As the year winds down, it is time to take a pause to look back at how the legacy of Drexel University College of Medicine continued to grow in 2024 and what milestones we can look forward to celebrating in the year ahead. On September 15, the Lower Merion Historical Society dedicated a state historical marker in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., at the Idenlea Estate. This was the home of Dr. Hannah E. Longshore (1819-1901), the first female physician in Pennsylvania and an alumna of the inaugural Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) class of 1852. Her daughter was the well-known suffragette Lucretia Mott Longshore Blankenburg (1845-1937). This remarkable family also played an integral role in the establishment of WMCP, as Hannah’s brother-in-law, Dr. Joseph S. Longshore, was one of the co-founders.

What followed was the rich legacy of WMCP and its graduates, which reads like a history book of America. Counted among the ranks of alumni are the first Native American female physician, Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte; members of the United States House of Representatives Dr. J. Howard Swick and Dr. Isaac Barber; a Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David Shulkin; an aspiring Olympian and Title IX trailblazer, Dr. Mary O’Connor; a NASA astronaut, Dr. Patricia Robertson; and a physician who lent her name to the disease she first described, Dr. Myrtelle Canavan.

Even Hollywood has taken notice of the school’s pioneering impact by having the fictional character Dr. Michaela Quinn graduate from WMCP in the television show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. This legacy continues to the present day as Drexel University College of Medicine has become one of the largest private medical schools in the United States, graduating over 300 physicians per year. We can look forward to celebrating this amazing history in 2025, which marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.

All of these milestones and achievements remind us of our common connections through our predecessor institutions, and now collectively as alumni of the College of Medicine. Not only is it important to be connected to the past, but to continue to build a strategic plan for the future. The Alumni Association Board of Directors would like to strengthen ties with current students through mentoring and networking. As former students, we know the quality education that they are receiving. As alumni, we comprise a network of thousands of physicians and scientists who can assist today’s learners in finding post-graduate training positions and research opportunities.

As we reconnect at Alumni Weekend in May and at the celebration of the 175th anniversary of WMCP, take that extra second to pause and reassess how you can make an impact to continue the long, successful legacy of Drexel graduates. If you would like to learn more about ways to give back to the College or get involved, please contact Andrea Hannan at adp77@drexel.edu or 215.432.7934.