Growth at Drexel means more than increasing the numbers of students and programs and facilities, though by all those measures the University has continued to buck economic trends and serve more students in more and better ways. We measure Drexel’s growth in new chances to impact communities and society, new relevance in higher education and new opportunities to fulfill our mission. In all arenas, 2012 was full speed ahead here.

Entrepreneurship

A University Priority: With the transition of a LeBow College of Business center into the University-level Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship, Drexel is encouraging great business ideas across our colleges and schools. Support from the Close Foundation and Mark and Mel Baiada made it possible. Read more from the Philadelphia Business Journal.

New Life-Saving Technologies: Drexel’s biomedical translational research continued to result in licenses to partner companies, including the licensing of a non-invasive device for detecting breast tumors to an alumnus-founded company that received more than $875,000 from Pennsylvania to commercially develop the technology. Read more from Med City News.

Economic Impact

Engine for Growth: A study by Econsult found that Drexel’s considerable impact on Pennsylvania’s economy totals $2.4 billion per year, 27,400 jobs and $68 million in state and local tax revenues. The University is committed to increasing this effect even further. Read more from Growth and Solutions: A 2012 Report.

Campus Transformation

A Space to Create: The URBN Center is a haven of interdisciplinary collaboration for the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. This $70 million, 132,000-square-foot renovation of a signature building by Robert Venturi has been called “one of Philadelphia’s most thrilling new designs.” Read more from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rising on Market Street: The LeBow College of Business looked forward to an incredible new home, Drexel’s largest academic building, as construction workers and the University community marked the completion of the framing process with a traditional “topping out” ceremony. Read more from Building LeBow.

Breaking Ground in Partnership: Drexel and American Campus Communities kicked off the $97.6 million Chestnut Square project, a model university-developer collaboration that will bring critical student housing and retail space to campus and to University City. Read more from the Philadelphia Business Journal.

A Sustainability Milestone: The Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building received LEED® Gold certification, the first LEED certification of a Drexel building. Home to much of Drexel’s biology and life sciences studies, the ISB features a unique air-filtering biowall that is both an environmental asset and a research tool. Read more from the Triangle.

Rankings and Awards

Top 100 and an Up-and-Comer: U.S.News & World Report ranked Drexel No. 83 among Best National Universities, making five straight years in the top 100. Drexel also has been a U.S. News “Up-and-Comer” (No. 3 this year) for all five years of that list’s existence. Read more from Drexel University Rankings.

A Safe Campus and Neighborhood: Security magazine ranked Drexel No. 3 in the nation for safety among colleges and universities, the University’s third straight year in the top 10. Drexel and our neighbor Penn were the only Pennsylvania universities in the top 20. Read more from DrexelNOW.

Standing Up Against Hazing: A three-year effort to create a campus-wide coalition to eliminate hazing on campus resulted in Drexel receiving the 2012 Zeta Tau Alpha Award for Innovation in Campus Hazing Prevention at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Conference. Read more from Zeta Tau Alpha.

2013 And Beyond: Continuing Smart Growth
Drexel’s scale has enabled its success, with 2012’s enrollment of 25,500 nearly tripling 1995’s. Motivated by a desire to make an even greater societal impact, Drexel will invest in recruiting and retaining students to further increase enrollment to 30,000 by 2017 and 34,000 by 2021. This expansion will be aligned with growth in the academic and residential infrastructure, to offer more students more and better options than ever before.

Collaboration > Growth > Achievement > Strategic Plan > Fundraising > Finances