Ellen Rubin, BS biology ‘92, started a nonprofit to share the scientifically-backed mental and physical health benefits of knitting and fiber arts with the community members who need it most.

Before being proven as addictive and damaging, cigarettes gained the attention of children through relatable slogans, cartoon characters and attractive designs. Only with marketing regulation and research detailing the destructive effects of tobacco did smoking slowly become less attractive to its young audience. But the marketing of harmful substances to vulnerable populations hasn’t gone away entirely. Instead, it has switched focus to another product: ultra-processed foods, commonly known as “junk food.” Erica LaFata, PhD, an assistant research professor in the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center), was recently awarded a grant to explore food addiction in relation to ultra-processed foods.

When Jeremy D’Amico, political science ’24, decided to come to Drexel, he didn’t think much about what living in a city like Philadelphia would involve. He quickly became absorbed in his studies and paid little attention to the community surrounding campus—until he started a co-op with Writers Room. 

A co-op in the Academy of Natural Sciences' ornithology department has allowed environmental science major Abigail Del Grosso to more deeply explore her interest in birds. She shares her more about what her work entails and why it's important in this Q&A. 

"Being away from home, over 1000 miles, for 75 percent of the year may seem daunting to some people, and I admit it did seem disheartening at first, but I have found my Drexel University family and support system. If you have ambition and motivation, there is an endless number of opportunities here."

Sky Harper, a third-year chemistry major, shares his experience finding community and opportunity at Drexel in this guest blog. 

Jason Mott, a bestselling author of two poetry collections and four novels, spent a day with students in the MFA in Creative Writing program last month as part of the book tour behind his 2021 National Book Award-winning novel, Hell of a Book. 

Lisa Forsyth, MS environmental science '91, served 33 years in the US Army as an enlisted soldier and colonel. Now, she lives a self-sustaining lifestyle on her Texas ranch and is the owner of Oli Tea Company, which produces all-natural, sustainably grown herbal tea. It may seem like an unusual career pivot, but according to Forsyth, making your unique idea a reality is "a very Drexel concept." 

"I have learned to look at being first-generation as an asset. I've gotten to share my journey and talk about the value that being a first-generation student provides with incoming and prospective Drexel students. Moving forward, I hope to continue to be vocal about my experience as a first-generation college student at Drexel to hopefully empower other students who come to campus feeling just as scared and lost as I did."

Kaylee Wilson, a third-year sociology and global public health double major, shares her experience finding community and empowerment as a first-generation college student in this guest blog. 

Throughout their co-op this spring and summer, environmental science major Kris Freyland worked with Beth Watson, PhD, associate professor of biodiversity, earth and environmental science and senior scientist at the Academy of Natural Sciences’ Patrick Center for Environmental Research, to study the impact of saltwater intrusion into coastal forests. 

The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to welcome our new dean, David S. Brown, PhD. Dean Brown joined Drexel from the University of Colorado Boulder where he served as Divisional Dean for Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. We spoke with Dean Brown about his political science research, the purpose of liberal arts education and what he loves about Philadelphia so far.

Things are getting wild in the West. Free-roaming horse populations have existed in western states for centuries, but the conflict surrounding them is entirely human. Christian Hunold, PhD, professor of politics, and environmental studies major Cassidy Ellis discuss their research on the politics of wild horse management through a feminist science studies lens.

When Leah Mele-Bazaz found out that her first daughter had died in utero at the start of her third trimester, she instantly withdrew from everyone and everything around her. She told herself she would never talk about it, and she certainly would never write about it. But despite her promise to never put pen to paper, Mele-Bazaz started writing as soon as she got home from the hospital. Now, during Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, her debut memoir has been published.

This past summer, the ELC expanded its IIE Fulbright offerings to include an English Teaching Assistants (ETA) program. The program, funded by a State Department grant, was geared toward preparing Fulbright scholars for their upcoming teaching roles across the globe.

Senior global studies major Emma Hirt spent the spring and summer as a Programs Assistant Co-op at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where she used social media to introduce the organization's work to a younger audience—and went viral in the process.

With five different specialties—astrophysics, biophysics, particle physics, condensed matter and physics education research—Drexel’s physics PhD program gives students the flexibility to pursue unique, individualized research based on their own personal interests and career goals.  

When Kiara Santos joined The Triangle as a news writer during her first year at Drexel, she was determined to work her way up to a leadership position at the independent student newspaper before she graduated.  

“I told myself by my senior year I would be editor-in-chief, someday, some way,” Santos said. “Somehow I was going to do it.”  

Jakes Landing is a centuries-old access point to Dennis Creek in Cape May, New Jersey, where the forest landscape abruptly drops into a tidal saltwater marsh. Near the marsh, row after row of dead Atlantic white cedars juts out of the ground like spikes. Just beyond those are swaths of statuesque loblolly pines that are healthy now, but these are at risk of becoming ghost forests. LeeAnn Haaf, a PhD candidate in Drexel University’s Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) Department, studies the effects of climate change and sea-level rise on low-lying tree growth in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

One might expect a written exam to wrap up their class for the quarter. But students in Celeste Dolores Mann’s Spanish 410 course—Performing Spanish: Proficiency Through the Arts—had to think outside the box for their final. Rather, they had to use the box, sourcing cardboard for their projects. Because her course was focused on the performing arts in Latin America and Spain, and the coursework was writing-intensive, Mann decided a creative final project was the way to go.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk all over the world about the birds and the bees — that is, how they are impacted by the environmentally devastating effects of climate change and how humans play a role in this process. Many of us want to know how we can voice those scary feelings about the health of our planet and then transform them into positive action. While it is an important and timely topic to discuss, sometimes having this talk can be a challenge, especially with children. So, the Academy reached out to children’s book authors Lena Champlin and Jeremy Wortzel to learn more about their work, Coco’s Fire: Changing Climate Anxiety Into Climate Action, and how we can start this very important conversation with our peers and young friends.

When people think of their childhood, they often remember their time spent outside. For many of us, that looked like wading in creeks, playing outdoor games like tag and baseball, riding bikes and finding fireflies. For Akilah Chatman, BS environmental science ’22, every day was a new adventure: climbing waterfalls, jumping from cliffs, exploring rainforests, befriending frogs and lizards, inspecting flora, gardening with their mother and so much more. Their grandparents’ beachfront restaurant offered ample time for Chatman to learn the ways of seaside life—catching fish, frying them—and between their two homes in Jamaica and Florida, they essentially grew up outside. Now, as a Drexel alum and Fulbright Fellow, Chatman is about to begin their next journey—to create and uplift a new green space in Cambodia.

As the annual Honors Day celebration demonstrates, the Drexel University College of Arts and Sciences is home to many of Drexel's finest students. We extend our gratitude to our faculty who nominated students and support them in their endeavors; and to our generous donors who have made many of these awards possible. Congratulations to our student honorees and their families — you make all of Drexel University proud!

Mary Donnelly –who recently earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Drexel’s Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) department — loves fieldwork. But instead of marshlands, forests, plains or deserts, Mary has been busy working right here in Philadelphia. Besides getting out into the field, her interests lie particularly in wildlife conservation. So, for her senior research project, Mary found a fun, collaborative way to do both while also sharing her findings with the community.

Pennoni Honors College Dean Paula Marantz Cohen’s hope is that Confronting Antisemitism Through Storytelling, a collaborative event April 28 among Pennoni, Drexel Hillel, Jewish Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences, will spark conversations that are so often dampened by our current society. Rather than taking the form of a panel discussion or conference, the event will focus on the deeply personal, real-life stories of those who have experienced antisemitism first-hand, whether as Jews or allies.

Growing up in South Brunswick, New Jersey, psychology major and student advisory board member Sanjana Oak rarely saw herself represented on the television screen. When she did, that character was grossly stereotyped or there only for comedic relief. What was worse, in real life, her peers expected her to behave in that same way. Curious about whether her experience was unique, she set up a research project through the STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Scholars Program in the Pennoni Honors College.

In February, 100 percent of eligible doctoral candidates in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences programs matched with exceptional internship placement sites. This included three out of the eight students matching with the VA San Diego/University of California, San Diego—one of the leading internship sites in the country.

For individuals convicted of a summary offense, such as retail theft, who have had no subsequent arrests for a designated number of years, expungement—the erasure of a formal arrest or conviction record—may be a path to a fresh start...

Researchers who conducted a small randomized trial of a form of non-invasive brain stimulation called tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) have found mechanistic evidence supporting its ability to help patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder (MDD).

The I Am Psyched! national touring exhibit has returned to Drexel and is being presented in person this month after last year’s virtual presentation due to the pandemic.

When the first cohort of students in Drexel’s MFA in Creative Writing program graduated, in the spring of 2021, its members raised and donated $1,300 to fund the program’s civic engagement efforts. The gesture was well in keeping with a core tenet of the University, the College and the program itself, and it touched MFA program director Nomi Eve deeply.