DuPont CEO Accepts Drexel Engineering Award
By Frank Otto
DuPont's CEO and Chairwoman of its Board of Directors, Ellen Kullman, received a warm welcome from the Drexel community as she accepted the Engineering Leader of the Year Award on Feb. 23.
Held at the Union League of Philadelphia, the award presentation and dinner in Kullman’s honor were attended by more than 200 Drexel students, faculty, staff, alumni and benefactors, including University President John A. Fry, who opened the event.
“Ellen Kullman’s leadership at one of the most innovative companies in the United States is visionary and transformative,” said Joseph Hughes, PhD, dean of the College of Engineering, the school that presents the award. “It is an honor for the University and the College of Engineering to have Ellen accept this award.”
Before a Q&A session with the audience, Hughes held a discussion on stage with Kullman to discuss global industry trends in the engineering industry and how current students might expect to meet those trends.
Her interest in speaking to the students didn’t end with the ceremony, however, as she spoke to students afterward at a private reception, answering questions that ranged from how to properly balance one's business and personal lives to what it feels like to be the CEO of such a large company.
“She even cracked a few jokes,” said Quinten Johnson, a LeBow College of Business student doing a co-op in the College of Engineering, after the reception.
