History of the College
The college serves over 2,000 students through Honors and Symposium courses, the Custom-Designed Major, undergraduate research fostered by the STAR Scholars Program and Supernova Undergraduate Research Fellows, fellowships advising, and an array of enrichment and community-building programming. These initiatives carry forward a legacy of scholar development, student support, and interdisciplinary exploration that stem from the origins of Honors at Drexel.
As early as 1988, Drexel recognized the need to provide more support for scholar development for all undergraduate students at the University. A faculty working group, the Honors Task Force, was organized to create an honors curriculum for high-achieving students. Even with that charge, the Task Force recognized the importance of an honors program that would serve all students. In its 1989 report to President Breslin, the Honors Task Force highlighted the “conviction that the existence of a well-supported Honors Program at this University will act as an intellectual leaven for all University undergraduates, including those who are not members of the Honors Program.”
Cultivating interdisciplinary course offerings has always been an integral part of the Honors mission. The Honors Task Force envisioned an honors program that would draw upon faculty from across the University to teach interdisciplinary courses based on broad themes reflective of Drexel’s strengths. Courses like “Technology and American Society” would highlight the technical expertise of Drexel faculty while also providing a forum to explore historical, social, political, and ethical issues.
With these considerations in mind, the Honors Program launched in September of 1991 with a founding cohort of 33 students. That number grew throughout the 1990s, reaching approximately 1,500 students by 2000. The C.R. "Chuck" and Annette Pennoni Honors College, named for Drexel alumnus and trustee Dr. C.R. "Chuck" Pennoni '63, '66, Hon. '92 and his late wife Annette, was established in March 2003, when the Drexel Board of Trustees voted to rename the University's successful 12-year-old Honors Program in tribute to Chuck Pennoni's many contributions to Drexel.
The founding of the Pennoni Honors College has helped us fulfill our dual purpose of offering a selective honors program and developing academic and experiential learning opportunities for all students. Since its inception, the College has been an incubator for new initiatives that serve a wide range of students, including the Center for Civic Engagement (now the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement), the Study Abroad Office (now Education Abroad as part of Drexel Global), the STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Scholars Program and Fellowships Office (now both part of Undergraduate Research & Enrichment Programs), and the Symposium and Custom-Designed Major (which compose the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry).
Today, we have grown into the college the Honors Task Force envisioned more than 40 years ago: an honors college that nourishes students intellectually and provides a network of support to pursue their scholarship. As articulated in our strategic plan for 2025-2030, we are committing to being even more integrated into Drexel’s fabric; cultivating innovation in areas of research, scholarship, and teaching; and ensuring that we are enhancing the Drexel experience for all at the University.
C.R. “Chuck” Pennoni
Drexel alumnus and trustee Dr. C.R. "Chuck" Pennoni '63, '66, Hon. '92 is the former chairman of Pennoni Associates, a multi-disciplinary engineering firm focusing on civil infrastructure systems that employs more than 600 professionals and support staff in offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Japan and the Philippines.