May

As the Philadelphia region prepares to move to the yellow, less restrictive coronavirus phase on June 5, we are moving ahead with plans to gradually ramp up research activities, return more students to clinical training, and finalize recommendations for our expected return to campus for the fall quarter, assuming our region is moved into the green phase by then.

Though COVID-19 has inhibited access to the studio space and materials they’re used to, Sculpture I students and faculty are working well (remotely) with what they have at their disposal.

Familiarize yourself with fiscal year-end closing deadlines, wellness events and learning from home opportunities for faculty and professional staff.

For the first time in Drexel University’s 100-year co-op program history, students are working remotely due to COVID-19, along with a lot of the non-essential work force. Students and employer representatives explain what’s different, what’s the same and how to adapt.

As the spring quarter quickly comes to a close, I know we are all eager to gain a better understanding of how Drexel’s fall term will look in September, as well as what will be required from each of us to ensure that the University operates as a safe and supportive resource for students, faculty and professional staff. This much is certain: The coming academic year will challenge us in countless new and different ways.

In a recently published scholarly review of research gaps related to treatment of individuals who identify as gender nonbinary, Deborah Clegg, PhD, associate dean of research in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, found that enhancing the scientific understanding of biological origins of gender identity may reduce stigma and barriers to care for transgender and nonbinary individuals.

Bruce Katz, co-founder and inaugural director of Drexel’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab, talks about his work shaping policy recommendations for the federal government’s next small business bill, and how he’s analyzing and advising cities during the pandemic.

Tower Health and Drexel University celebrated an official “Topping Off” ceremony for the development of an additional site location of Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health, to be opened in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Most of the University’s more than 300 student organizations are maintaining operations as they social distance away from campus, and have found ways to continue to hold events, keep the community together and even make a difference.

Drexel University’s Weekend Warriors club and co-sponsoring student organizations will host four adventure athletes for virtual presentations through its Explorer Series, including Alex Honnold of “Free Solo” fame. 

As the Fall 2020 Covid-19 Task Force continued to move ahead with its work on recommendations for the start of the new academic year, Drexel students were asked to make suggestions for enhancing remote learning this summer and their views on the possibility of returning to campus in September. Meanwhile, we are seeing strong support from employers for the Drexel co-op, and the University’s community outreach efforts are being ramped up in the Promise Zone in West Philadelphia.

It’s important to be flexible with how you prepare and enjoy food, from loose grocery lists to setting schedules to balancing indulgences.

Alumni, adjunct faculty and a student co-op are creating labels illustrating spaces six feet apart. And, they’re donating them to life-sustaining businesses.

The following message was sent to faculty and professional staff at Drexel regarding the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the absence of on-campus snuggles, the University’s three beloved Cane Corso employees are still virtually helping Dragons improve their wellness — by acting as muses.

Results from a February survey shows widespread agreement that Drexel’s ties to the city, co-op and employers belong at the heart of Drexel’s 2020-2030 Strategic Plan, now set for release later this year.

Drexel Public Safety shared tips for enjoying the outdoors safely, from where practice social distancing in public outdoor areas and how to stay safe when grilling.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the U.S. economy and labor markets in an unprecedented way. The leisure, hospitality and retail industries have been hit the hardest by shutdown orders nationwide but new research that uses data from Homebase, a time-tracking software, to provide real-time employment estimates shows that the report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, expected later this week, may not capture the full extent of the contraction.

It’s Nurses Week during the Year of the International Nurse and the Midwife. To recognize the achievements of Dragons in those professions, the College of Nursing & Health Professions created a website to highlight their important work.

Sixty-five Dragons appealed for University Housing this term, and are sheltering on campus while most of the rest of the Drexel community is at home. Three students discuss their circumstances, new routines and hopes for the future.

We are on a fast-track planning process for the start of the new academic year with the expected return to full campus operations on September 21, while also putting plans in place that will protect the health and safety of everyone in the Drexel community. The full resumption of campus life for students, faculty, professional staff and other employees is the goal.

COVID-19 has made virtual presentations the new norm. Two faculty members and two MD/PhD students who recently defended their thesis share tips on how to do this successfully, and why it might even be preferable to an in-person event.

From snowflakes to quartz, nature’s crystalline structures form with a reliable, systemic symmetry. Researchers at Drexel University, who study the formation of crystalline materials, have shown that it’s now possible to control how crystals grow – including interrupting the symmetrical growth of flat crystals and inducing them to form hollow crystal spheres. The discovery is part of a broader design effort focused on the encapsulation of medicine for targeted drug treatments.