Global InformationHistory of Drexel University information
 | The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. (January 2022) |
The history of Drexel University, a private university in Philadelphia, began with the founding of Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, with the main building dedicated on December 17 of that year.
During the term of the Institute's first president, James A. MacAlister, from 1891 to 1913, the institute offered courses in various subjects such as art and illustration, mechanical arts, domestic arts and sciences, commerce and finance, teacher training, physical education, and librarianship. From 1895 to 1898, renowned American Impressionist painter Colin Campbell Cooper taught watercolor and architectural rendering courses. Though Drexel did not initially grant degrees, it began conferring the Bachelor of Science degree in 1914.
In 1936, Drexel became the Drexel Institute of Technology.
During the administration of Drexel University presidents W. W. Hagerty, after whom the University City campus Library is named, and James Creese, Drexel underwent a period of rapid expansion, constructing new classroom buildings or dormitories each year. During this time, President Hagerty led the transformation of what had previously been a technological college primarily focused on undergraduate teaching to a comprehensive university in 1970. Also, in 1970, the Drexel Institute of Technology became Drexel University.
After Hagerty's departure, admissions, enrollment, and the university's financial situation went into substantial decline. The majority of problems occurred during and after the recession of the early 1990s. Drexel struggled to remain solvent and began to use endowment funds to pay operating expenses. There was even discussion of the school being absorbed into the nearby University of Pennsylvania.
In 1997, with the renovation of Van Rensselaer Hall, Drexel University began a period of expansion led by president Constantine Papadakis to enlarge the university, its student population, and its alumni funding base. Master plans for further construction projects, which would involve significant changes to the campus and buildings over at least five years, were announced on October 16, 2006.
In April 2009, Celestino Pennoni became the interim president while Papadakis took medical leave; Papadakis died on April 5. In August 2010, John Fry took over as president. In 2011, Drexel acquired the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.