November

Pitching his AI-driven marketing app at StartUp Fest 2021 presented fourth-year student Basil Khan with a chance to help entrepreneurs everywhere.

Take note of important deadlines at the end of this month and before the holidays for opportunities like Employee Olympics, new committees and holiday donation drives.

A message with information on monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms after the Thanksgiving break and where to get the COVID booster or flu shot on campus this week was sent to the Drexel community.

A Nov. 22 message reminded Drexel students of the importance in continuing to adhere to all public health protocols and safety precautions in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 this holiday season, and also included information about testing, booster doses and flu shots.

The change to the former Office of Veteran Student Services reflects the University’s efforts to further support veterans and military-affiliated students.

Though the University has observed the United Nations climate conference since 2015, this was the first time that it cohosted an event at the international gathering, which 11 Dragons attended in 2021.

The staff of Drexel University’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) supported international Dragons through a laundry list of ever-changing circumstances with the blend of practicality and hope needed in pandemic times.

There is a growing recognition that social justice is also environmental justice and health justice. Those goals can all be achieved in the redesign of physical spaces, writes College of Engineering Professor Franco Montalto, PhD, in this “Rebuilding Philly” essay.

As small retailers close, the commercial corridors they occupy face the prospect of a downward spiral, and the impact is most likely to be greater in poorer communities, Richardson Dilworth, PhD, head and professor in Drexel’s Department of Politics, wrote in a “Rebuilding Philly” essay.

Pursuing equity and sustainability together requires a dramatic shift in thinking, Drexel’s Gwen Ottinger and Jennifer Britton wrote in this “Rebuilding Philly” essay.

A message with guidelines on how to plan for the upcoming holiday season was sent to the Drexel community.

Drexel students are once again engaging globally through study abroad and alternative programs, and though their experiences are affecting by the pandemic, they’re all the more worth it.

A message was sent to the Drexel community Nov. 15 about the creation of an oversight committee as part of Drexel's ongoing efforts to reimagine public safety.

Toy donations are being accepted now for Drexel’s Office of Government and Community Relations’ event, which will be in-person this year. Volunteers are needed to bag donated toys on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9.

Drexel University and the Brandywine Workshop and Archives (BWA) have partnered to extend and improve Brandywine’s Artura.org, the nation’s first free online database of contemporary diverse art and artists. A recent $500,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will fund the project that will be managed by Drexel’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships with participation from the School of Education and the Arts Administration & Museum Leadership graduate program in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design.

New faculty and professional staff from the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design shared what media, pandemic innovations and campus spots they’ve been enjoying.

Researchers from the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University recently published research that identified the experiences of autistic individuals and their caregivers across their interactions with the criminal justice system through analysis of a statewide survey in Pennsylvania, including as victims of an interaction, criminal offenders and witnesses to a crime, with respondents reporting both positive and negative experiences.

Per a Nov. 9 message, the University will be closed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

In the battle to mitigate “city heat” and conserve the energy it takes to keep folks comfortable inside, recent research has shown the importance of urban planning. Tree cover, paved surfaces, the spacing of buildings and green spaces all affect how much energy it takes to offset the “urban heat island effect.” But the relative contribution of these urban form factors has been a matter of debate. In a recently published journal paper, researchers in Drexel University’s College of Engineering, seeking to clarify the matter, presented a method for measuring the impact of each of these factors – and revealed that their contribution to building energy use varies between cities.

Public Safety has tips to ensure your online shopping ends up in the right place. Plus, in this month’s Public Safety & U, learn about how to participate in a Department of Public Safety community survey and donate to Drexel’s Military Care Package Drive.

The spread of COVID-19 illustrated yet again how systemic racism, in its many manifestations, profoundly shapes the health of Black people and people of color in our city, writes the School of Public Health’s Ana V. Diez Roux in this “Rebuilding Philly” essay originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

While initiatives and related efforts to provide computers and connectivity to all can help, it’s not nearly enough — and it doesn’t get to the heart of the problem, writes the College of Engineering and ExCITe Center’s Youngmoo Kim in this essay originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer as part of “Rebuilding Philly.”

In this essay published in The Philadelphia Inquirer as part of a new collaboration with Drexel experts, the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation’s Harris M. Steinberg and Bruce Katz share their vision of learning from the events of 2020 and 2021 for a better Philadelphia.

Omkari Williams — a speaker, writer, podcast host and coach for activists — shared these tips in her “Activism For the Rest of Us” workshop hosted on Oct. 27 by the Pennoni Honors College and supported by The Center for Black Culture, the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Organizers of the premiere annual entrepreneurship event hosted by the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship explain why the 2021 StartUp Fest will be more immersive, accessible, and alumni-oriented than years past while still highlighting the student startup ecosystem at Drexel.

Drexel University and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology have formally signed an agreement that will allow students who graduate with an associate degree in Computer Systems Engineering Technology or Business Administration from Thaddeus Stevens College to move seamlessly into Drexel University to pursue a related undergraduate program at Drexel.

There are several art exhibitions and collections (both in person and online) showcasing the art of everything from Polish posters to presidential memorabilia to prehistoric fossils.