University to Review Academic Structure

Dear Colleagues,

With the opening of the Health Sciences Building in September, which will house academic programs from the College of Nursing and Health Professions and College of Medicine including its Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, Drexel continues to stake its claim as a leader in health-related academic innovation. We are excited about how this move will lead to closer partnerships and interdisciplinary collaborations in critical areas with other Drexel colleges and schools, including Biomedical Engineering, Public Health and Engineering, as well as with external partners.

With tremendous expertise in health, medicine, engineering and technology, and located at the heart of Philadelphia’s life sciences hub, Drexel is well positioned for leadership amid the growing opportunities at the nexus of health and technology. Already we have seen strong external investment in this burgeoning space, with three recently launched life sciences real estate projects on our campus — Spark Therapeutics, Gattuso Development, and 3151 Market at Schuylkill Yards — representing more than $1.5 billion in external investment. Our progress with the Drexel 2030 Strategic Plan implementation and the Areas of Excellence and Opportunity process to date has revealed insights into how these strengths will continue to expand Drexel’s academic reputation and impact on society.

This is an opportune moment in our evolution to review the organization of our academic programs, particularly those related to health, medicine and engineering, to ensure our structure is aligned to meet our current strategy. We will launch this process over the next few months with the creation of a University task force. We anticipate that this review of our organizational structure will culminate in a set of recommendations that will strengthen our position as a leader in health, medicine, engineering and scientific discovery.

We look forward to working closely with our deans, faculty and the task force as we move this process forward. Updates on the progress of the review will be shared in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

John Fry
President

Paul E. Jensen
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost