Drexel University’s Convocation, an annual event that marks the beginning of each academic year, featured three faculty keynote speakers whose work highlighted their commitment to the University's core mission of academics, research and community engagement.
The speakers at the event, held Oct. 16 at the Mandell Theater, also spotlighted how Drexel’s legacy continues to evolve to meet society’s current needs and future challenges.
“Convocation provided us an opportunity to look forward as we build a future that honors our past but is not bound by it,” said Nina Henderson Provost Paul E. Jensen. “It is our responsibility to be pioneers of new ideas, champions of innovation, and defenders of the values that make Drexel such an extraordinary institution. The three faculty speakers shared stories that served as an inspiring reminder of what makes our work so meaningful, and uniquely Drexel.”
Faculty keynotes were:
- Annette B. Gadegbeku, MD, Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Community Health and Senior Associate Dean of Community Health & Inclusive Excellence at the College of Medicine
- Matthew Stamm, PhD, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering
- Lauren D’Innocenzo, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at LeBow College of Business
The speakers represented many of Drexel strengths including: outstanding in teaching and mentorship, leaving a lasting impact on students' academic development; making significant contributions to their field of study; playing an instrumental role in shaping Drexel’s academic and cultural identity; and contributing to the growth and success of Drexel. A recording of Convocation can be found here.
Gadegbeku, MD, shared how the simple act of “just showing up” helped shape her career journey and led to transformative, unexpected opportunities.
She did not always envision herself as a physician or one who took on pioneering roles in academic medicine. However, by consistently showing up with empathy, dedication and a willingness to learn, Gadegbeku discovered opportunities that tapped into her passion for helping underserved communities.
At one point when she was uncertain about attending medical school, Gadegbeku shadowed a pediatrician and witnessed in an examination room a disconnect between a doctor and a black mother with three children.
“I may not have understood the medicine going on in the patient room, but I clearly understood the need, could read the room that held disparity and desperation of a mother and her kids that was painfully missed by the provider in front of them,” she said. "I believe this was the spark of community health and health equity I did not know existed for me nor did I know would become my career, my passion, my purpose, my calling going forward.”
The power of showing up has been a theme throughout Gadegbeku’s career at Drexel.
“Amazing and unexpected things happen when you just show up,” she said. “You never know who you will meet, what opportunities you will be connected to, what you will learn, and what you be able to do as a result... As researchers, innovators, and teachers, how much better can we be at our jobs when we can be with the people we are doing our jobs for?”
Gadegbeku's message served as a call to action for the Drexel community to bring their full selves to the work needed to address the challenges facing the University.
"We stand at a pivotal moment as a University, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that our success depends on our willingness to show up — to bring our best selves, our talents and empathy to the challenges in front of us," she said.
Stamm, PhD, explained how his Multimedia and Information Security Lab searches to uncover digital fingerprints — invisible traces left by photo editing software and AI systems — that present as statistical patterns concealed within pixels of manipulated images and videos.
Real-world examples underscore the importance of Stamm’s work: AI-generated images deployed in presidential campaigns, deepfake videos used in warfare, and an elaborate voice-cloning scheme that cost a company $35 million.
Working alongside PhD students in his lab, Stamm is a leader in this emerging field and pioneered techniques to detect these digital fingerprints, including a novel method to identify AI-generated synthetic video.
“The challenges that we face as a society, like the challenge of fake media, are becoming more and more complex. We need people and institutions who are able to draw upon multiple disciplines to address these challenges, and those who are able to do so will help shape our future,” Stamm said. “This is inherently built into our DNA here at Drexel and is reflected in the three sides of the triangle on our seal: science, industry, and art.”
Science, he said, represents the discovery of knowledge and advances to address challenges while industry puts that knowledge into practice to benefit society. Art serves to understand, express, and interpret the broad-reaching impacts of the actions taken to address these challenges.
“My challenge to you during the upcoming school year is to not focus only on the small, short-term problems that we’re presented with in our day-to-day lives…,” Stamm said. “Instead, help strengthen and shape the version of Drexel that we aspire to be. Broaden your perspectives, draw from all three of the areas on our seal, and use this knowledge to address important, new, and challenging problems.”
D'Innocenzo drew from her research studying leadership and high-performing teams to share findings on the remarkable power of embracing change, one of life's constants.
“We all face it, and it comes in many different forms — moving to a new city, starting college, beginning a new job, or switching from quarters to semesters,” she said. “Even when we know it’s coming and try to prepare for it, change can still catch us off guard and feel overwhelming.”
Whether in high-stakes environments like surgical teams, the military or corporate leadership, factors that trigger a change can influence outcomes and team dynamics. In her study on surgical teams, she found that working with new team members on common procedures combatted complacency and improved efficiency.
D’Innocenzo’s research also showed how presence plays a critical role in how effectively teams perform. A leader’s presence, she said, is not about micromanaging every detail but maintaining engagement and accessibility. Research demonstrates that empowering leadership — characterized by trust and enablement — produces superior results, fostering team effectiveness, motivation and engagement.
Drexel is an institution that embraces change and understands that to make a difference, evolve and innovate, it’s important to think about things in new ways, D’Innocenzo said, adding: “It’s one of the things that attracted me to Drexel in the first place. Here, I get to prepare our students to live in a world of change.”
D’Innocenzo deliberately introduces uncertainty into her classes, providing experiences for students to develop skills needed to navigate difficult, new situations. Every week they work with new team members and collaborate on challenges such as deciding which three patients from a list of 12 will receive kidney dialysis.
“Every challenge is an opportunity, and those who embrace change and find a way forward make the biggest impact,” she said. “As you embark on the next change in your life, and as we embark on a collective change together at Drexel — I encourage you to view this change as an opportunity — and ask yourself, ‘What can I do with this opportunity to make a difference?’"