August 17, 2016

The Ryder clock in the Great Court, inscribed with the words, “Be on time,” is dedicated in 1932. Legend has it that its namesake, J. Peterson Ryder, used to stand in the court, pocket-watch in hand, spurring on students late to class. Ryder was one of the 11 original department heads when Drexel opened in 1891 (Department of Physical Training) and became the school’s first athletics director in 1919 and the first dean of men during the 1922–23 school year. He dies in 1931 after 40 years of service to the University.