Drexel University president Constantine Papadakis has announced the appointment of Carl “Tobey” Oxholm III as the University’s first executive vice president and chief of staff. “This is a new position that will enable the continued growth and success of the University,” said Papadakis. “The position requires strong leadership, administrative and collaborative capability along with a keen insight into Drexel’s organization and culture. As anyone who has worked with Tobey Oxholm knows, he is the ideal candidate for the job.”Since joining Drexel in 2001 as general counsel and senior vice president, Oxholm has been a driving force in many of the initiatives that have transformed Drexel into a comprehensive university with a reputation as one of the nation’s most innovative institutions. Oxholm served as a key player in bringing on board the health sciences schools including the Drexel University College of Medicine. He also spearheaded Drexel’s voluntary adoption of the organizational governance practices outlined by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, making the University a trailblazer among nonprofit institutions. Oxholm founded a state-of-the-art insurance company for Drexel doctors and nurses, and helped create Drexel’s nationally recognized healthcare mediation program. Most recently, he was a prime visionary for Drexel Law, engineering the school from the ground up.“Drexel’s growth in size, quality and scope over the past 10 years has been unprecedented in the University’s history,” said Papadakis. In preparing for the future, Papadakis is leading the University in embarking on the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in Drexel history, implementing the University’s academic strategic plan and campus master plan and developing an environmental master plan. Oxholm will have a role in the University’s budgeting and master planning efforts, coordinating the collaboration of senior officers and serve as the liaison for Papadakis in the process. He will also implement and direct special projects at the request of Papadakis and represent Drexel at appropriate events.“I came to Drexel seven years ago because I was impressed by its mission, its method, and its civic conscience which is very important to me,” said Oxholm. “I believed then, and I believe now, that the best thing we can do is transfer to the next generation the knowledge, skills and values that will make for a better society. I and my colleagues work hard, every day, to achieve this objective, and I am honored that the President has asked me to help him lead the University’s efforts.”In addition to chairing the President’s Cabinet and Executive Council in the President’s absence, Oxholm will oversee the operation of the Office of the President and the following functions: General Counsel, Government and Community Relations, Information Resources and Technology, Institutional Research, Internal Audit and University Relations. Prior to joining Drexel, Oxholm was a practicing attorney in Philadelphia for 22 years, at major firms including his own and in the City’s Law Department. He has been a leader in community service among the region’s lawyers, helping to create three pro bono projects that have become national models—the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program, the Homeless Advocacy Project and the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project—and serving on the boards of several public interest legal services organizations. Among his numerous professional awards are the “Drum Major for Justice” Award from the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, the Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation. In 2006 Oxholm was named one of the five “most innovative general counsel in the United States” by Corporate Counsel magazine.A 1979 cum laude graduate of Harvard University Law School, Oxholm received his master’s degree in public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College in 1975 with a bachelor of arts degree, and is a 1971 graduate of Radnor High School.News Media Contact: Niki Gianakaris, Assistant Director, Drexel News Bureau 215-895-6741, 215-778-7752 (cell) or ngianakaris@drexel.edu
