Below is a message from Drexel University President John Fry and M. Brian Blake, PhD, Executive Vice President, Nina Henderson Provost and Distinguished University Professor of Systems and Software Engineering:
Drexel’s recent attainment of coveted R1 research status in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education puts this University in a strong position, and having reached a ranking for the highest research activity — one that is held by just 37 private universities — we want to make sure we maintain this distinction, and achieve even more.
Since gaining R1 status in December, we’ve continued to evaluate our research enterprise to improve support for the world-class faculty and students who are the engine of these scholarly efforts. With this goal in mind, we are pleased to announce the following changes in support of our vision for research and innovation at the University.
Effective immediately, the Office of Corporate Relations and Economic Development will be renamed Drexel Applied Innovation, and report to the Provost’s Office under the direction of Aleister J. Saunders, PhD, senior vice provost for research. Drexel Ventures and the Office of Technology Commercialization will be part of Drexel Applied Innovation. The reorganization is an acknowledgement of the considerable amount of synergy between the Office of Research and the services provided by the corporate relations and economic development office. Aleister’s title will change to executive vice provost for research and innovation.
This rebranded organization within the Office of Research is charged with technology commercialization and entrepreneurial support services for faculty, professional staff and graduate student innovators, in collaboration with the academic units. Shintaro Kaido, vice provost and chief innovation officer, will direct Drexel Applied Innovation, reporting to Aleister.
In the coming months, under Aleister and Shintaro’s leadership, the Drexel Applied Innovation team will undertake a comprehensive planning process aimed at better coordinating our research and innovation support services. The aim will be to establish clear roles and responsibilities for our commercialization pathways, aligning with academic and research strategic priorities. We believe this alignment will strengthen our research enterprise, while creating critical economies of scale.
We look forward to sharing more details about Drexel Applied Innovation. For now, please join us in congratulating Aleister and Shintaro on their new roles.