April

Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA, president and CEO of the American Board of Medical Specialties, will address the Drexel University College of Medicine class of 2017 during Commencement on May 19 at the Kimmel Center.

This weekend’s NFL Draft and Penn Relays will focus the sports world’s attention squarely on Philadelphia. Like usual, members of Drexel’s sport management program will be behind the scenes helping make it all happen.

This past month, Drexel was all about spring cleaning, whether the University was being nationally recognized for recycling efforts or creating a faculty-designed glossary breaking down confusing academic assessment jargon.

If you were at Drexel from the 1930s to the early 1990s, you could have mingled with students, faculty and staff at the Drexel Lodge, a country estate owned by the University for recreational purposes.

Today, as development pressures rub up against time-honored city neighborhoods, Philadelphia is seeking new ways to carefully manage the twin goals of growth and preservation. Withthisinmind, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenneydecidedit is timetorethinkhowPhiladelphiapreservesitshistoricresources – andtohelpspearheadtheseefforts,heappointedDrexel’sHarrisM. Steinberg, FAIA,directoroftheLindy Institute for Urban Innovation,tochairanewHistoricPreservationTaskForce.

At a panel discussion of five local higher education leaders at the Barnes Foundation on April 20, Drexel President John Fry spoke about the role colleges and universities play in Philadelphia’s growth — and the future of higher education.

Some of the renovations surrounding Korman Quad will make the space greener and more sustainable than ever before.

Myers Hall, which has been on Drexel University’s campus since 1977, will close in preparation for demolition in the fall. The area of campus will be used as public space.

Drexel University’s eighth annual Health & Wellness Fair was recently held to give faculty and professional staff a chance to focus on their emotional, physical and financial well-being.

This year’s benefit for the American Cancer Society is looking to improve on last year’s event, which raised $17,800 and featured 230 participants.

The eight candidates vying to be Philadelphia’s next elected district attorney offered their views on the ways to fix an office marred by scandal and a criminal justice system in need of new ideas.

Danish Dhamani and Paritosh Gupta wanted to help people uncomfortable with public speaking, so they created Orai, an app that acts as a personal speech coach. Orai is a finalist this week in two notable competitions.

The winners of the annual Steinbright Co-op Photo Contest were recently announced, showcasing the best views of the Drexel co-op that the students had to offer.

In less than a year, the CyberDragons went from a team of novices to one with enough hands-on experience in defense and security to beat more seasoned competitors and prepare for life after college.

O’Leary is the first Dragon to be named a Truman Scholar, which provides a $30,000 scholarship toward graduate school for students pursuing careers in the public sector.

Throughout Drexel’s 125 years, the institution’s art collections have been used to supplement classes in various programs. A new exhibit from The Drexel Collection shows how and why the practice has been continued through today.

Eight students and alumni from Drexel were offered grants from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program this year.

SEI and Drexel University announced the findings of an interactive usability study conducted to enhance the SEI Wealth PlatformSM (the Platform) end-client experience. Executed in the Behavioral Science Laboratory of Drexel’s LeBow College of Business as a Corporate and Executive Education project, the study employed brain imaging to measure cognitive functions while test subjects used the Platform’s consumer-facing wealth management portal. SEI established the core design tenets and principles, and worked with Drexel professors and research students to validate the design and ensure the experience was truly engaging for consumers.

Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business has named Richard J. Green, chairman and CEO of Firstrust Bank, as its 2017 Business Leader of the Year. Green will be honored at a luncheon celebrating his achievements on April 20 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Hyatt at The Bellevue.

Research from Drexel University and the University of Pittsburgh suggests that guidelines for safe disposal of liquid waste from patients being treated for the Ebola virus might not go far enough to protect water treatment workers from being exposed. In a study recently published in the journal Water Environment Research, a group of environmental engineering researchers reports that sewer workers downstream of hospitals and treatment centers could contract Ebola via inhalation — a risk that is not currently accounted for in the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention or World Health Organization Ebola response protocol.

Doctoral student Brielle Ferguson and professor Ramesh Raghupathi participated in the Society for Neuroscience’s Capitol Hill Day last month, speaking with congressional representatives about the importance of federal funding for their research.

In a behind-the-scenes look at how policymakers formed Philadelphia’s sugar-sweetened beverage tax, researchers from Drexel University found that an emphasis on revenue generation for pre-kindergarten education, not health benefits, served as a winning strategy.

Professors in the College of Engineering and the LeBow College of Business worked with architects to design a shared research laboratory space that would encourage collaboration between themselves and their students.

The co-op is an essential part of a typical Drexel education, but the process can raise a lot of questions. DrexelNow sought the advice of four co-op veterans, who weighed in with tips on the interview process, overcoming hurdles and leaving employers with a good impression.

In search of new ways to promote awareness of the realities of climate change and global warming, Drexel faculty members have struck up a relationship with the Philadelphia Environmental Film Festival. The University is sponsoring a block of local films later this month.

Drexel’s free public lecture series will continue to highlight the University’s 125th anniversary year when the series starts up again this spring term.