

By 2012, you might have signed up for the College’s new “Inside-Out” course in a correctional facility, the first of many Community-Based Learning courses to be offered at Drexel.

Your Fellow Dragons

In 2010, you would have joined a record-breaking freshman class of 2,750 students. Your peers would have included four Fulbright Scholarship recipients (the highest number in Drexel history at the time), three of whom were from CoAS: International Area Studies majors Caitlin Costella ’10 and Dan Tedesco ’11, and Environmental Science PhD student Karen Sullam ’13.

You also would have joined the Drexel community the same year that John Anderson Fry, PhD, became the University’s 14th president, and made the call for Drexel to become “the most civically engaged university in the country” —continuing the work of his predecessor with expanded opportunities for community engagement.

And though your ambition has never been able to wait, you would have been encouraged to “Live It.”

A Growing Campus

Campus has changed A LOT over the last decade. As a prospective student in 2010, you might have toured the Korman Center or sat in on a class in MacAlister Hall — but forget your lunch stop at Sabrina’s, Zavino or Shake Shack; Chestnut Square only existed in our dreams.

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building — including its DNA-inspired spiral staircase and North America’s largest living biowall — was in the final stages of construction, slated for opening in fall of 2011.

Prefer rock walls to biowalls? Drexel’s brand-new 84,000 square-foot Recreation Center opened its doors in February of 2010. You’d have to wait another eight months before you could post a ’gram of yourself scaling the wall (the social media platform didn’t exist yet!).

A Historic Partnership

By 2011, you may have been wondering, “what in the world is a BEES major?” (Hint: there are three!)

The College was forever changed by Drexel’s historic affiliation with the Academy of Natural Sciences — with both institutions combining expertise to create the new Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (or BEES for short).

Life on Campus

Dragons back then were as busy as ever. While just missing Drexel’s hosting of a presidential Democratic debate in 2007, you might have heard a lecture by Matthew Quick, author of “Silver Linings Playbook”; caught Buzz Bizzinger, author of “Friday Night Lights,” at the English and philosophy department’s Week of Writing; or attended the 15th Kaczmarczik Lecture with Nobel Prize-winning physicist David J. Gross, PhD.

You may even have attended the very first College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Lecture in 2011 with literary legend Sir Salman Rushdie.

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Life was pretty great back in 2010, and there’s even more to look forward to in the decade: from the College’s next Distinguished Lecture with environmentalist and author Terry Tempest Williams, to a brand new undergraduate major in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, to leadership from Dean Norma Bouchard, PhD, and the College’s next strategic plan.

From the College of Arts and Sciences, best wishes to our students, faculty, staff and alumni for another decade of achievement!