Drexel University is a private university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The 16th largest private university in the nation, Drexel is made up of nine colleges and four schools, most of which serve both undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 96 undergraduate degree programs, 88 master's programs, and 35 doctoral programs. Drexel was founded as a technical school in 1891 for the "improvement of industrial education as a means of opening better and wider avenues of employment to young men and women."McDonald and Hinton (1942), p. 35. Drexel began awarding undergraduate degrees in 1914, starting with the Bachelor of Science in engineering; before that, Drexel granted certificates or diplomas in the field of enrollment. In 1931, Drexel began offering graduate degrees through the School of Home Economics.
Since its founding the university has graduated over 100,000 alumni. Certificate-earning alumni such as artist Violet Oakley and illustrator Frank Schoonover reflect the early emphasis on art as part of the university's curriculum. With World War II, the university's technical programs swelled, and as a result Drexel graduated alumni such as Paul Baran, one of the founding fathers of the Internet and one of the inventors of the packet switching network, and Norman Joseph Woodland the inventor of barcode technology. In addition to its emphasis on technology Drexel has graduated several notable athletes such as National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball players Michael Anderson and Malik Rose, and several notable business people such as Raj Gupta, former president and chief executive officer of Rohm and Haas, and Nicholas Schorsch, chief executive officer of VEREIT, and Nicholas Howley, founder and chairman of TransDigm Group.
Notable alumni A "—" indicates that the information is unknown. Degree abbreviations Cert – Certificate BS – Bachelor of Science Postgraduate degrees: MA – Master of Arts MBA – Master of Business Administration MD – Doctor of Medicine MS – Master of Science PhD – Doctor of Philosophy
Business
Name Grad year Degree Notability Ref(s) Former CEO of The Hartford Financial Services Founder and CEO of Splunk and Founder.org; former VP of e-Commerce at Yahoo! and The Walt Disney Company Former CEO of Boscov's Former CEO of SAIC, former executive vice president of General Dynamics CEO of Lazarex Cancer Foundation Financial analyst credited with predicting Black Monday, the stock market crash of 1987 Former president and CEO of Rohm and Haas Former CEO and chairman of the board of Borders; chairman of the board of Vector Group Former president of operations for Paramount Studios Former vice president and chief marketing officer of eBay Invented the green bean casserole while working as a staff member in the home economics department of the Campbell's CEO and co-founder of VEREIT Renowned saloon keeper in New York City Non-executive director at Anglo American plc, former CEO of GKN Aerospace CEO of Dover Corporation, director of KeyCorp CEO of TerraLeaf, entrepreneur and businesswoman in the cannabis industry
Humanities
Architects Name Grad year Degree Notability Ref(s) Filipino architect who designed the Manila Metropolitan Theater McDonald and Hinton (1942), p. 124. Architect known for his work in the Art Deco style; first American to win the Rougevin prize Architect who designed notable buildings in Washington, D.C. and Texas Architect; founding dean of three architecture schools; official architect for two universities and one state system of three universities
Arts and entertainment
Name Grad year Degree Notability Ref(s) Entertainer; creator of The Gong Show Vaudeville performer, theatre manager, librarian, co-founder and chairman of the American Theatre Wing, chairman of the Actors' Fund of America (1960–1978), and head organizer of the 1st Tony Awards Grammy Award-winning music producer Founder of Newgrounds Poet and reference specialist at the Library of Congress Author of Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry and professor of creative writing at the University of Texas at Austin ESPN anchor and journalist Actress, best known for her role as Clary Fray in Shadowhunters Author, professor, and environmentalist Artist; first woman to receive the Gold Medal of Honor from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Early twentieth-century artist whose work included illustrating Mother Goose in Prose and Collier's Weekly McDonald and Hinton (1942), p. 126. Actor, known for his role as the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz Illustrator for Hopalong Cassidy stories as well as the book A Princess of Mars McDonald and Hinton (1942), p. 129. Filmmaker whose film Smithereens was the first American independent film invited to compete at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival Sportswriter, Dick McCann Memorial Award winner Photographer, won The New York Times Photography Contest for College Students in 2004 Author of several Asian-themed cookbooks Video game music composer Host and executive producer of Tough Love Barker, Andrew. (December 2, 2008) VH1 commits to ‘Tough Love’. Variety. Retrieved on August 28, 2013. Pioneer in the Russian and Eastern European music community in the United States | Founder and CEO of Impact Soundworks
Education
Name Grad year Degree Notability Ref(s) Biochemist, professor, leading proponent of intelligent design, and a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture Professor and chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Akron Former president of the Cooper Union Former chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles and former provost of Harvard University Librarian, one of American Libraries' "100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century" Gordon Prize-winning research professor of engineering at Drexel University Former president of ShanghaiTech University, former vice president of Chinese Academy of Sciences 49th president of IEEE and dean of the New Jersey Institute of Technology Professor at the University of Chicago, surgeon, and 1981 MacArthur Fellow Former president of Temple University Former interim president of Drexel University 1994–1995 and 2009–2010 Child prodigy and Guinness World Record holder for "World's Youngest Professor" Former tutor to Emperor Akihito of Japan
Medicine and health The Drexel University College of Medicine retroactively considers graduates from all of the medical institutes that it has acquired to be alumni of the College of Medicine and Drexel University. This includes MCP Hahnemann University (1993–2002), Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1850–1993), and Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia (1848–1993). DUCOM – Drexel University College of Medicine HMC – Hahnemann Medical College MCP – Medical College of Pennsylvania WMCP – Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
Name Grad yearDegree College Notability Ref(s) First licensed female physician in the Southern United States Physician and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Physician, former Maryland delegate for Harford County, Maryland One of the first female pathologists; namesake of Canavan disease Physician who participated in the Supreme Court cases Stenberg v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Carhart Researcher in clinical psychology and psychiatry; consultant and public speaker Second African-American woman to become a physician in the U.S. First African-American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina Executive vice president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and dean of its F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine Canadian anesthesiologist who introduced the use of ethylene and cyclopropane in anesthesiology Professor at the University of Arizona known for his study of consciousness Second female Native American physician Psychiatrist and associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Obstetrician and author of A History of Women in Medicine: From the Earliest of Times to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century First woman to become a member of the Académie Nationale de Médecine First female African-American physician in Alabama Second Indian female physician to earn a medical degree through training in Western medicine https://www.inquirer.com/arts/anandibai-joshee-doctor-womens-history-philadelphia-20240329.html accessed March 30, 2024 Medical Marathi Christian missionary in India Author and researcher in neuroscience Thoracic surgeon, professor, and researcher Dermatologist also known as "Dr. Pimple Popper" who gained popularity for her YouTube channel Spinal surgeon and inventor Mary I. O'Connor First director of the Center for Musculoskeletal Care at the Yale School of Medicine First female Native American physician Physician and one-term mayor of Anchorage, Alaska in 1937 Associate professor Bio - Jameela Alsalman. WSC Spotlight: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance – Global Health Threats of the 21st Century. Al Salman Accessed June 14, 2021. One of the first female physicians in Utah Secretary of Veterans Affairs Physician and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Physician and creator of Moxie Walter Van Fleet Horticulturist known for rose cultivars; physiologist for the federal Department of Agriculture Clinical psychologist and author Model and sex columnist
Politics and public service
Name Grad year Degree Notability Ref(s) New Jersey General Assembly assemblyman for the 24th legislative district Mayor of Downingtown, Pennsylvania; first openly transgender mayor of Pennsylvania Worked for women's rights in 1920s; member of the Algonquin Round Table Pennsylvania state representative for the 181st district Former minister of Finance of Liberia Former United States ambassador to Finland, partner of the Mack Company, and film producer Federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit — United States congressman from Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional district 1959–1965 Former prime minister of Cameroon Victoria Napolitano Youngest female mayor in New Jersey history; youngest mayor of Moorestown, New Jersey Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 161 1975–1978 Current president of Côte d'Ivoire Federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania New Jersey General Assembly assemblywoman for the 3rd legislative district White House deputy press secretary under Donald Trump United States congressman from Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional district 1966–1975
Science and engineering