Heard Around Campus — April

You might have engaged in some “spring cleaning” at home this past month — and Drexel University did too. In April, Drexel was nationally recognized for recycling efforts, continued its tradition of helping faculty and staff receive farm-fresh produce on campus and cleaned up confusing academic assessment jargon with a faculty-designed glossary.

Here's what was heard around campus in April.

Drexel Nationally Recognized for Recycling, Green Energy

• Winner, RecycleMania Game Day Challenge: Drexel finished in first place out of 30 participating colleges and universities in the RecycleMania Game Day Challenge, which took place Feb. 18 at the Drexel Dragons men’s basketball game against Elon University at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. University Facilities collected 1,300 pounds of recyclable materials during and after the game, which was attended by approximately 1,200 visitors. Announcements were made during the game to help spread awareness and remind visitors to place recyclables in the available containers. The Drexel Green website has a full breakdown of Drexel’s 2017 RecycleMania results.
• Top Green Power User in the CAA: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has once again recognized Drexel as an Individual Conference Champion of the 2016-17 College & University Green Power Challenge for using more green power than any other school in the Colonial Athletic Association. Drexel beat its conference rivals by using nearly 97 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power, representing 100 percent of the school’s annual electricity usage. According to the EPA, 97 million kWh is equivalent to the electricity use of more than 8,800 average American homes annually. Drexel is No. 12 among college and universities nationwide in green power usage, according to the EPA’s Green Power Partnership rankings.

Mandatory Clery Act Training and Campus Security Authority Identification 

Under the Clery Act, a consumer protection law providing transparency around campus crime policy and statistics, Drexel is required to disclose “statistics concerning the occurrence of certain criminal offenses reported to local law enforcement agencies or any official of the institution who is defined as a ‘Campus Security Authority.’” Because employee roles within the University can often change, this training is mandatory for all faculty and professional staff, regardless of whether you are currently a CSA.

 To ensure CSAs have a clear understanding of their roles, Drexel is providing mandatory online CSA training to all employees in Career Pathway, which is accessible via the “Employee” tab in DrexelOne under the “Development and Certifications” header. The training, titled “The Clery Act at Drexel,” is due to be completed by June 2.

Farm Share Registration Open Through May 9

Registration for the summer 2017 season of the Common Market Farm Share is now open, and your last day to register is May 9. This program allows Drexel students, faculty and professional staff to pay in advance for biweekly shipments of locally grown, farm-fresh produce and eggs, or you can choose from a number of specialty share options, such as meat, dairy and bread. Drexel is proud to serve as a pick-up site for the Farm Share at two locations: University City Campus and the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University.  For more information and to register, visit cmfarmshare.org/pages/mid-atlantic.

Assessment Fellows Glossary

Last fall, Drexel introduced the Assessment Fellows to the campus community — Drexel faculty members who now train faculty and staff on the different elements of assessment, from developing course learning outcomes to analyzing data and making improvements, while also acting as a mentor and resource to any faculty member who needs help, or who has questions in any aspect of the assessment cycle.

They recently completed their first major task of creating a glossary of terms to bridge the communication gap that currently exists when speaking about assessment and evaluation. The resulting Assessment Fellows Glossary breaks down the jargon and confusing language often seen in the assessment process, so now you can finally get a clear answer on the differences between learning indicators, learning objectives and learning outcomes, among many other buzzwords and phrases.

Pennoni Panels: A Tale of Two Mayors: Philadelphia’s Past, Present and Future

Two former mayors of Philadelphia, Edward Rendell and Michael Nutter, are speaking on Drexel’s campus next week — and you, as a Drexel faculty or staff member, have exclusive access to watch them. On May 3, Pennoni Honors College Dean Paula Marantz Cohen will interview Rendell and Nutter for The Drexel InterView series she hosts. Now’s your chance to hear these two former mayors discuss the past, present and future of Philadelphia, including their thoughts on Drexel’s major redevelopment initiatives with Schuylkill Yards and the West Philadelphia Promise Zone.

A reception with light fare, wine and Dragon's Gold craft beer will take place before and after “A Tale of Two Mayors: A Conversation on Philadelphia’s Past, Present and Future.” 

Second Student-Run Saxbys to Open on Campus in June

This past month, news came out that a second student-run Saxbys location will open inside the Papadakis Integrated Science Building, moving in to the first-floor space previously occupied by the Seasons café.

“Saxbys is very excited to be opening a second Experiential Learning Cafe at Drexel, after opening our first-ever ELP cafe on campus in 2015 to allow students to earn full credit and get paid while developing their own team, forming relationships with the community to make a social impact and managing all the finances of running the cafe,” Justin Pizzi, vice president of sales and marketing for Saxbys, told The Triangle, Drexel’s independent student newspaper.

Construction Update:

Westphal Music Industry Studios: Construction is in progress for the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design’s Music Industry Studios project that will add a much-needed Flagship Studio and other spaces for this growing program in One Drexel Plaza, Suite 20. Also included is a new home for the Drexel University Audio Archives. The project is expected to be completed in fall 2017.

James E. Marks Intercultural Center (Academic Building, Ground Floor Renovation): Construction is underway to create the new James E. Marks Intercultural Center on the ground floor of the Academic Building. Included will be spaces for the Office of Equality and Diversity, the LGBTQA Student Center and the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life.  A Muslim prayer space, interfaith chapel and large multipurpose program space are also planned.  The project will include an expandable Intercultural Commons to hold larger events. This project is expected to be completed in fall 2017.

Buckley Field Hockey Field Replacement (Vidas Athletic Complex): The synthetic turf at the existing Buckley Field Hockey Field will be replaced this summer. The project will include additional irrigation, fencing and the new turf. Construction will begin in early May and continue through the summer. 

Korman Center and Quad: Steel for the Korman Center addition was completed in late March. Concrete will be poured for the first- and second-floor extensions in late April and early May. In the Korman Quad, storm water management systems will be installed in April and May. The projects are expected to be complete in fall 2017.

Intelligent Structures Laboratory (Alumni 073): Construction is in progress on a laboratory for testing and evaluating components of building structures in the Alumni Engineering Laboratories Building, Suite 073. Substantial completion is scheduled for the end of May.

Visit the Current Projects page of the Facilities website for additional project updates and the Drexel Master Plan blog for images and reports from Vice President for University Facilities and Real Estate Bob Francis.