Drexel’s 2017 Service Recognition, By the Numbers

The four College of Engineering faculty members with a collective 210 years of working at Drexel. From left to right: Peter Herczfeld, PhD; Joseph Mullin, PhD; Edwin Gerber, PhD; and Eli Fromm, PhD.

On Dec. 8, Drexel University honored 703 faculty and professional staff at its annual service recognition luncheon.

“We simply cannot talk about every achievement that they have accomplished over that time,” said Drexel President John Fry at the luncheon. “But we know that they have contributed so much to Drexel’s progress. Now, if I were someone who did not know anything else about Drexel University, that fact alone — the combined years of service in this room — that would speak volumes. It tells me that Drexel is a valued institution, and that it is a place where employees can put down roots, explore in their career paths, and grow as individuals.”

DrexelNow has the number of Dragons who have spent anywhere between five and 60 years at the University and celebrated a work anniversary this year. The biographies of four faculty members (all from the College of Engineering!) who spent a collective 210 years teaching at Drexel are also included.

60 years: 1 Dragon

Edwin Gerber, PhD, professor emeritus in the College of Engineering (who previously shared his memories of his six decades at the University in a DrexelNow story):

Gerber entered the Drexel Institute of Technology in 1953 and upon graduation in 1957 he was hired as an instructor in the Electrical Engineering Department. On Sept. 1, 2017, he began his 60th year of teaching in the College of Engineering, making him Drexel’s longest-serving faculty member. He has been on campus for 64 years ­— more than half of Drexel’s entire existence. Aside from a one-year leave for a National Science Foundation research fellowship and a six-month sabbatical to write the book “Maple for Electric Circuits and Systems,” he taught four quarters every year for 50 years. In the last decade, he has taught three quarters a year, taking the winter off to visit his daughter in Florida. Now retired, Gerber has received many teaching and service awards from the University, including the Harold Myers Award for Outstanding Service to the University and an induction into the Drexel 100. On a personal note, Gerber met his wife Judy 53 years ago on a blind date arranged by a Drexel colleague.

50 years: 3 Dragons

Eli Fromm, PhD, professor emeritus and Electrical and Computer Engineering Leroy A. Brothers Professor in the College of Engineering:

Fromm joined the Drexel faculty in 1967 and taught and conducted research as a member of the Biomedical Engineering, Biological Science, and Electrical Engineering departments. He also held Drexel administrative positions including interim dean of Engineering, vice provost for research and interim head of the Biological Science department, and served on the staff of the Committee on Science and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Legislative Office for Research Liaison of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Fromm was recognized as a fellow of the IEEE, fellow of the ASEE, emeritus fellow of the AIMBE, member of the Drexel 100 and recipient of the IEEE Centennial Medal and Smithsonian Institution Medal. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, he received the inaugural NAE Bernard Gordon Prize.

Peter Herczfeld, PhD, Lester A. Kraus Professor in the College of Engineering:

Herczfeld was appointed to the Drexel Institute of Technology faculty in 1967. His teaching honors include the Mary and Christian Lindback Distinguished Teacher Award at Drexel University (1995) and the IEEE-MTT-S Fred Rosenbaum Distinguished Educator Award (1997). 

Herczfeld served as the director of the Center for Microwave-Lightwave Engineering at Drexel.  In 1995 he founded the International Microwave Photonics Conference. He is a life fellow of the IEEE, a recipient of the IEEE Millennium medal and served as the distinguished lecturer of IEEE-MTT-S, giving talks in 25 countries on six continents. His research awards include the Microwave Prize (1986 and 1994) and the IEEE-MTT-S Pioneer (2006) award for research in microwave photonics.

Joseph Mullin, PhD, emeritus faculty in the College of Engineering:

Mullin began his 50 years of teaching at the University after graduating from the Civil Engineering program in 1956, where he was selected to teach those returning from Korea on the GI Bill. During those years, Mullin earned his MBA and MS in Civil Engineering from Drexel and his PhD from Penn State University in 1964, where he was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. He received numerous awards during his tenure at Drexel, including the Laura S. Campbell Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Samuel Mercer Jr. Teaching Award, the Stanley J. Gwiazda Professorship, the Joseph S. Mozino Blue and Gold Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award in Construction Management, and the 2006 College of Engineering Service Award.

45 years: 2 Dragons

40 years: 8 Dragons

35 years: 21 Dragons

30 years: 33 Dragons

25 years: 16 Dragons

20 years: 65 Dragons

15 years: 91 Dragons

10 years: 202 Dragons

5 years: 261 Dragons