Drexel Dedicates Transformed Quad and Korman Center Addition

A dedication ceremony on June 6 officially marked the opening of the addition to Drexel’s Korman Center and surrounding “Quad.” Located at the heart of Drexel’s campus, the Korman Center and its surrounding green space have served as a University landmark for decades. With the help of an $8 million gift from the Hyman Korman Family Foundation, paired with another $8 million from the University, the renovation added two stories of collaborative workspace, new student space and a new façade to the existing Korman building while blending it with a modernized Quad. The redone Quad includes inviting new walkways, landscaping and seating.

Ground was broken on the new space in June 2016, with Gluckman Tang Architects designing the building expansion that opened up the brick and stone building to bring it up-to-date with the newest buildings that surround it. Andropogon Associates, known for its commitment to ecological landscape design, designed the open green space that opened as the Korman Quad this fall.

Richard Greenawalt, chairman of Drexel’s Board of Trustees; Drexel President John Fry; Alan Greenberger, distinguished visiting fellow at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation; Larry Korman, a member of Drexel’s board of trustees; and Undergraduate Student Government Association President Tammy Callanan spoke about the significance of the new spaces to 27 members of the Korman family as well as Drexel students, faculty and professional staff attending the event.

“In just a few months, the new Quad and renovated Korman Center have become the heart and soul of Drexel’s campus,” said Fry. “The space is a spectacular example of how place-making can strengthen communities.”